Laughing Beast

The second noir tale from the Depression-soaked Rest Second chances are very rare, but Vincent Krhavy gets one. The question is, of course, whether for reward or for punishment. He owes a debt to the people who will definitely not let him leave the Rest just like that, or even worse - force him to join the local society. Learning from his past mistakes and haunted by the shadows of his earlier decisions, Vincent will try to stay out of trouble this time. He dutifully accepts the new job and tries not to attract attention until he gets the opportunity to escape from the Rest. But the strange and brutal murders don't take long to happen, and their mastermind makes sure that the sedentary detective can't ignore them. Unwillingly, Vincent must once again arm himself with alcohol, cigarettes and unprecedented cynicism. Only with such equipment - and not least with the help of Mae, a fan of detective series, and Spoon, a nosy cat - does he have a chance to catch the psychopathic killer who is making his life unnecessarily complicated... "The book's entertainment potential is based on a primal desire to give the system (capitalism as well as the absurd world of social media, obsessed with the pursuit of "likes") the thumbs-up, even at the cost of self-destruction - as long as someone else undergoes that self-destruction. In this respect, reading The Laughing Beast is almost a therapeutic experience." © Boris Hokr - Aug 9, 2022, www.iliteratura.cz Vilém Koubek: Laughing Beast | Read by Martin Stránský | Concept by Kateřina Višinská | Directed by Martin Stránský, Kate Hamsíková, Štěpán Škoch | Sound and editing by Kate Hamsíková | Music by Štěpán Škoch | Mastering by Štěpán Škoch | Filmed in All Senses Production s. r. o. | Graphics adapted from the book by Jana Rybová | Production by Kateřina Višinská | Published by Euromedia Group, a. does - Témbr, in September 2024. Based on the book: VILÉM KOUBEK, LAUGHING BEASTS, Brno 2022, © Vilém Koubek, 2022, Cover illustration © Jana Kilianová, © Host - publishing house, does r. o., 2022.