Tag Archives: kimberly alexis

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton (unabridged audiobook read by Kimberly Alexis; 10 hrs on 8 discs): In this second installment of the adventures of Anita Blake, she spends much of her time not wanting to know things. To be fair, there’s a child-killing zombie on the loose, she’s gotten on the bad side of a powerful voodoo priestess, and the master vampire of the city insists that she be his human servant. So there’s a lot on her plate. Luckily, she’s always ready with a clever comment or snide remark. The ending introduces some darker themes, leading me to believe perhaps the series takes a turn for the serious after this, but this particular story was still a lot of fun. Brutally violent at times, but still a fun bit of horror-comedy.

A note on the audio: My husband happened to listen to an hour or two of this and was mightily entertained. He said that Alexis’s voice made it sound like a film noir, and he often laughed aloud at some of the offhand comments Anita makes. I think he felt bad until I assured him that it’s supposed to be funny.

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton (unabridged audiobook read by Kimberly Alexis; 10 hours on 8 discs): This book certainly lives up to its name. Anita Blake is an animator, someone who raises folks from the dead for money (most of the time to settle posthumous court cases and inheritance disputes). As a sideline, she also assists the police with destroying vampires who murder humans. This time, however, she has been hired to figure out who is murdering vampires. I figured out who it was as soon as the killer was introduced, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. Anita is sarcastic and amusing, kick-ass but still very human. The idea of a legally recognized vampire subculture is intriguing. I don’t see myself reading the rest of the series, but this was a fun little distraction.

A note on the audio: Alexis had a good voice and cadence as Anita. I was a little puzzled by her choice of voices at times (why, for example, did Ronnie sound like she was from North Dakota?), but all in all I enjoyed her narration.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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