Guilty Pleasures
Publication date 1993
Author	Laurell K. Hamilton
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
Genre(s)	Horror, Mystery, Erotic novel
Publisher	Ace Books (Ace edition)
Publication date	1993 (Ace edition)
Media type	Print
Pages	266 p. (Ace edition)
ISBN	0-441-30483-4
Followed by	The Laughing Corpse

Guilty Pleasures is a horror/mystery/erotica novel by Laurell K. Hamilton, and is the first novel in the Anita Blake series. It introduces the character of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (and Animator) as well as her world. An alternate history where magic, vampires, shapeshifters and many other supernatural elements are known to exist. Anita Blake, a zombie animator (who works for Animators, Inc.) and licensed vampire executioner, is forced to investigate a series of vampire murders, and in the process comes into contact with many of the supernatural characters of her home city of Saint Louis. The novel blends elements of supernatural and hard boiled detective fiction.

Plot Edit

Anita Blake lives in St. Louis, Missouri, in a world where magic, vampires, shapeshifters, and the like are "out of the closet" and, in some cases, even legal. Anita is an "animator," with the ability to raise or inter zombies. Anita also works as a "vampire executioner", killing vampires (by court order) and advising the police on supernatural crimes. This first book takes place in July when Anita is 24.

In Guilty Pleasures, Anita is blackmailed by Nikolaos, the vampire master of the city, into investigating a series of vampire murders. During the course of this investigation, Anita begins her relationship with Jean-Claude, another master vampire, and receives two of the four marks necessary to make her Jean-Claude's "human servant". Ultimately, Anita identifies the murderer, but by that point has sufficiently antagonized Nikolaos and her underlings that she is forced to confront them. Ultimately, with help from Jean-Claude and Edward, a human associate who specializes in assassinating supernatural targets, Anita kills Nikolaos and many of her followers, making Jean-Claude master of the city.

Characters Edit

Guilty Pleasures introduces the following characters.

Major Characters Edit

• Anita Blake: Anita is a hardboiled detective — contrary, sarcastic, and has a protective streak — with the ability to raise the dead. While she is a respected vampire hunter, Anita still has a healthy fear of their superior strength, speed, and metaphysical abilities. She strongly believes that vampires are irredeemable monsters, which will change as the series progresses.
• Nikolaos: The primary villain of the novel, Nikolaos is a very old, very powerful, and very threatening vampire.
• Jean-Claude: The novel also introduces Jean-Claude, and offers hints of some of his defining qualities, particularly his manipulative and strategic personality, his seductive charm, and his attraction to Anita.
• Edward: A human bounty hunter.

Other Recurring Characters Edit

• Guilty Pleasures introduced a number of recurring characters, including Anita's civilian boss, Bert, best friend Ronnie, coworkers Jamison, police officers Dolph and Zerbrowski, and recurring characters Malcolm, Willie McCoy, Dead Dave, and Luther.

Non Recurring Characters Edit

• Burchard: Nikolaos's human servant, Burchard was centuries old. He was bald, skilled with weapons, and carried himself like a soldier. Anita killed Burchard in Guilty Pleasures.

• Phillip: A former pomme de sang to Jean-Claude. Phillip was a "vampire junkie" and a stripper at Guilty Pleasures, and was the first in a long line of beautiful but wounded strippers who have looked to Anita for healing and protection. He was killed by Valentine and Aubrey, raised as a zombie, and then re-interred by Anita, all in Guilty Pleasures.

• Winter: Built like a circus strongman, Winter was a human employee of Nikolaos. He nearly killed Anita, but Anita killed him in Guilty Pleasures.