Search - The Laughing Corpse (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Bk 2)

This is the second Anita Blake story, my first. A fun story, very readable, a combination of vampire fantasy and detective mystery fiction that at first seems weak but will grow on you as the story progresses. It helps that Hamilton's Anita is likeable by herself.

Wikipedia has a large summary of the series. One entry begins, "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter is a series of dark fantasy novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, narrated in first person, hard-boiled detective style by the title character, Anita Blake. Anita lives in a fictional Saint Louis much like our own, save that, not only are things like vampires and shapeshifters real, but everyone knows that they're real and they are considered citizens of America, much like normal humans. The novels follow Anita's ongoing conflicts with the supernatural as she attempts to solve a variety of supernatural mysteries, come to grips with her own abilities, and navigate an increasingly complex series of romantic and political relationships." Check it out.

The series so far:

1. Guilty Pleasures (1993) ISBN 0-515-13449-X
2. The Laughing Corpse (1994) ISBN 0-425-19200-8
3. Circus of the Damned (1995) ISBN 0-515-13448-1
4. The Lunatic Cafe (1996) ISBN 0-425-20137-6
5. Bloody Bones (1996) ISBN 0-425-20567-3
6. The Killing Dance (1997) ISBN 0-425-20906-7
7. Burnt Offerings (1998) ISBN 0-515-13447-3
8. Blue Moon (1998) ISBN 0-515-13445-7
9. Obsidian Butterfly (2000) ISBN 0-515-13450-3
10. Narcissus in Chains (2001) ISBN 5-558-61270-3
11. Cerulean Sins (2003) ISBN 0-515-13681-6
12. Incubus Dreams (2004) ISBN 0-515-13449-X
13. Micah (February, 2006) ISBN 0-425-20797-8
14. Danse Macabre (June, 2006) ISBN 0-515-14087-2
15. The Harlequin (2007)

This is of course, as you know, the second installment of the "Many adventures of Anita blake" :-)

Like before, Anita finds herself caught up in a little more trouble. Shoot me now, but I beleive this is only the begining of her problems since this is only book 2 of 17.

In this book Anita gets envolved with none other than...zombies, well what she beleives may be a zombie, but only reading the story will tell you exactly what is killing innocent families! A sick (not the cough-cough sort of way) crippled millionaire and a Voodoo Priest are also included.

As always its action packed with Anita always finding trouble. A little more detective work than I care for but still a great read. Vampires dont really play that big of a role in this one but of course Jean-Claude will always show his face.

I did read a review on here saying sex, sex, and more sex... which seems to be false. There are no sex scenes in this book, a little talk of it but not a big part of the story by any means.

Overall a good read.

This is the second installment in the Anita Blake series. It started fast and furious and it just stayed there. The book was action packed with zombies and the undead. You learned more about Anita, what she was willing and not willing to do with her talent as an animator. You also got a chance to read more about her interaction with Jean-Claude. I only wish that there was more of the mysterious Jean-Claude. Can't wait to read the next one.

Totally love the Anita Blake series. Slowly collecting all the books!

As I reread this series I am aware of just how much it has changed and mutated into something completely different from the original books. The Laughing Corpse is book #2 and focuses almost completely on Anita's zombie raising duties and her job helping the police on Spook Squad. This book is horribly gory and disturbing. I originally read it back before I had children and am relieved that I didn't attempt to read it when they were toddlers. That's all I'm sayin'.

In this book, Anita is called in to help with a murder investigation. A family has been attacked and it appears it is the work of some sort of up hyped up super zombie. While investigating the case Anita is being pressured to raise a long dead zombie for a million or so bucks. She refuses because she'd have to sacrifice a human in order to do so. This Anita has morals and she's sticking to them.

There is a lot of action here but way too much description when it comes to Anita's guns (snore) and attire. Seriously, are there readers out there who really care what color the "swishies" are on her many pairs of Nike's?

Jean-Claude makes a few appearances and attempts to seduce her with his other-worldly eyes and puffy shirts but this Anita still kills vamps and doesn't date them. Many characters are introduced here that I don't remember. Anita has quite a few girlfriends, sidekicks and co-workers who disappear in the later books.

Despite my complaining I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It's very morbid but has the dark-edged wit that the later books are lacking.

I like this book. It's the first time I picked up anything by the author and was was pleasantly suprised! Once it got past the wedding part in the beginning, I felt like a man was able to read and appreciate this book. Very graphic and gruesome. Anita Blake is a rough woman and gets the job done.

I learned more about vampires and zombies that I had ever known before. It would have been great to read book 1 in the series first, btu I will get back around to it!