Major characters
The Lunatic Cafe features the following major characters.
- Anita Blake: In this novel, Anita takes on a job that involves primarily protecting supernatural beings from humans. She also agrees, at least tentatively, to date Jean-Claude, further marking her acceptance of the supernatural. At the same time, even though she becomes engaged to Richard, severe cracks begin to appear in their relationship.
- Jean-Claude: Jean-Claude continues to show his ruthless and manipulative nature in this novel, as he punishes his underlings quite severely and forces Anita to date him based on a threat to Richard's life. In this novel, even though he functions primarily as an obstacle to Anita's relationship with Richard, Anita is forced to admit that she is attracted to him.
- Richard Zeeman: This novel begins to introduce the problems that have plagued Richard and Anita thereafter—Anita's discomfort with Richard's lycanthropy, Richard's discomfort with her ruthlessness, Richard's insecurity about his own nature, and their mutual competition for dominance in their relationship and in the pack.
Other characters
- The Lunatic Cafe featured reappearances from Anita's coworkers, Bert, and Ronnie, police officers Dolph, Zerbrowski, and Clive Perry and recurring characters Irving Griswold, Robert, Stephen, and Lillian.
- The novel introduced recurring characters Gretchen, Jason Schuyler, Marcus Fletcher, Raina Wallis, Gabriel, Elizabeth and Christine.
- Non-recurring characters include: Chief Garroway, a non-dominant werewolf named "Polly" who Anita intimidates, and various supporting characters.
- The death toll in The Lunatic Cafe includes: an unnamed hunter killed by his lycanthrope prey in a hunt gone wrong; Peggy Smitz, killed by her husband George, seven unnamed shapeshifters, killed either by the shapeshifting witches or by hunters; an unnamed woman killed by Alfred in a snuff film; Alfred, shot by Anita; Sam Williams, and two of Garroway's deputies (Holmes and Lind) presumably killed by Aikensen as part of the hunting coverup; Sheriff Titus and two hunters (Carmichael and an unnamed hunter) killed by Edward during the final confrontation; Deputy Aikensen and one hunter (Feinstein), killed by Anita during the final confrontation; and Kaspar, killed by Edward after the main events of the novel.
