The Lunatic Cafe (1996) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• Anita Blake: Animator, Necromancer, Vampire Executioner. Works with the Police department. Dating Richard. Is coveted by the Vampire Master of the city.
• Jean Claude: Master of The City of St. Louis, Master Vampire, Richard's Master, Owns Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned. Is in love with Anita.
• Richard Zeeman: Alpha Werewolf, Fenrir of the Thronnos Rokke Clan. Richard holds a degree in preternatural biology and has a day job as a junior high school science teacher. He is very closeted about his lycanthropy for fear of losing his job. Anita's boyfriend, Jean-Claude's Wolf to Call
• Marcus Fletcher: Alpha Werewolf, Ulfric of the Thronnos Rokke Clan, A surgeon and one of the pack's only doctors. He is the pack leader.
• Raina Wallis: Werewolf, Lupa of the Thronnos Rokke Clan, Owner of the Lunatic Cafe. Alpha female of the pack.
• Rafael: Leader of the St. Louis wererats, King of the Dark Crown Clan, He has a brand in the form of a four pointed crown on his left arm, that is visible in both forms.
• Christine: Weretiger. Constantly challenges Marcus' authority.
• Jason Schuyler: Add a description of this character.
• Edward: A hitman, he now specializes in assassinating supernatural targets, because humans were too easy. He particularly hunts vampires and lycanthropes, and taught Anita most of her combat skills. Anita considers herself to be possibly Edward's only true friend.
• Alfred
• Rudolph Storr: Dolph is a police officer who was assigned to head up St. Louis' Regional Preternatural Investigation Team (RPIT) after the passage of Addison v. Clark, investigating supernatural related crimes.
• Kaspar Gunderson: Swanman. Not a true shapeshifter. Had a curse placed on him by a witch. He is very charming. Follows most of Marcus' orders.
• Gretchen: Vampire turned by Jean-Claude 200 years ago. She is very jealous of Anita. She covets Jean-Claude.
• Louis Fane: Wererat, Lieutenant of the Dark Crown Clan, A biology professor at Washington University.
• Veronica Sims: Ronnie is Anita's best friend and her usual workout partner and confidante. A private investigator on retainer with Animators, Inc.
• Robert: Vampire, Manager at Guilty Pleasures,Essentially a coward, and repeatedly backs down in confrontations with Jean-Claude's enemies. Anita dislikes him.
• Irving Griswold: A short, balding werewolf with a day job as an investigative reporter for a Saint Louis newspaper. Irving remains closeted at his day job in order to avoid discrimination, and frequently exchanges information with Anita. Member of the Thronnos Rokke Clan
• Zerbrowski: Stereotypical rumpled, smart-alec, but highly competent detective and a loyal friend to Anita. He also makes wisecracks about Anita's personal life and is a cheerful lech.
• Stephen Dietrich: Werewolf, One of the strippers at Jean-Claude's club Guilty Pleasures
• Gabriel: Wereleopard, Alpha of the Blood Drinker's Clan. A friend of Marcus' Pack.
• Bert Vaughn: Founder and managing partner of Animators, Inc.. Bert is an unscrupulous boss who is inclined to sign the animators up for almost any job if the price is right. He and Anita often clash over Bert's choices of potential clients and jobs for Anita.
• George Smitz: He came to Anita for help in finding his missing wife. She sends him to Ronnie.
• Buzz: Vampire,A bouncer and bodyguard at Guilty Pleasures
• Lillian: A doctor and a wererat of the Dark Crown Clan. She frequently patches up shapeshifters in their unofficial infirmary.
• Clive Perry: One of the newest recruits to RPIT, Anita is curious to know what it was that he did to get transferred to the Spook Squad. He always seemed so soft-spoken and pleasant. She could never imagine Perry doing anything rude enough to piss someone off, but you didn't get assigned to the squad without a reason.
• Peggy Smitz: George Smitz's werewolf wife that goes missing.
• Craig: The night receptionist at Animators Inc.
• Sheriff Titus: Sheriff in a different county where Anita is trying to work a case. Southern.
• Dept. Aikensen: Works for Sheriff Titus. Twitchy and trigger happy. He dislikes Anita right away.
• Sam Williams: Caretaker of the land where the first body is found. Working on his doctorate. Helps Anita with her case.
• Elvira Drew: Is writing a book on Shapeshifters that might be helpful to the community. She asks Anita for help locating specific were animals to interview.
• Polly: A hostess at the Lunatic Cafe.
• Shelia: Works at Guilty Pleasures. Check in girl for holy items.
• MacAdam: Diver that works a case with Anita.
• Officer Kirlin: Works for Dolph. In charge of guarding the door at the hospital of one of the victims. Anita suspects she is a rookie.
• Mr. Javad: One of the victims that Anita helps. Has important information to the case.
• Mr. Carmichael

Quotes edit see section history

• “He's no more human than I am, ma petite." "At least I'm not dead." "That can be remedied.”

  Jean-Claude, Richard

• “But I knew better. You don't volunteer for slugfests with vampires. It shortens your life expectancy.”

  Anita Blake

• “How do you trust a man that doesn't like coffee?”

  Anita Blake

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• I learned that you don’t stand up to the bad guys because you think you’ll win. You stand up because it’s the right thing to do. You stand up for those weaker than you, which at that time in my life meant younger than me. You put yourself between them and harm, not because you’re sure you won’t get hurt, but because you’ve decided that to sit and watch them come to harm is wrong, and you cannot merely sit and watch evil. There comes a time when you have to step up and be willing to take some damage, because it’s the right thing to do.

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• If you do not help and protect those who are less able than you, weaker than you, what good are you? No damn good at all.

  Highlighted by 38 Kindle customers

• If you’re going to die, at least die brave. It pisses your enemies off.

  Highlighted by 29 Kindle customers

• If you love someone, you shouldn’t make them miserable. It’s a rule somewhere, or should be.

  Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers

• “You’re like great Shakespearean tragedy. If Romeo and Juliet hadn’t committed suicide, they’d have hated each other in a year. Passion is a form of love, but it isn’t real. It doesn’t last.”

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• “|‘Tyger! Tyger! burning bright/ In the forests of the night/ What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’|”

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• I am anti-zealot even if I agree with you, because a zealot loves nothing so much as being right.

  Highlighted by 18 Kindle customers

• I was twenty-four years old and the pain of that first loss was still raw. You could deal with it, endure it, but never escape it. Never truly believe in the great, good place. Never truly believe that the bad thing wasn’t going to come swooping down and take it all away.

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• I was unsociable, and food was something you ate so you wouldn’t die.

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• I loved him, but love isn’t enough. All the fairy tales, the romance novels, the soap operas; they’re all lies. Love does not conquer all.

  Highlighted by 11 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• St. Louis, Missouri
• The Lunatic Cafe: A cafe run and mostly frequented by lycanthropes and is owned by Raina, the Lupa of the Thronnos Rokke Clan.

Organizations edit see section history

• Regional Preternatural Investigation Team: RPIT, usually pronounced "Rip-It", is an extension of the St. Louis Police Department charged with keeping the peace between the human and supernatural communities by investigating all crimes with a supernatural aspect, and apprehending and/or exterminating the guilty parties. It has only recently been formed, largely as a half-hearted effort to placate the liberals and the press after the groundbreaking Addison vs. Clark case. Its remit is to investigate all supernatural crimes, whether it be committed against humans or against the supernatural beings themselves, including Vampires, Lycanthropes, Zombies, Ghouls, and more. Derogatorily known as the "Spook Squad", it is not considered a positive career move to join it, and it is comprised mostly of police officers who have aggravated their superiors in some way or another.
• Animators, Inc.: One of the most successful animator companies in the US. Although having begun as a small business in a spare room above a garage, it has grown, moving to bigger and better offices and hiring additional animators and secretarial staff. Though primarily aimed at raising the dead, the nature of the business has attracted other clients who wished to utilize the animator's expert supernatural knowledge, especially after vampires won civil rights. The firm usually receives contracts to have the dead raised as zombies, usually as witnesses in legal cases, setting will disputes, and sometimes as a last chance to have a word with a loved one who has passed away.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ulfric: the leader or alpha of a werewolf clan
• Lupa: The female counterpart to the leader of a werewolf clan. Unlike the Nimr Ra/Raj, the Ulfric and lupa are not equals. The lupa is below the Ulfric in status.
• Ma Petite: French: When used as an adjective it translates to honey-sweet. It is also a cute double entendre that refers to Anita's height.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Circus of the Damned, and followed by Bloody Bones.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Laurell K. Hamilton (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Craig White (artist) (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• James Tiptree, Jr. Award (Finalist, 1996, Long Listed)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PS3558.A443357 L86 2005
• Dewey: 813.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Some sexually explicit scenes and profanity

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Series
• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Dark
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( H ) › Hamilton, Laurell K.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Laurell K. Hamilton: Author's Website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history