''Blue Moon'' is the eighth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by

Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is best known as the author of two series of stories. Her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''Anita Blake: Vampire H ...

Plot introduction

''Blue Moon'' continues the adventures of

Anita Blake Anita Blake is the title and viewpoint character of the '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series by Laurell K. Hamilton. The series takes place in a parallel world in which supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves exist alongside reg ...

. In this novel, Anita travels to Myerton,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to help clear her ex-boyfriend

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

of rape allegations. In the process, Anita and her various allies are drawn into a supernatural conflict with the Master Vampire of that city, as well as the criminal scheme that Richard's frame-up was meant to conceal. As with the other later novels in the series, ''Blue Moon'' blends elements of

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, and

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

fiction.

Explanation of the novel's title

As with previous novels, "Blue Moon" refers to a location within the novel itself. In this case, the "Blue Moon cabins" are a set of rental cabins owned by Verne, the local Ulfric. Within the novel, the term "

blue moon A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: the third of four full moons in a season. The phrase in modern usage has nothing to do with the actual color of the Moon, although a visually blue Moon (the Moon a ...

" is also used to refer to an upcoming full moon, the second in that calendar month, which is a rare occurrence.

Plot summary

''Blue Moon'' takes place in the apparently fictional town of Myerton,

, still recovering from Anita's rejection in ''The Killing Dance'', has been in Myerton for some time, studying a local group of

trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

as part of the requirements for his master's degree, and auditioning the women of the local werewolf tribe as possible lupas. The plot begins when Anita receives a call from Richard's brother

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

. Daniel explains that Richard has been arrested for an alleged rape, and is refusing to hire a lawyer. Anita leaves for Myerton, over the objection of the local Master of the City, with

Asher Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. I ...

Damian Damian ( la, links=no, Damianus) may refer to: *Damian (given name) *Damian (surname) *Damian Subdistrict, in Longquanyi District, Chengdu, Sichuan, China See also *Damiani, an Italian surname *Damiano (disambiguation) *Damien (disambiguation) *Dam ...

, and most of the wereleopards as backup. Once there, Anita must simultaneously attempt to uncover why local police have framed Richard and deal with

Colin Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, the local Master of the City, who views her arrival as an act of war. Ultimately, Anita destroys most of Colin's vampires by activating the

lupanar The Lupanar of Pompeii is the ruins of a brothel in the Ancient Rome, Ancient Roman city of Pompeii. It is of particular interest for the Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum#Brothels, erotic paintings on its walls. ''Lupanar'' is Latin for "bro ...

of the local werewolf clan, rendering it holy ground, and kills Colin herself by shooting Colin's human servant, Nikki. In the course of her various rituals, Anita ends up

having sex Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

with Richard, and they agree that Anita will begin

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

both Richard and Jean-Claude. Anita also learns that Richard had discussed her with Jean-Claude and had obliquely asked Jean-Claude whether he would accept Anita taking Richard as a

lover Lover or lovers may refer to a person having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone outside marriage. In this context see: * Sexual partner * Mistress (lover) * Extramarital sex * Premarital sex Lover or Lovers may also refer to: Geogr ...

. Anita meets Marianne, a Wiccan practitioner who works with Verne's pack. Marianne advises Anita on building the wereleopards into a coherent group. Anita also has a long talk with Damien, and discovers that Jean-Claude gains power from

lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...

and sex. Not only can he feed on the patrons of his strip club Guilty Pleasures, but on sex with Anita, or Anita having sex with Richard. She and Richard discover that the rape charges were an effort by art collector Frank Niley to drive Richard's study project from the area, allowing them to acquire some contested land and complete Niley's search for the

Spear of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

. In desperation, Niley kidnaps and brutalizes Richard's mother and brother, causing Anita to cross another moral line, torturing Niley's messenger and killing everyone responsible.

Characters in ''Blue Moon''

Major characters

''Blue Moon'' features the following major characters: *

: *

Jean-Claude Jean-Claude is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Claude Ades, an Italian electronic music producer * Jean-Claude Alibert (died 2020), a French racing driver * Jean-Claude Amiot (born 1939), a French compos ...

: Jean-Claude only appears near the start of the book, but is still mentioned or talked about throughout. *

: *

Other characters

Recurring characters in ''Blue Moon'' include: *

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...

: *

Zane The name Zane may be a given name or a surname. Its western usage derives from the Venetian form of ''Gianni'' or an alternate spelling of the German and Jewish name ''Zahn''. An Arabic name Zain, Zayn, or as it is often anglicized Zane, is an Arab ...

: *

Cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

: *

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

: *

Jamil Jamil ( ar, جميل) is an Arabic given name. It means "handsome" in Arabic as well as "beautiful". The Latin spelling variants include Gamil (used mainly in Egypt), Cemil (in Turkish), Djemil or Djamel (mainly in North African countries influence ...

: *

Dolph Dolph may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Dolph Briscoe (1923–2010), Governor of Texas from 1973 to 1979 * Dolph Camilli (1907–1997), American Major League Baseball player * Dolph Eckstein (1902–1963), American football player ...

: Non-recurring characters include: *

: the Master of the City, died when Anita killed his human servant Nikki. *

Barnaby Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element ''beorn'' 'young warrior' and the Danish suffix ''by'' meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Bar ...

: *

Nikki Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote * N ...

: Colin's human servant, was killed by Anita after she lured and tried to kill Asher.

Major themes

Allusions/references to other works

* Frank Niley and his entourage appear to be inspired by '' The Maltese Falcon''. Niley's appearance and demeanor closely resemble

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

's portrayal of "Kaspar Gutman" from the 1941 film adaptation of that novel, while Howard's physical description closely resembles that of

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

, who played Gutman's associate, "Joel Cairo" in the film. Similarly, Niley's futile quest for the

resembles Gutman's chase after the eponymous falcon.

Release details

{{Anita Blake 1998 American novels American erotic novels Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels Low fantasy novels Novels set in Memphis, Tennessee Werewolf novels Ace Books books