dark fantasy

Normally, I can't stand this genre; instead of something new, the cliches are just tossed together in a hash. But Laurell K. Hamilton keeps me coming back.

Part of it is the ongoing plot threads that go from book to book. Although these novels can stand alone, there are larger threads. Anita Blake's "romance" with Jean-Claude, the master vampire, for example, or the hints that Anita is something much stronger (and dangerous) than she or anyone else knows.

Another part is Anita. She isn't just a hard rock, lacking any humanity; she's really truly affected by the blood and death she's constantly surrounded by. She doesn't casually walk up to corpses, she has to compose herself before she looks. She's not callous, she's just able to hide her horror, fear and sadness better than most people. We only know because we're in her head.

"The Lunatic Cafe" is where the series, in my opinion, REALLY starts to pick up (read the other books "Guilty Pleasures", "The Laughing Corpse", and "Circus Of The Damned" first, it WILL help.) The soap opera kicks into high gear with a rather twisted little love triangle, not to mention some unfinished business between Anita and a vamp named Gretchen. Plus we get more of an introduction to the lycanthropes (werebeasts) of the city, their social structure, and the whole host of problems that go with THAT.

The novel itself is also pretty good, with the mystery at its center rather clever. Although she doesn't really play fair (we're not given much in the way of clues to possibly solve this mystery on our own), Hamilton does have a satisfactory solution. Like the other books so far, it's got a lightning-fast pace; poor Anita NEVER gets any sleep, something always happens to her.

This is, in the end, fun junk, great for airports, beaches, and the living room. They aren't classics, although they'd make great action movies, but the Anita Blake series is worth an occassional $7 now and again.

Once again, Laurell K. Hamilton hits a home run with this exceptional novel. The Lunatic Cafe is the fourth Anita Blake installment and my favorite thus far. Though this one has a bit of a slow start action-wise, it has a far more compelling plot that centers on Anita's personal life. Anita is dating Richard, something that doesn't sit well with Jean-Claude, the vampire Master of the City. Jean-Claude wants Anita as well and he, too, wants to date her. She's always said she wouldn't date one of the monsters, yet she is involved with a werewolf. But Richard has great human qualities. He is a schoolteacher, a genuinely nice guy, a boy next door of sorts -- minus the small fact that he's the leader of a pack of shape shifters with a secret and animalistic penchant for a mixture of blood, sex and violence. Jean-Claude is the proverbial bad boy -- a fearful leader and a shameless seducer who doesn't bother to hide his monstrous side, but irresistible all the same. In order to keep Jean-Claude from killing Richard, Anita acquiesces to his proposal of dating both men at the same time. But the reader knows that Anita is attracted to Jean-Claude, no matter how much she denies it. If this interesting little love triangle isn't bad enough, she has to find out why eight shape shifters and lycanthropes are missing. There are various twists throughout the novel...

This is the most exciting part of the series I've read thus far. Laurell K. Hamilton keeps you in suspense from beginning to end. Richard is a great character, but he's nowhere near as compelling and sensual as Jean-Claude. I am still hoping that he and Anita will get together. The building of tension is so slow it's torturous! But the aforementioned tension is delectable beyond compare. The characters are always excellent. The most interesting character in this series is Edward. He's a caricature of a character with an unreadable personality. Perhaps this is intentional, but I'm not sure. I hope to get to know this character in a deeper level in the future. Anyway, as said earlier, this is the best Anita Blake offering. I cannot recommend The Lunatic Cafe enough. A great summer read to enjoy resting on a hammock overlooking the sunset.

I havnet read the series, my friends recommended "The Lunatic Cafe" to me so i started reading and i LOVED it! It's face paced, intriguing and a great read! This may be the best book I've read in a long time! I cant wait to read more by Laurell K. Hamilton in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter Novels and her other works! :)