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    The Lunatic Cafe: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
    Unavailable
    The Lunatic Cafe: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
    Unavailable
    The Lunatic Cafe: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    The Lunatic Cafe: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel

    Written by Laurell K. Hamilton

    Narrated by Kimberly Alexis

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Vampire hunter and zombie animator Anita Blake is an expert at sniffing out the bad from the good. But in The Lunatic Café, she's about to learn that nothing is ever as it seems, especially in matters of the not-so-human heart. Anita has fallen for the leader of a local pack of werewolves. She's survived a lot, but this love thing may kill her yet.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 1, 2009
    ISBN9781101145685
    Unavailable
    The Lunatic Cafe: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
    Author

    Laurell K. Hamilton

    Laurell K. Hamilton is the author of the New York Times bestselling Anita Blake series and Merry Gentry series. She lives with her family in St. Louis, Missouri.

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    Reviews for The Lunatic Cafe

    4/5

    1,585 ratings42 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This review first appeared on A Weebish Book Blog.Most of my issues with THE LUNATIC CAFE stem from issues with Blake’s choice in romantic partners. Richard will always have a problem with how easily Anita kills, and that’s okay. It’s human to have moral issues with murder. However, it doesn’t bode well for a fute together. You can’t have a healthy committed relationship with someone if you can’t even accept the dark parts of yourself, much less your signigicant others.This is one of the reasons why if I had to choose between Richard and Jean-Claude, I’ll always vote vampire. Even during the most frustrating moments, he never asks Anita to be someone she’s not. Is he manipulative, power-hungry, and sometimes amoral? Yes. But at least he’s honest about it. Richard can’t even be honest with himself. He’s too busy living in denial. That Blake can’t see past Jean Claude’s fangs is so frustrating. But I guess they would put me off too if I was the Executioner, nicknamed by the very vampires she hunts because she is their bogeyman. Be a bad vampire and The Executioner will come for you.Besides the relationship woes, THE LUNATIC CAFE was plenty entertaining. Raina, bitch Alpha of St. Louis’s werewolves and resident sexual sadist is producing and starring in snuff films, lycanthropes of all species are going missing, and Edward makes an appearance! When Death shows up, blood always spills. I love Edward. He’s probably my favorite sociopath Anita Blake character. In the end, this sequel was both frustrating and enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Read a long time ago but I remember loving the early books in this series of which this was one (4th).
    • 4/5
      Shape-shifters are disappearing, Anita's getting serious with her werewolf boyfriend, and a jealous vampire is threatening Anita's life. The love triangle aspect got pretty tiresome, but the rest of the action was fun. I like Anita. I like how she's sort of a female version of a film noir detective, unafraid and cynical and witty. I hope the series doesn't shift to focus mainly on Anita's love life, because it's the suspense and fun that keeps me coming back, not the romance.
    • 4/5
      This was good, but Richard really annoys me. Willful naivety always pisses me off.
    • 4/5
      Always fun to read an Anita Blake story!
    • 5/5
      In this fourth Anita Blake novel our heroine no longer bears the marks of Jean-Claude or any other master vampire and is exploring a relationship with Richard, the middle school teacher. Of course there are problems: Richard is a werewolf whose pack leader is threatening to kill him, Jean-Claude will not take "no" for an answer and has a female vampire who wants to kill Anita, and Dolph wants help identifying the something that is killing lycanthropes (shapeshifters). Other than that, life is normal in Anita's world. Hamilton has created an alternative reality where monsters have legal rights, and she explores this world with creativity and intelligence. Her heroine endures a lot of physical damage in these books and the mysteries she investigates are always complex. This is a first rate horror series that deserves its reputation.
    • 5/5
      loved it, as always!! super love anita blake stories ever...
    • 5/5
      Excellent book this is my 2nd time reading it. I really enjoyed it on scribd.
    • 3/5
      While the actual story/plot of this book was intriguing (disappearing shapeshifters), I found the romance subplot just kind of overshadowed it. I wasn't as interested in the romance as I was in the rest of the story, and there was too much of it. Still like the characters (although Anita *can* be a bit annoying at times). I'll likely take a little break before I go for another one, but I did like it. Just needed a better balance.
    • 5/5
      This is the first book in the start of the love triangle between Anita/Jean Claude/Richard. I really like this book. It is action packed and the mystery adds a nice twist to the love triangle storyline.
    • 5/5
      #4 in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. This one has the start of her relationship with Richard the werewolf. She's on the hunt for what has been happening to members of the local pack who have mysteriously disappeared. It also has Jean Claude asking for the same amount of time to be shared with him as is being shared with Richard.
    • 4/5
      UGH! And the issues with Richard begin...
    • 5/5
      I liked this one. It was grittier than the ones before it but decent. Although, I'm having a growing hatred for Richard and his flip-flopping and just, I don't know, he is starting to piss me off. Anita is very demanding in this book as well. I do like how she always has a gun in her hand.
    • 3/5
      Anita Blake's life is far from dull when she starts dating a werewolf and continues her assisting the police. In "The Lunatic Cafe" Blake is trying to find out who is killing lycanthropes. As with the previous books in the series, nothing (or should I say no one) is quite what they seem.
    • 4/5
      I've read/listened to this series many times and I still enjoy it. Every time I come back to the early books, I'm reminded that Richard was always a pain in the ass.

      This book has witches, lycanthropes, vampires and stupid humans in it. It also has Edward who will always add fun to a party. The books with Edward in them are always way more interesting and only get better throughout the series as we learn more about him.

      The series character list grows a lot in this book. We meet Raina, Gabriel, Marcus and most importantly, Jason. We get to see more into the werewolf and other shifter communities. We also see Richard's beast show its head as well.
    • 3/5
      I really like this book, but this vrrsion is an abridged version and you definitely miss things.
    • 4/5
      The last series binge I went on was the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery series by Anne Perry. I read seven of those books in a row before deciding it was time to move on. Usually, it’s my general rule to break up my reading patterns so that I am not reading too many books from the same series one right after the other. It helps to keep the authors and subject matters mixed a bit, even if the genre stays the same for several books in a row. Laurell K. Hamilton is one of those authors that is hard to stop reading after one book, and so after this one, I have decided to move on to the next in the series. But first . . . In The Lunatic Café, vampire hunter, Anita Blake, enters the world of the lycanthropes. She is asked by the head werewolf to investigate the disappearance of several lycanthropes. Meanwhile, she is working with the police to try and discover what murdered a man in the woods so brutally. This particular novel has a lot of loose threads that are all brought together for a great conclusion. Laurell K. Hamilton does it again, creating an action packed story that had me begging for more. Now onto Bloody Bones . . .
    • 4/5
      Vampire hunter, Anita Blake, is dating werewolf Richard. While they try to sort out their relationship, Anita is called to alpha werewolf, Marcus, to help find out about some missing werewolves.I am really enjoying this series (at least for now – I know that will change later). It does remind me a lot of Sookie Stackhouse (though I know Anita Blake actually came first). This book didn't seem as dark (that is, gory) as the others have been (to be honest, I don't remember them real well, but I took a look back at my reviews for a reminder), but there was plenty of action (especially at the end) and I am enjoying Anita and Richard trying to figure out where they are going.
    • 5/5
      This one is heavy on the world of the lycanthropes. A romance with Richard and more than one jealous vampire add to the story as Anita starts learning about lycanthrope politics as a number of them have gone missing and she’s been asked to discover what’s happened. Edward is back, this time hired to kill two lycanthropes that created a snuff film with his client’s daughter. And he’s hoping Anita can recognize them. Anita’s experiences are definitely expanding. Plenty of emotion, along with tension and action are provided as Anita faces a number of life threatening challenges. And the romance angle is tearing her up as Richard makes his feelings known while Jean-Claude wants his own chance with her.Anita is also now dealing with prejudice and we’re seeing for the first time how she’s viewed by police officers that have never worked with her. I love the world she’s created, making the characters so lifelike that you wouldn’t be shocked to discover they were real. The horrors in this one don’t have as much impact on me as The Laughing Corpse. Somehow I find it easier to accept fighting lycanthropes and vampires much easier than zombies whose parts just never stop coming after you.
    • 4/5
      I find it funny that Anita is trying to live by some kind of rules regarding her interaction with non-humans. The problem is that her logic is based on things that don't seem to hold up ... I liked getting to know Richard better and the mystery was good.
    • 5/5
      Book #4 Anita was looking into the missing 8 shapeshifter. Marcus the Alfa of the werewolves wanting her to find them. The Luunatic Cafe is the werewolves hang out. Richard asked Anita to marry him. Gretchen is jelius of Anita and don't under stand what Jean Claude sees in Anita. Gretchen attacked Anita because Gretchen wanted Jean Claude.
    • 5/5
      Believe it or not, once upon a time, the Anita Blake novels were something I looked at to learn pacing and how to build a plot. That would go to hell in Book 10, but we're still early here. This not only had a good supernatural mystery, but it was one where Anita was still recognizably human--in fact it's largely her human side she used in this book, where she's more than just someone attracted to Jean-Claude the vampire and Richard the werewolf but has important work relationships and friendships--as with Dolph, with which she works as a consultant for the police force, and Ronnie Sims, her coworker and friend. And I miss that Anita. This is one of the more enjoyable outings featuring my (once) favorite animator and vampire hunter not-Buffy (or Faith... or Kendra.)
    • 4/5
      Learning about lycanthropy of all kinds and meeting the evil Marcus and Raina is just the tip of the iceberg in this book. Add in witches and cops hunting were's of all kind and you are on a never ending roller coaster of ups and downs. What a wonderful way to learn about some of the darker sides of world of the furry and feathered.
    • 4/5
      As I said in the first three reviews, Laurell K. Hamilton creates a new world of supernatural that keeps everybody hooked and enthrall new reader to picking a book and reading the series. I never get tired or bored of reading this series and I just keep on wanting more. This story continues with Anita's adventure as Executioner and a part of the RIPIT. What I also love about this story is the continuing struggle in the love department as Jean Claude and Richard fights over Anita's affection. Anita will be engaged in this book but there's a huge twist that you will love when you read it. Anita still continues to be dominant among the supernatural in spite the fact that she is still human. A combination of sarcasm, love affairs, brilliance and equality is what makes me stick to the series. If you love hardcore action with a little romance juggled in a supernatural creatures in the human world, Hamilton's series is the right choice for you!
    • 1/5
      Anita sees George Smitz, a man who is looking for his missing wife who is also a werewolf. Anita is furious with Bert for referring a missing persons case to her when she was unqualified for the job. She was able to convince Mr. Smitz to see her friend Ronnie who was a private investigator with missing persons experience. Shortly thereafter Anita has a theater date with her "sweetie" Richard. Afterwards, they run into Jean-Claude who reveals that Richard had something of a showdown with the current werewolf Alfa, Marcus, but refused to kill him. This has caused some big problems within the pack. Anita was furious that she hadn't been told, how dare Richard not tell her what was going on. He explained that he was trying to protect her, then she's mad that he tried to do that."'You either share this problem, or we don't date anymore.'He looked shocked. 'Why?''Either you kept me out to protect me, which I'm going to hate. Or you have some other reason. It better be a damn good reason and not just some male ego shit.'"That's right, if Anita doesn't agree with someone's reasons, it must be bullshit. I am left to wonder what it is that Jean-Claude and Richard see in her, because she's a cow. The above argument is interrupted by constant pages from Dolph, who needs her to book it to a murder scene in the middle of nowhere. As Anita leaves, she runs into Gretchen, a powerful vampire who is in love with Jean-Claude. Gretchen doesn't understand that Anita doesn't want Jean-Claude, and threatens Anita if she doesn't stay away from him. There's a little scuffle (J-C's first scene in every book results in Anita fighting with someone) and then Jean-Claude says that he didn't mean "for this to happen". He says that every time, and I'm glad Anita called him on it. Anita finally makes it to Dolph's crime scene to fight with racist and hick cops over jurisdiction and weather the victim was attacked by a bear or not. I liked this storyline, nice and twisty, didn't see the end coming. The next day Anita is asked by Marcus to help the pack. She goes to a meeting at The Lunatic Cafe that does not go well, but she ends up getting strong armed into helping look for missing shifters. Edward makes an appearance in this book, he's always fun. These different story lines came together very nicely, great action, but Anita is still a problem for me. She is so unforgiving of others and so violent, that I saw her as similar to the monsters she hates so much. I really liked that Anita had this same realization, I'm hoping that her character will change in future books.Verdict:Anita, Anita, Anita, you are such an unlikeable character, I think you might be ruining the story for me. I enjoyed the the story itself, but...grrr! I feel so bad for Richard, why is he still with her? She can take his shirt off but if he touches her but she considers it groping? She can't abide explaining her actions, but if others don't hop to and explain everything to her she blows up. I was prepared for this to be the last Anita Blake book I ever read, but she had the whole maybe-I'm-just-as-bad-as-the-monsters-I-hate revelation. And the story was good, I will read the fifth book, but I'll get it from the library, I just can't spend money on Anita.
    • 3/5
      The fourth Anita Blake urban fantasy novel. The first three were primarily in the "crime thriller with vampires and werewolves" camp, but this one represents the beginning of a migration into the "grim dysfunctional relationship angst-fest with vampires and werewolves" subgenre - a shift which I understand continues and accelerates in subsequent books in the series. So I think I'll stop reading them at this point.
    • 4/5
      I've read this book many times and I still love it as much as I did the first time. The Anita Blake series is one of my favorites and I especially love these earlier novels.
    • 4/5
      It's Christmas time, so the Zombie raising business is slow. But Anita still has plenty to keep her busy. A client asks for her help with a missing person case. The police need her help with a body found mauled my a bear or other creature. The alpha wolf of her boyfriend, Richard's werewolf pack needs her help finding the cause of 8 missing lycanthropes. And to top it all Anita has to decide if she really loves Richard (and Jean Claude is not making it easy). The action in this book was great, and exciting as usual, but who would have thought tough Anita is really a goodie goodie when it comes to sex. She want's to wait till marriage (which is perfectly ok, but not what I expected from a romance novel). Besides the lack of sex and the indecision of how she really feels about Richard, I liked this book. Anita is a bad ass as usual, and I'm interested to see how her relationships develop.
    • 3/5
      The first five (maybe seven) books in the Anita Blake series, of which this is the fourth, were interesting and fun, though way more gory than I generally care for. This was the goriest thus far. The sex scenes do not over-dominate these earlier books. and Anita Blake is still a strong female figure, not yet being forced by some sort of vampire-induced condition to act slutty. The later books are just soft porn with a supernatural twist and not my thing at all. This one at least has a plot.
    • 5/5
      as always a very good read.