The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton
Paperback, 320 Pages
2005, Berkley Trade
ISBN: 0425204669
Series: Book 2 of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
Synopsis
Harold Gaynor offers Anita Blake a million dollars to raise a 300-year-old zombie. Knowing it means a human sacrifice will be necessary, Anita turns him down. But when dead bodies start turning up, she realizes that someone else has raised Harold's zombie--and that the zombie is a killer. Anita pits her power against the zombie and the voodoo priestess who controls it. Notice to Hollywood: forget Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Anita Blake is the real thing.
Review
The Laughing Corpse is a zombie novel. Zombies, zombies, everywhere. And although other Anita Blake novels feature zombies - she is an animator after all - The Laughing Corpse shows the more feral side of zombies that we don't see elsewhere in the series. The gore factor in The Laughing Corpse is mighty high.
Anita continues to buck against Jean-Claude's advances, but starts realizing that their acquaintance isn't without its benefits. He seems to want her to remain unharmed, and in Anita's line of business, any protection is good protection.
I should mention that the gore isn't just gruesome in its description, it's traumatic in its origins. If you aren't going to be able to read about bloody baby body parts, The Laughing Corpse may not be for you. That being said, the disgusting and horrifying murder scenes are both graphic and realistic. You'll feel the bile rising right along with Anita.
The voodoo storyline is interesting without becoming a discourse on the religion itself. Nothing too in depth here, just a look at another zombie raising mythology. The mystery ties to the voodoo aspects of the story. The real surprise here isn't the whodunit, but the how and why things played out like they did.
The Laughing Corpse continues the Anita Blake series with great mystery and sickening gore. The tone is dark and the dialogue is snappy, laced with sarcasm. The Laughing Corpse is intense and perfect.
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