Kevin J. Anderson: DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE P.I. SERIES

Author:  Kevin J. Anderson   
Series:  DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE P.I.   
Plot Type:  Light UF   
Ratings:  V4; S2; H3-4
Publisher and Titles:  Kensington
          Death Warmed Over (9/2012)
          "Stakeout at the Zombie Circus" (e-novella, 10/2012)
          Unnatural Acts (1/2013)

          Hair Raising (4/2013)

     This post was revised and updated on 2/7/13 to include a review of the second novel in the series, Unnatural Acts. That review appears first, followed by an overview of the world-building and reviews of book 1 and an e-novella:

          BOOK 2:  Unnatural Acts          

     This story lines of this book are set up just as they were in book 1. In the early chapters, a number of colorful unnaturals hire Dan and Robin to handle various legal and investigational business while in the background two larger plot lines simmer on the back burner. Eventually, some of the thinner story lines are resolved, while others melt into the major plot lines and explode into climactic resolution near the end of the book.

     This time, the early cases involve a necromancer who is oppressing a large group of golems in his workplace, an arson investigation at the Shakespearean Theater in Greenlawn Cemetery, a ghostly bank robber who wants to maintain his image, hate-crime vandalism at the Full Moon brothel, the retrieval of a zombie's heart and soul, and two civil rights cases involving property ownership by unnaturals. The first of the larger plot lines centers on the Smile Syndicate, an evil corporation that is buying up businesses and land in the unnatural Quarter and turning it into kitschy tourist attractions. The second major plot line that runs throughout the story is the threat of Senator Rupert Balfour's Unnatural Acts Act, which would restrict nearly every aspect of existence for the unnatural population and take away most of their already scarce civil rights. The villains represent the two major themes of this book: the damage that giant corporations do to independent businesses and to the people who depend on them and the infringement on individual rights that comes when a group with power uses that power to persecute a minority group.

     The kindly Mrs. Saldana turns up once again in her role as head of the Hope & Salvation Mission in the Unnatural Quarter. Dan and Robin provide legal assistance to Mrs. Saldana as she finds a benefactor in the philanthropist, Irwyn Goodfellow, and needs help in setting up a foundation and organizing the MLDW (Monster Legal Defense Workers). 

     We follow Dan as he works the cases. (Remember Dan's motto, "The cases don't solve themselves.") As always, he is aided by his BHF (Best Human Friend), Officer Toby McGoohan; his partner, Robin Deyer; and his ghostly girlfriend, Sheyenne. Sheyenne has her own troubles to deal with when her long-estranged, con-man brother, Travis, turns up and causes major trouble for everyone.

     Each case involves colorful, quirky characters—both human and unnatural. Even the witchy Wannovich sisters, Alma and Mavis, play a part in the controlled chaos that is Dan's life. They plan to write a series of pulp-fiction books based on Dan's cases, and they want him to help—not to mention that Alma still has a major crush on Dan—too bad that she's still stuck in pig form (due to a spell gone wrong in book 1). 

     This continues to be an entertaining series, with lots of oddball characters, weird cases, and malicious villains. It's paranormal noir fiction lite.

          WORLD-BUILDING          

     In this alternate New Orleans, life has changed drastically since the Big Uneasy occurred ten years ago. Here's what happened: "The original copy of the Necronomicon had inadvertently been left out under the light of a full moon, and a virgin woman...had cut her finger...and spilled blood on the pages—which activated some buried spell and caused a fundamental shift in the natural order of things, unleashing ghosts and goblins, vampires and werewolves, zombies, ghouls, and all manner of monsters. Even the previously existing ones had come out of the closet. The Big Uneasy...the world had been dealing with the repercussions ever since." (Death Warmed Over, p. 153)

     Instead of the French Quarter, natural (human) tourists in New Orleans stream into the Unnatural Quarter to get a look at the bizarre community of supernatural beings who live there. In this world, one in 75 dead people returns as a zombie, while one in 30 returns as a ghost. For unknown reasons, murder and suicide victims are more likely to return than those who die of natural or accidental causes.

     After the Big Uneasy, new laws and regulations had to be put in place to handle a multitude of exigencies. For example,"New rules required quick-release latches on the insides of tombs..., so the undead can conveniently get back out. Some people were even buried with their cell phones, though I doubted they'd get good service from inside. Can you hear me now?" (Death Warmed Over, p. 5) New products were developed specifically for unnatural customers, including seasonings that make chicken "taste just like  human," cosmetics to brighten up zombie-gray or vampire-pale skin, and deodorants to mask zombie-rot body odors.  

     The series hero, Dan Chambeaux, has been a human private investigator in New Orleans for a long time, but now he's a newbie zombie, having been shot in the head in a dark alley just a month ago. As the series opens, his own murder is at the top of his case list, closely followed by that of his girlfriend, Sheyenne, who returned from her death (by toadstool poisoning) as a ghost—specifically, a poltergeist. Poltergeists can touch physical objects, but not people, so Sheyenne can hold down her job as Dan's assistant, but she can't touch Dan, which has put a serious damper on their love life. Dan laments that "Sheyenne is beautiful, blond, and intangible." ("Stakeout at the Zombie Circus") 

     Dan has always been self confidant in a naively arrogant sort of way, and death and zombification haven't changed that aspect of his personality: "Even undead, I remain as handsome as ever, with the exception of the [two] holes left by the bullet....Fortunately, a low-slouched fedora covers the big hole." (Death Warmed Over, p. 3) Dan has never acquired a taste for brains, and he's very careful about his personal hygiene, which can be a major problem for most zombies. Since Dan became a zombie, people have begun calling him "Shamble" instead of "Chambeaux." In fact, his business—Chambeaux & Deyer Investigations—has been nicknamed "Shamble & Die." Dan's partner is Robin Deyer, a young, soft-hearted, human attorney who is determined to provide justice to all unnaturals. Both of the partners are workaholics, with Dan's long-time mantra being "The cases don't solve themselves." 

     Dan's BHF (Best Human Friend) is Officer Toby McGoohan, the beat cop for the Unnatural Quarter. McGoohan's defining characteristic is his constant telling of really bad, non-PC jokes about unnaturals. For example, "What goes 'Ha-ha-ha...plop?'...A shambler laughing his head off." (p. 30)

          BOOK 1:  Death Warmed Over          

     The series opener is put together like an overlapping set of sit-com episodes as Dan moves from one oddball case to the next. In this book, his clients include a skittish vampire interior decorator who is being harassed by local humans-first activists who call themselves Straight Edge; a middle-aged werewolf "cougar" whose wealthy husband is trying to get their pre-nup invalidated because of her newly furry state; a pair of witch siblings who are suing a book publisher because a typo in a spell book resulted in one sister's turning into a pig; a kindly humanitarian whose street mission has been badly vandalized by a mysterious unnatural monster; a mischievous ghost who is harassing his niece's family; and an Egyptian mummy who wants emancipation from his "servitude" to the local art museum, which claims to own him. Then, there's Dan's ongoing feud with the owner and the chief scientist/sales rep for Jekyll Lifestyle Products and Necroceuticals, who still hold a grudge against Dan for infiltrating their manufacturing facility a year or so ago and proving that they were putting garlic in vampire hair products, which resulted in an expensive court case and a huge fine. And don't forget that Dan's still trying to find his and Sheyenne's murderers. Each dispute is solved—one way or another—but only one (which has connections to a few of the others) turns into the main story line. All of these cases (which "don't solve themselves") mean that Dan moves from one case-specific scene to another in quick succession. That makes the story line humorously cluttered, but not really complicated.

     Anderson concocts a humorous description and back-story for each quirky character. For example, Sheldon Fennerman, the vampire decorator, "looked like the illegitimate love child of a bunny and a hamster, but without the fur."  (p. 19) Sheldon was a vegan before his transformation, and now drinks only soy blood. He's also quite fond of best-seller book clubs, bridge, cribbage, French-themed potlucks, and fondue. Sheldon's idea of interior decoration is burnt-orange shag carpet, Mediterranean-style furniture, and that kitten poster from the 1970s. 

     Although the plot has a few rough spots and at least one continuity issue (regarding the time line involving the beginning of Robin and Dan's partnership and their solving of the vampire-garlic case), this is an entertaining book that shambles along with lots of noir humor, a profusion of eccentric characters, and just enough violence to make it suspenseful. This is light-hearted urban fantasy at its best.  

     I listened to several chapters of the audiobook, and Phil Gigante does a great job with the various voices. He's got them all down perfectly, especially Dan's New Orleans drawl, Sheyenne's sexy purr, and Sheldon's petulant whine

          E-Novella 1:  Stakeout at the Vampire Circus          

     In this brief novella, Dan and Sheyenne visit a traveling circus for professional reasons (another one of those cases that don't solve themselves). The transvestite fortune teller has hired Dan to find out who has stolen two packs of fortune-telling cards. Dan soon discovers that the circus has been hit by a series of petty thefts, and the ringmaster/owner hires Dan to solve the whole mess.  

     This is a throw-away story that doesn't hold a candle to the characterization and drama of the first novel in the series, but I guess that if you'd like to get a taste of Dan Shamble's world you could get it from reading this little tale. Part of the problem is the brevity, because there's no room for the wealth of weird details, odd back-stories, and suspenseful danger in the short novella format. That leaves the reader with the bare bones of a fairly silly plot in which the identity of the light-weight villains is telegraphed early on and the "climax" is more of a sigh.