The Laughing Corpse (Book)

Human
Anita Blake

Bert Vaughn

Mary (mentioned)

Jamison Clarke

Charles Montgomery

Caroline Montgomery (mentioned)

Harold Gaynor

Tommy

Bruno

Cicely

Charles Montgomery

Jamison Clarke

Peter Burke KILLED BY DOMINGA SALVADOR

Catherine Maison (mentioned)

Mrs Cassidy

Manny

Rosita

Kasey Markowitz

Elsie Markowitz

Rudolf Storr

Zerbrowski

Clive Perry

Katie Zerbrowski (mentioned)

Reynolds Family KILLED BY ZOMBIE

John Burke

Luther

Dominga Salvador

Antonio

Enzo

Wheelchair Wanda

Ellen Grisholm

Mr Grisholm DIED BEFORE STORY

Judith Blake (mentioned)

Grandma Flores (mentioned)

Tomas Rodriguez (mentioned)

Lucille Storr (mentioned)

Albert (mentioned)

Vampire
Dead Dave

Jean Claude

Lycanthrope
Irving Griswold (Wolf)

Plot

 * Anita and Bert visit Harold Gaynor for a job, but Anita declines it as it would require a human sacrifice
 * Anita goes to her final fitting for her dress for Catherine's wedding at The Maiden Voyage
 * Anita gets called in by Dolph for a murder scene, at the scene Anita deduces that it was most likely a flesh-eating zombie attack. The victims were a married couple and their son, Benjamin was taken
 * Anita tells Dolph that a zombie would only attack if he was ordered to, and she gives the names of local animators who could have done it. In the process she remembers that Peter Burke died recently and she has to attend his funeral later that week
 * Dolph reveals that there were a couple of other attacks recently, but they were chalked up to Ghouls
 * Anita says she'll meet with Dominga Salvador to question her, as she won't talk to police
 * The Next day Anita meets with Manny in her apparment, and they head out to see Dominga
 * They reach Dominga's house, where she tests Anita's powers in exchange for information. The test involves her being able to activate a gris-gris
 * She agrees to talk to the Vaudun community to see if any of them have raised a killer zombie lately. She then takes Anita and Manny downstairs for another test
 * In the basement, Anita notices how evil Dominga's house is, and realises that she has zombie-monsters etc, and a temple under the house as well.
 * Anita learns that Dominga knows how to keep a soul in a zombie, and that she has been experimenting on zombies etc (whilst technically not illegal, it is definitely amoral). Dominga offers to teach Anita about how to be a truly great Necromancer, but she declines the offer. Dominga also reveals that Manny used to perform human sacrifices for her, which Anita is disgusted by
 * Anita insults Dominga, which angers her, and she threatens to send her a gift, but still promises to help in the investigation as promised. Anita and Manny leave, being followed by a monster, and then head to their respective homes
 * Tommy pays Anita a visit later and makes a new offer of $1,500,000 for the job, and then $2,000,000 after she refused the first amount.
 * Anita starts to question why a zombie is worth so much, and Tommy tries to force her physically, but Anita pulls a gun on him, sending him packing.
 * Anita leaves after Tommy does for a Judo Class
 * The next day is Peter Burke's funeral, where Anita gets annoyed with his wife for making such a scene in front of their children, clearly upsetting them. Afterwards Rosita tries to set Anita up with her cousin Arnold, which Anita turns down. Then she meets with John Burke (Peter's brother) and Jamison who ask her to look into Peter's murder since the police wont tell the family anything. Anita adds John to the list of suspects for Dolph as well
 * When Anita gets home, Dolph calls her and says they found the boy at Burrel Cemetery. Anita heads out there and reiterates that it's most likely a zombie, and quite likely that it came from that cemetary (as the other killings happened nearby). Anita makes plans to return that night to try and trace the zombie
 * Anita gets information on Harold Gaynor from Irving Griswold (since he's a journalist) at Dead Dave's Bar. She leaves as soon as she notices that it's dark since she wants to avoid Jean Claude, Irving accompanies her out

Major Points

 * This story is set in August
 * Anita's Age is set at 24 here