I went into this without having read anything else in the Dan Shamble series. This tale of short stories was a great little introduction to the world. Kevin J. Anderson excels at delivering humour and fun.

Services Rendered is a new collection of vignettes in the Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series by Kevin J. Anderson. Released 15th Nov 2018 on Wordfire, it's 204 pages and available in ebook, paperback, and hardback formats.

I've reviewed more of the author's work on the blog, and can recommend this collection of simultaneous cases which are braided together in a cohesive narrative whole as well. Even though they're thoroughly silly, and punny, and campy, the author doesn't use that as an excuse for crafting a shoddy subpar story. This is well crafted and well plotted fiction. The characters (despite most of them being living-challenged) are likeable and relatable. The dialogue is silly but it's never clunky. The story and world building are cohesive and believable within the given framework of the story.

The plotting is tight and well paced and I absolutely never found myself skimming or skipping ahead. Fair warning to readers, this is purely humorous undead noir. I have to ready to be in a silly mood for these books to have maximum effect. They're completely exuberant and full of punny humor and in-jokes and cultural references.

Highly recommended. This is one of the few humor series which I've found myself re-reading on occasion.

Five stars. Pure silly fun.

Fun, sometimes grotesque anthology

I enjoyed this book. The stories were well-written, the characters (including zombies, ghosts, poltergeists and humans) were sympathetic and the stories were well-paced. Some were grotesque, but all of them fun, well written and of a lighter nature, somewhat similar to Wilkie Martin’s Inspector Hobbes series. The one downside of the book was that all the stories had the same basic characters, so there was some repetition of the backstories. Nonetheless, the book was great.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Services Rendered", the new anthology of Dan Chambeaux, Zombie Detective cases.
I have been a fan of this series from the first one, including the short stories, and Mr. Anderson never ceases to deliver some great stories.
The Unnatural Quarter is hopping in these stories, and Dan, his partner Robin, his girlfriend/receptionist Sheyenne and BHF McGoo are kept busy by poltergeists, newts, curses, spectral gunmen and others. Cannot give anything away, but let me just say that the stories do not disappoint.
Kevin J. Anderson keeps me waiting for the next full-length "Shamble" story, but in the meantime this will do nicely.
Recommended for fans of fantasy, hard-boiled detective stories, ghosties, ghoulies, and things that go bump in the night in the apartment next door.

Lou Jacobs's Reviews > Services Rendered: The Cases of Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.

Services Rendered by Kevin J. Anderson
Services Rendered: The Cases of Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.
by Kevin J. Anderson (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Dec 29, 2018 · edit
really liked it

Dan Chambeaux was a private investigator plying his trade in the Unnatural Quarter ... a part of the city where monsters of all varieties reside. Dan unfortunately "buys the farm" with a slug to the back of the head while investigating the murder of his girlfriend, Sheyenne. But death and being a zombie doesn't get in the way ... he continues his PI business with the aid of living female lawyer, Robin Deyer and his office manager, his ghostly girlfriend ... in all of her incorporeal self.
Kevin Anderson dishes up a delicious collection of nine tales laced with humor , horror and the absurd. The troop battles injustice in the bizarre Unnatural Quarter with ablomb and cunning.
Cases range from the kidnapping of a headless guys "missing" head to protection and uncovering the rationale for stealing an "eye" of a newt.
With a string of tongue and cheek stories littered with a noir atmosphere and humor, Anderson serves up a heaping plateful of wonderful and amusing entertainment. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Short stories - I enjoyed all but the first one (I gross out easily). Overall very funny and enjoyable read.. Zombie PI Dan, Ghost girlfriend/office mgr Sheyenne, Living human lawyer Robin are all interesting characters and make the cases interesting..

Kevin J Anderson has a gift for writing fantasy that leaves you laughing out loud.  Services Rendered features Anderson’s renowned PI, Dan Shamble, oops Chambeaux, a zombie investigator working in the Unnatural Quarter, Sheyenne his ghostly gf/office manager, Robin Deyer a lawyer who wants justice for all monsters, and his BHF Officer Toby McGoohan - placed in the unnatural quarter for his unfortunate sense of humor.  The cases they face range from the serious to the absurd, and each and every one is entertaining. From a gorgon who wants to participate in a beauty pageant, to a headless man who believes his head was stolen; from a missing Mayan wish turkey to a newt with a stolen eye, there is no zombie investigator more suited to the case than Dan Shamble, I mean Shambeaux.


4 / 5


I received a copy of Services Rendered from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.  This anthology is a collection of stories reprinted from various science fiction and fantasy magazines.


-- Crittermom

Services Rendered: The Cases of Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. by Kevin J. Anderson is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I love the Dan Shamble books I have read so far and this one was great too! This was a collection of short stories instead of a novel. I thought they were excellent! Funny, witty, and sooo Dan Shamble! I love the main characters of zombie, ghost, and all the zany side characters! These books are made for stress relief!

I’ve been reading Kevin J. Anderson’s books for years. Normally I find him in the world of shared universe fiction, which he excels at, but here he is creating his own world.

Anderson creates with a satisfying readability and weaves humor and action into this supernatural story. I recommend the book for those who enjoy the genre and those who might have read this author before, or those who want to read him for the first time.