Unnatural Acts

Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. #2

by Kevin J. Anderson

To Be Dead Or Not To Be Dead

In the Unnatural Quarter, golems slave away in sweatshops, necromancers sell black-market trinkets to tourists, and the dead rise up--to work the night shift. But zombie detective Dan Shamble is no ordinary working stiff. When a local senator and his goons picket a ghostly production of Shakespeare in the Dark--condemning the troupe's "unnatural" lifestyles--Dan smells something rotten. And if something smells rotten to a zombie, you're in serious trouble. . .

Before his way of life, er, death, is destroyed, Dan wants answers. Along the way he needs to provide security for a mummified madame, defend a mixed-race couple (he's a vampire, she's a werewolf) from housing discrimination, and save his favorite watering hole, the Goblin Tavern, from drying up. Throw in a hairy hitman, a necro-maniac, and a bank robber who walks through walls, and Dan Shamble's plate is full. Maybe this time, the zombie detective has bitten off more than he can chew. . .

Genres: Mystery, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Zombies, Humor, Fiction, Horror

337 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Yes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.

I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.

I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this comical mystery series is that a freak event called the 'Big Uneasy' resulted in a spate of ghosts, zombies, ghouls, vampires, golems, werewolves, goblins, etc. joining Earth's population. Most of these 'unnaturals' live in a neighborhood called the Unnatural Quarter, but they interact with humans on a day to day basis as shop owners, pawnbrokers, laborers, hookers, and so on.



Dan Chambeaux, usually referred to as Dan Shamble, is a private sleuth that was killed by a bullet to the head. Dan promptly returned as a zombie, and continued running his detective agency with his ghost girlfriend Sheyenne and his human partner Robin Dyer - a skilled attorney.



In this second book in the series, Dan and his colleagues assist a variety of creatures in the unnatural community; help solve a murder; and fight a bigoted right-wing Senator's proposed legislation.....which slashes the rights of unnaturals. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Located in the Unnatural Quarter, the 'Dan Shamble Detective Agency' usually draws cases from the supernatural population. In this book the agency's clients include:

- Bill the golem, who - along with his golem friends - is being compelled to work 24/7 in a factory that makes cheap souvenirs.



- Neffi, a mummy madam who runs the Full Moon Brothel. Neffi's establishment - which employs vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. - is being sabotaged by intolerant humans.



- A mixed-race couple (vampire and werewolf) who face housing discrimination when they try to move out of the Unnatural Quarter.



- Alphonse Wheeler, a bank robber who died in prison and returned as a ghost. Alphonse wants advice about keeping the loot from his big heist.



- William Shakespeare, whose 'Shakespeare in the Dark' theatre - which features ghost actors - was damaged in a deliberate fire.



- Francine - a kindly human bartender who'll lose her job when 'The Goblin Tavern' is gentrified by its new corporate owners. Francine is a favorite of the unnaturals.



- Hope Saldana, whose zombie employee, Jerry, sold his heart and soul to a pawnshop. Now merely a shell of his former self, Jerry needs his vital parts back. When Dan attempts to retrieve these items he discovers a murder..... and sets out to find the killer.



Meanwhile, Sheyenne's good-for-nothing thief of a brother shows up, apologizing for missing her funeral and trying to cadge money from her. Sheyenne gives him the benefit of the doubt, but Dan has his suspicions.



On top of all that, loudmouth Senator Rupert Balfour is organizing demonstrations to support his anti-unnaturals legislation, which would strip the supernaturals of almost all their rights. Attorney Robin Dyer is on the job though, filing motion after motion against him.



There's some romantic angst in the story since Dan can't touch ghostly Sheyenne, and spends a little too much time helping a beleaguered succubus. There are also fun descriptions of Dan's 'grooming regimen', which requires make-up artists to hide his bullet hole, plasma to hydrate him, and tailors and seamstresses to sew him together and keep him presentable.



I enjoyed this humorous light mystery and would recommend it to fans of paranormal suspense.



You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unnatural Acts
By Kevin J. Anderson
This is book #2 in the zombie P.I. series where Dan, the zombie PI, has a ghost girlfriend and a vampire lawyer that work in his office. This world is different now. Odds are you could wake up after death and be unnatural. Of course you may not be welcomed so you might need a lawyer. Trouble brewing, need a PI? Dan is your man! I have read a few before but plan to read a few more I didn't get the chance to earlier. I love the characters and whole concept. Fun read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Dan Shamble story, which I listened to thanks to my local library. The narrator employed a very convincing Southern accent which shouldn't have surprised me since they're in New Orleans, but which did take me a bit to get comfortable with. It's a very cleverly written story, with lots of slick bits and sly one-liners that made me chuckle quite a few times. Anderson's world is quite similar to many of the urban/supernatural works of Simon Green, Tim Waggoner, and Mike Resnick (and zillions of others), but the humor is fresh and the characters delightful.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 1 out of 5]

A big disappointment. I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, Death Warmed Over, but this second volume fell distressingly flat. The plot seemed scatter-shot; the villains, twists, and revelations were all immediately obvious; and the author's approach to social commentary was heavy-handed and unnecessarily dominated the majority of the narrative. For 90% of the book I felt more like I was reading a thinly-veiled political tract than a detective novel. Tiresome. I kept getting the distinct impression that he's one of those political ideologues (in this case a Liberal) who isolates himself entirely from people with different views, and then perceives the entirety of the opposition as cartoonish strawmen who justify his a priori conclusions. This sort of political propaganda ruins the stories which are stretched loosely over its frame, and actually makes me feel antipathy towards the cause the author seeks to champion.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unnatural Acts
by Kevin J. Anderson
read by Phil Gigante

This is book 2 of Kevin J. Anderson's Zombie P.I. series. If you listened to the first book, you pretty much know what to expect from the second book. If you haven't read the first book, this book is a hard-boiled detective novel with a silly, monster slant on it. The problems being investigated are unique to the "unnaturals" and tend to have some amount of humor involved in a Terry Pratchett/Douglas Adams kind of way. You can easily start with this book but if you care about spoilers, I would definitely recommend starting with the first book since the conclusion of that book is apparent in book 2.

If you like awkward or silly situations dealing with the paranormal, this is your book. If you like groan-worthy puns dealing with the paranormal and sex, this is definitely your book (I'm not kidding when I say I inadvertently groaned at some of them). If those kinds of things can get on your nerves, this may not be your kind of book. That said, the book keeps up a good pace and wraps up to a good conclusion at the end. There are quite a few threads in this book but they weren't too difficult to follow (Reading the first book helped in knowing a decent number of the characters already). Most of the main characters are likable caricatures of what you'd expect in a typical hard-boiled detective story so they're easy to relate to and understand.

The book has some themes related to current events within the past couple of years. Issues with the definition of marriage and picketing of events are portrayed in monster fashion here. If you're tired of hearing about that stuff in the news, this may not be for you although Anderson puts a lighthearted spin on those issues.

All in all, I have to admit I liked this book better than the first one. It wasn't as predictable and I think I've had some time to get over the fact that the main character was made a zombie by being shot in the head (I thought you shot people in the head to prevent them becoming a zombie?).

As for the audiobook performance, Phil Gigante did a fantastic job. He has several different types of voices (main character, nervous guy, werewolf, sultry female, etc) that are completely unique. I particularly like his werewolf voice! He was easy to understand and added a bit of a performance to the book. I would definitely listen to books read by him again.

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unnatural Acts (Dan Shamble, Zombie PI #2) by Kevin J. Anderson is a delightful follow up to Death Warmed Over. It's just so much fun. I can't resist noir meets urban fantasy with a healthy dash of humor and this really checked all the right boxes for me. If you're a fan of the Black Box Inc. series by Jake Bible, I have a feeling you'll enjoy this too. I can't wait to see what's next for Chambeaux and Deyer in Hair Raising!

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it a bit more than I liked the first one. It wasn't quite as jerky, although it wasn't particularly smooth either. It just doesn't have the wickedly funny humor that the publishers are trying so hard to convince me that it does, there's nothing about it that makes me laugh. It's vaguely stylish but still not what I expect from Anderson.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another adorable adventure. I got into this one a lot faster, since I know the players. They are cute, silly, funny, corny and clever. Jumping into the next one!

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy these bad monster pun noir style detective tales with Zombie Dan Shamble. They are a quick fun read. This one is a series of shorts that run interference over the main story, and some seem to link together. This one is not as strong as the earlier novels.

[Mikey Correia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series and looking forward to reading all of them!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today’s post is on Unnatural Acts by Kevin J. Anderson. It is the second in his Dan Shamble series and 325 pages long including a sample of the third book. The plot is told from the first person point of view of the main character Dan Shamble. The cover has Dan and Sheyenne together with a Shakespeare play going on in the background. The intended reader is someone likes funny novels making fun of fantasy and urban fantasy tropes. If you liked the first novel you will like this one too. There is no sex, mild language, and the violence is pretty funny. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- To Be Dead Or Not To Be Dead. In the Unnatural Quarter, golems slave away in sweatshops, necromancers sell black-market trinkets to tourists, and the dead rise up- to work the night shift. But zombie detective Dan Shamble is no ordinary working stiff. When a local senator and his goons picket a ghostly production of Shakespeare in the Dark- condemning the troupe’s “unnatural” lifestyles- Dan smell something rotten. And is something smells rotten to a zombie, you’re in serious trouble…
Before his way of life, er, death, is destroyed, Dan wants answers. Along the way he needs to provide security for a mummified Madame, defend a mixed- race couple (he’s a vampire, she’s a werewolf) from housing discrimination, and save his favorite watering hole, the Goblin Tavern, from drying up. Throw in a hairy hitman, a necro-maniac, and a bank robber who walks through walls, and Dan Shamble’s plate is full. Maybe this time, the zombie detective has bitten off more than can chew…

Review- I had so much fun reading this book. It is funny, clever, and has good characters. I was reading five chapters of this book as a reward to myself as I read one of my nonfiction books about a pretty horrifying topic so I needed all the laughs that I could get. This novel picks up pretty soon after the end of the first one so you do not have to do much catch up and can just jump right into the story. The clients are just as wacky, the case themselves just as weird, and Dan just as funny as the first novel. One of the funny gags in this novel is that the witches from the first are now ghostwriting, with the help of a vampire, the adventures of Dan Shamble zombie P.I. and I hope to read some of that in the next book. If you are looking for a laugh or urban fantasy series that does not take itself or anything too seriously then try this one. I personally love it.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I bought this book with my own money.

[Linda (The Arizona Bookstagrammer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Unnatural Acts(Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. #2) by Kevin J. Anderson. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Humorous Zombie Detective series. Location: The Unnatural Quarter of a fictional big city in the USA. Time: approximately 2013.-
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I know, I know- You don’t want to read about scary zombies who want to eat your brains. No prob. Dan Is a well-preserved, honest, and intelligent P.I. zombie. And he doesn’t eat brains. The book is full of loyal friendships, loving relationships, and more “monster” types than you can imagine. It’s basically a cozy mystery full of “unnaturals”.-
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When The Big Uneasy changed earth, legendary creatures and unnaturals returned to the known world. Human Dan Chambeaux was a private investigator. He was happy to take cases from unnatural creatures- their cases were much more interesting than his usual divorce cases. Then he was shot in the head while investigating the poisoning death of his girlfriend. He’s now a zombie private investigator, known affectionately as Dan Shamble, and his poisoned girlfriend Sheyenne is a ghost and receptionist for his firm.-
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Metaphors and analogies abound as Dan takes on cases where ultra-conservative politicians, banks, and big businesses discriminate against unnaturals. There is the mixed-race couple (vampire and werewolf) who can’t get a loan, golems toiling in sweatshops, and a persecuted mummy Madame (and I don’t mean mummy as in your mommy). Read into them what you want. I take it as the author’s stand against discrimination.-
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It’s an easy, humorous, pun-filled read. I think Dan Shamble might be my new fictional crush so it’s 4 shambling stars from me. 🌵📚👩🏼‍🦳”

[Theresa Derwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically written, funny, warm, emotional - this noir zombie PI book is all kinds of awesome.
Dan Shamble is technically dead, but since he rose as a zombie during the ‘Big Uneasy’ along with other folk, he doesn’t let a little hiccup like death stop him from doing what’s right, and protecting the unnatural citizens of his town.
From a mixed ‘race’ marriage between a werewolf and a vampire, to a pawned and missing heart and soul combo, Dan investigates it all with his lawyer associate Robin, his ghost girlfriend Shelly and his ex cop partner McGoo.
This uses the analogy of bias and prejudice against supernatural creatures to examine deeper problems in the heart of America.

[Brian Clopper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Anderson's earlier thrillers, Ill Wind and Mount Dragon.

This book, not nearly so much.

The main character is lifeless and not altogether invested in the narrative other than to move from point A to point B to react to plot developments.

While the author strives to throw a lot of inventive supernatural twists into the mix, they all feel safe and bland.

The mystery unfurls with no surprises.

I wish I could be positive because I wanted to like the book so much, but it just fell flat for me.

[Katie Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zombies, mummies, and ghosts, Oh My! Dan (zombie), Robin (human), and Sheyenne (ghost) make an unusually perfect team of private investigators who are trying to stop the prejudice running amuck in the Unnatural Quarter.

This is a great book if you want to read something that is light and fun. I enjoyed all the bad monster jokes and humor throughout the story. An undead zombie detective is what drew me and it didn't disappoint. I didn't realize this was a series when I bought the book, so I never read the first one; however, this one helps fill you in on what you might have missed.

[Sue Wargo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of the Dan Shamble, zombie PI series. This is one of the most clever concepts in ages. I love characters of the Big Uneasy. The author Anderson almost makes you believe there really is such a town and people like Dan and Sheyenne and the other other worldly characters really do exist.. Good job author Kevin Anderson.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read in this series.

[Angela Guidetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick entertaining read. No heavy lifting.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, nice light read. Silly fun

[John Stinebaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sequel that shows this series has teeth! Albeit fun teeth, like fake vampire teeth.

[Kent Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for fun monster stuff.

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unnatural Acts, the 2nd book in the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, continues the story of Private Detective Dan Chambeaux who came back from the dead as a Zombie thanks to the "Big Uneasy". Dan deals with several new invenstigations while his partner, Robin Dyer, has a few new legal cases, all centered around the Unnaturals living in New Orleans. Murder, meyhem, political strife in the form of the "Unnatural Acts Act", and personal drama all unfold in this installment.

Pros:
The Dan Shamble stories are a fun, and occiasionally silly, noir lite that deal with the not so typical side of typical cases. These cases involve werewolves, zombies, wizards, witches, mummies, goblins, and all sorts of unusual fantasy and horror creatures. Some of the cases in this story involve the ghost of William Shakespeare having his production burned down; golems looking for civil rights; and a zombie who pawned his heart and soul to help a nun trying to get them back.

Cons:
While the cases come to satifying conclusions, they do seem to end up being related to each other in some way by the end of the story. In the first book, Dan, who narrates the stories, tells us that a P.I. always has numerous cases being worked on simultaneously, but so far every case brought up in a book is resolved in that book. I would like to see some of these cases be unrelated to each other in their resolution and take 2 or more stories to be solved.

Summary:
So far, I find these books quite enjoyable and will continue reading the series. These books feel like a great blend of cozy fantasy and detective/noir stories, and the entire "Big Uneasy" backstory making all manner of supernatural creature real in the everyday world of the story feels unique.
My rating would be 3.5/5 (As I can't give half star ratings on Goodreads, I'll officially mark it as a 4).

[Brita Mackay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Dan Shambles: Zombie PI series. It was also the second book that I read, and while I loved the first book, I was still a bit hesitant about this series as I am not bit on this genre.

I gave this book a chance because that's how I am. I give every book a chance. And I am glad that I did because it was with this book that I got hook officially on this series, and I knew that I would never give this series up, and I had to read every book

I love the characters. Dan is so funny. He has some zingers. I love how he loves Chyanne. They are perfect together. They have the perfect arcs. And the way they interact and the way they talk to each other, you can see how much they love each other.

The other characters continue to creep up and are slowly becoming secondary characters that could very well become main characters as the series continues. But their arcs play out perfectly and play together to help move Dan's arc forward.

I still recommend this book. I love the romance that's not romance, found family, friendship, laughter, humor, it's a great book, and it's so amazing. I can't say enough good things about this book and this series.

[L & J Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the Dan Shamble mystery series. Dan is a PI who was murdered while on a case, and after rising from his grave as a zombie, immediately went back to his office and his job as a PI. Being a zombie is not that unusual in the city he lives in which is filled with "unnaturals", including zombies, vampires, trolls, werewolves, ghost and other creatures. Zombies in Dan's world can consume human tissue but don't require it (or brains) to survive but good skincare and keeping the embalming fluid topped up is a must. Unnaturals are discriminated against and preyed upon by the "natural" human community. Dan shares an office with his human law partner who takes cases within the unnatural community to help them as they have few rights. While this is a detective novel, it is filled with the silly sort of humor that fans of the late Terry Prachett and Douglas Adams will enjoy.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Shamble, a P.I. who also happens to be a zombie, and his partners, a ghost and a human, must deal with the Mob trying to take over the Unnaturals' quarter, with an arsonist who set fire to the Shakespearean production stage, with the murder of a gremlin pawnbroker, with the good-for-nothing brother of his ghost girlfriend, and with a senator who is trying to pass extreme laws against the Unnaturals. The touch is light, with plenty of humor, although the humor is not nearly as good as that of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams. In fact, lame humor becomes a running gag through the story. The plot is involved, with lots of different (*very* different) characters, but it's easy to keep track of and all comes together in the end. Entertaining, but not great.

[Gail Sawrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful and entertaining series! I’m enjoying getting to know Dan, Robin, Sheyanne, McGoo, and others. I finished this book in less than a week and am ready to go on to the third in the series. The author keeps the reader engaged with the quirks of life after the Big Uneasy. Who would have thought there could be so many cases for a zombie private investigator? And as his motto goes, “The cases don’t solve themselves.”

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Great literature? Not even close. But it's cute and fun and kind of sweet in its quirky way. I liked this one as much as the first, and I'll definitely move on to the third.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read.

[Michael]

No

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was fun with many cases to solve. All had a satisfying ending with some being heart warming.