English
Guilty Pleasures introduces the character of Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and her world, an alternate history where magic, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural elements exist. Blake, a zombie animator and licensed vampire executioner, investigates 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 hardboiled detective fiction.
"Guilty Pleasures" is the name of a vampire strip club operated by vampire Jean-Claude, one of the main characters. Hamilton has continued the pattern of titling the novels after a location for most of the books in the series.
Anita Blake lives in St. Louis, Missouri, in a world where magic, vampires, werewolves, and the like are, and have always been, "out of the closet" and, in some cases, even legal. Anita is an "animator," with the ability to raise or inter zombies. She uses this ability in employ at "Animators, Incorporated," where she raises the dead for various purposes including murder investigations, will explanations, and other legal services. 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.
Italiano
Anita Blake, nota risvegliante di morti e cacciatrice di vampiri, si trova alle prese con Nikolaos, la Master della Città di St. Louis, che la ingaggia per indagare sulle morti sospette di alcuni vampiri. La cacciatrice si ritrova costretta ad accettare, per salvare la vita della sua amica Catherine che Aubrey, uno dei vampiri di Nikolaos, ha ipnotizzato. Nella cella, dove è tenuta prigioniera, Anita fronteggia dei ratti mannari guidati da Rafael; e durante la fuga incontra il vampiro Valentine, che credeva di aver ucciso, e che è in cerca di vendetta per le cicatrici che Anita gli ha lasciato sul volto utilizzando dell'acquasanta. Come se non bastasse, si ritrova a dover salvare la vita di Jean-Claude, un master vampiro innamorato di lei ma alle dipendenze di Nikolaos. A tutti questi si aggiunge il misterioso risvegliante Zachary al servizio di Nikolaos, Edward una vecchia conoscenza in bilico tra bene e male e Phillip, lo stripper, un umano irresistibilmente attratto dai vampiri.