Crime scenes in the Anita series

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

LKH's recent comments about the crime scenes in her earlier books being too nightmarish have made me wonder about them. I'm assuming she's referring to the crime scenes themselves, as she hasn't stopped having villains (such as they are) in the books. I never really found the crime scenes that graphic myself, but I know that people's tolerance for these things can vary wildly.

Looking over the crime scenes in the early books, Anita is always so caught up in the horror of what she's looking at that it doesn't seem like she would be looking at things very objectively. You would think that the police would just send her photos of the scene and come down to the morgue. She never seems to do anything other than measure bite marks and poke the bodies a bit which doesn't require being at the scene. Yet in Lunatic Cafe the police ask Anita whether they can enter the crime scene without messing up evidence.

Also, one thing that always kind of surprised me about the Anita series was that Anita never acquired that professional distance that people who deal with the dead seem to develop. This seems a bit unrealistic to me or at least unrealistic in the sense that Anita kept consulting with the police as long as we are supposed to believe she has.

In any case, which book do you think had the most graphic crime scene? Do you think they're as horrible as LKH believes they are?

Comments

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

In Lunatic Cafe, I think the reason they were asking was because some kind of magic was suspected. Which was supposed to be Anita's area of specialty.

I don't remember which book, and most of mine have gone to the UBS, but the one that involved a kid's bedroom (well, a house, but the kid's bedroom part bothered me) I found a little sad.

I used to read a lot of true crime, and I don't think anything she wrote is as bad as actual crime scenes.

[killiara.livejournal.com]

The one where there was a blood splattered teddy bear, in an otherwise clean room? Is that the kid's bedroom scene you're remembering?

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is.

[lady-fellshot.livejournal.com]

I think you are referring to the Laughing Corpse. :)

[the-mome-wrath.livejournal.com]

There's no magic suspected in Lunatic Cafe, I think that was Circus of the Damned. They just call her in right away for some reason in LC and wait for her to get there because apparently they could tell it was a shapeshifter and not a bear.

[yashakizu.livejournal.com]

Was there one where a body was "exploded" all over? I could be thinking of the Dresden Files. I just remember how tired I was of constantly reading the phrase "like so much meat" to describe any crime scene or injury or murder in the books.

I'm surprised as well that someone who willingly bleeds herself in order to perform necromancy and is/was a regular consult to the police department on certain crimes hasn't developed that professional distance that people in those industries need to develop in order to do their job and be a healthy person.

[shadwing.livejournal.com]

I think the exploding body was the exploding hearts spell in the first Dresden Files book. THAT scene made Harry hurl.

[estllechauvelin.livejournal.com]

That's the first thing that came to my mind fitting that description.

[staringiscaring.livejournal.com]

I read the books in middle school and nothing really freaked me out.

[shalanar.livejournal.com]

The teddy bear in the kids room mentioned above. That one bothered me, not because of the 'horror' of it, but just because it was sad.

The only really "ugh that would give me nightmares IRL if this shit were real" one was in OB, with the 'living' victims skinned alive at the hospital.

[poor-toms-acold.livejournal.com]

Hands down OB, with the skinned people. Ok, that was in the hospital, not a 'crime scene' per se, but that was the one time I genuinely got the creeps as I read it. All other crime scenes were pretty meh, I even had a bit of a giggle when later in OB Olaf is pawing through the remains, just because it was so painfully obvious that we were Supposed To Be Scared And Disgusted OMG OMG.

[dreamland-tree.livejournal.com]

Personally I think she needs to stop worrying about the crime scenes and worry more about her sex scenes. Now THERE is some truely horrific stuff (as in her writing sucks....and not in a good way!)

Besides, have you seen some of the horror movies and what not out there that people watch? Her stuff, even the earlier stuff, is practically girl scout compared to that!

[dreamland-tree.livejournal.com]

Darn LJ! Cutting me off!

Anyway...Hello Freddy, Jason and Pinhead and have you ever seen Event Horizon? O.M.G!!!! or Pandorium or any of the Final Destination movies or....well, I'm sure everyone gets the point. Considering that these days they also publish real police case files type stuff...well...I don't think anyone is going to be all that bothered by her pretty tame crime scenes.

[elsandra.livejournal.com]

I never really found any of the scenes too graphic but that could be because I have processed crime scenes. I have developed the professional distance needed so I never had a problem with the written scene. One thing you never really get over though is the smell.