WORKING STIFF: THE CASE FILES OF DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE PI by Kevin J. Anderson is a fun collection of seven short stories -- "Stakeout at the Vampire Circus", "Road Kill", "Naughty & Nice", "Locked Room", "The Writing on the Wall", "Role Model", and "Beware of Dog". These stories make a nice introduction for any readers new to the series. New readers won't get bogged down by strange terminology because the author defines key terms and characters in each of the stories. These zombie detective tales by Kevin J. Anderson make me laugh and never fail to entertain. The stories collected in WORKING STIFF: THE CASE FILES OF DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE PI are very typical of the series -- humorous, full of quirky characters, and a delight to read.

One thing I love about WORKING STIFF: THE CASE FILES OF DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE PI is that the stories all highlight the relationships Dan has with his BHF (best human friend) McGoo and his ghostly girlfriend Sheyenne. These relationships ground the series for me. No matter what supernatural wackiness Dan encounters on one of his cases, he always has his friends to help him out if he needs it. The moments he has with Sheyenne like those in "Naughty & Nice" & "Locked Room" are particularly sweet without distracting from the main story.

I love the sheer zaniness of "The Writing on the Wall" and "Role Model", but my favorite story in this anthology is probably "Naughty & Nice". "Naughty & Nice" has so many of the elements I love about a Dan Shamble story and it also feels like the most fully developed. This story also exemplifies what each story in this series tries to stress -- how much like everyday people "unnaturals", are and that there are more things that connect people than separate them. It's this grander idea that elevates the story from the usual, though highly enjoyable, silliness.

WORKING STIFF: THE CASE FILES OF DAN SHAMBLE, ZOMBIE PI is brain candy of the highest quality and loads of fun. I always enjoy visiting the fascinating new characters and old favorites that populate the unique world of the Dan Shamble mysteries by Kevin J. Anderson. I eagerly await the next installment in this series.

Book Summary

Back from the dead...and back on the case! Even being murdered doesn't keep a good detective down, and in the Unnatural Quarter-inhabited by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, mummies, and all sorts of creatures that go bump (or thud!) in the night-a zombie P.I. fits right in. Dan Chambeaux, a.k.a. "Shamble," solves a string of madcap cases with his ghost girlfriend Sheyenne, his Best Human Friend Officer Toby McGoohan, and his firebrand lawyer partner Robin Deyer. Working Stiff contains seven cases from the files of Chambeaux & Deyer Investigations. Dan Shamble has to solve the mystery of a stolen deck of fortune-telling cards and the undeath-defying feats of a vampire trapeze artist, finds himself sealed in a coffin in the back of a truck with no idea where he's being taken, and is even hired by Santa Claus to find his lost "naughty and nice" list. Being trapped in an unbreakable monster-proof crypt, deciphering a string of mysterious zombie graffiti, investigating the murder of a costumed fan at a science fiction convention where the monsters are the normal attendees, or tracking down a kidnapped hellhound for legendary vigilante werewolf cop Hairy Harry-it's all in a day's work for Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.

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