Celebrity Chef Zombie Apocalypse by Jack D McLean

Celebrity Chef Zombie Apocalypse is the first in a zombie series and starts us off on the tale of how zombies (both humans and animals alike) plan on taking over the world.

Robert Turner is in real danger of being fired if he can’t figure out how to get FRTV headed in the right direction again. He needs something big, and quick. Someone who has been on TV and been a celebrity. His inventive uncle claims to have created a machine that brings the dead back to life, and after witnessing the neighbour’s cat Henderson being brought back (don’t ask how he died), he is keen to try it out on Floyd Rampant, a celebrity chef who died 15 years previously. Surprise surprise – it worked! Only Floyd and Henderson are now sex-crazed, starving zombies. Floyd decides to “recruit” other celebrity chefs to the cause and soon there is a wave of zombies ready to take over the world. Dave, a former employee of one of the turned, is trying to warn the world, but no one will listen. Eventually, as the murders become more obvious and public, it falls to the Prime Minister to invoke drastic measure to save the day. But seeing as this is the first book in the series...

I actually read the second book Zomcats first, and now I see how Henderson was changed and the world infected by zombies. Makes more sense when you know more of the back story. This is a good giggle, full of dark humour, body parts and political satire. It’s a snarky twist on a good old-fashioned zombie gore fest. A quick, crazy read with only a few editing mistakes that won’t really put you off the flow of reading.    

Hair in all the Wrong places #3 by Andrew Buckley

Hair in all the Wrong Places #3 (The ‘Things that go Bump in the Night’ Squad) is the third in a series aimed at middle school children about how Colin Strauss became a werewolf and the crazy adventures he has been through since then in order to keep the town of Elkswood and its interesting inhabitants safe. It can be read as a standalone novel.

Colin and the Night Watch are after a hellcat. A nasty critter that seems to have no fear since it’s really hard to destroy. During this hunt, they come across members of the Order of Kane and rescue a girl who was kidnapped by them. All pretty routine, right? But Colin’s recurring nightmares of fire and death and Charles the Demon’s warning that “she will betray you” has him on edge. Add to this his newfound ability to speak to wolves, their latest English teacher who seems a little off, three kidnappings, and a problem with his girlfriend Becca, and you have all the elements of something crazy about to happen. Luckily Colin has backup in the form of the Night Watch team or will he have to go even deeper and use evil to fight evil?

Another brilliant book in the series! Even though the novels are aimed at middle school children, they have a maturity and cleverness about them that even adults would enjoy. The writing is seamless and comfortable to read and the layout of the parts of the story fit well together. I like the way that the characters are used between books and that you are not bombarded with new ones each time. As more and more back stories come through, you can start to see the pieces of the bigger picture come together. The author does a great job of letting you feel Colin’s emotions without being bogged down with too many feelings. There isn’t a cliffhanger as such at the end of the book, but a clever lead into the next one. Mr Buckley does tease you a bit at the end when he ALMOST tells you what Jeremy is (harrumph we have been waiting for three books now, hint hint) and then doesn’t let us in on the secret. Guess I’ll have to wait for the next book!

A very well-written book with a story that keeps you involved from start to finish. I highly recommend this.

Stone and Spark #1 in the Raleigh Harmon prequel by Sibella Giorello

Stone and Spark tells the first part of Raleigh’s story and gives you an insight as to what she experienced as a youngster which influenced her career decisions later on. The prequel series is YA based, leading to a more adult series as she joins the FBI.

Raleigh’s best friend Drew is missing. Yes, she has run away once before but this is different. For one thing, her bike is still at the school, and the lock holding it in place has been looped incorrectly and not reset to zero. Anyone who knows Drew knows this is not right. Drew is smart; super-smart, and is a stickler for statistics and things in their right places. When Drew doesn’t pitch up for her lunch meeting with Raleigh at Titus’s burger place, Raleigh knows something is wrong. But the more she tries to convince the adults around her, the more they don’t believe her. Her dad has enough on his plate, being a judge by day and her mother’s keeper the rest of the time. Drew’s mom lives in a bottle and Drew’s dad doesn’t care. Raleigh decides to play detective and is helped by her Geology teacher to look for clues beyond the obvious. To find signs where there should be none. So with just a rock hammer, a decent knowledge of the law, and a can-do attitude, Raleigh is determined to find Drew. The odds are against her – but when has that ever stopped her?

Having downloaded this as a free book and never read any of the Raleigh Harmon series, I was pleasantly surprised. While not featured a lot in the book, I loved Drew’s smarty pants character and the fact that no matter what others thought of her, that she was true to herself. Raleigh was a very interesting character. The number of times she snuck out of the house or did something she was told not to do was astounding. It served her well later, but I’m sure her dad was pushed to the limit. Her mother’s mental health issues and the effects that her medication had on her must have been very scary for Raleigh. To be constantly accused of not being her daughter, to not knowing which side of her mom was out must really have taken a toll. I liked the way that baseball played an integral part in the story, and how it weaved the burger place (with its side story) to the quarry to the character of DeMott. I would like to have known a lot more about DeMott but I guess that is brought up in other stories. Bar the Geology teacher; the staff in her school were awful – so disrespectful and condescending. About halfway through you start to figure out where the story is going, only to find out you were completely wrong. I really liked the twists and turns.

A very well-written and easy to read book with interesting characters and an exciting story. The bonus was that I learnt a heck of a lot about geology too! Definitely recommended. 

Last Breath (Sam Archer#8) by Tom Barber

Last Breath is the 8^th book in the Sam Archer series but can be read as a standalone novel. It is a fast-paced thriller that combines deceitful security agencies, riots, friendships and the desire for profit that overrides morality.

Sam Archer is an NYPD cop and has taken some time off to see his niece for her birthday. Why else would he be in a cop station having been brought in after a skirmish with a football player on a train far away from home? That is the least of the problems in the city though, three people have been killed; by a cop. And the neighbourhood gangs are having a field day by joining the protests and causing mayhem. Then Sam learns the identity of the cop. It’s someone he knows, someone he is close to. Something seems off. As Sam makes a promise not to get involved in any more action and to just enjoy the time with his family, he knows he is lying. He needs to find out exactly what is going on. As he gets deeper and deeper into the network of lies and finds layers of conspiracies, he also finds out something he never wanted to know. That purple is the last colour you see before you die...

This is definitely a fast ride with a lot going on. Yes, maybe the weaponry is not actually able to do what is claimed in the book, or some characters survive more shootings and stabbings than most, but hey – it’s fiction and it’s there as a break from reality. The plot may have stretched belief a little, but I enjoyed the way it was linked together and even when you are convinced you know who is involved a twist comes along. The writing style was easy to read, and I found myself saying just one more chapter, one more chapter. I liked that some backstory was explained without going into too much detail so that more about Sam’s character was revealed but that you weren’t left in the dark if you hadn’t read the previous books.

An action-packed thriller that gets you caught up in the mayhem and exhausted when it’s all over. Definitely recommended.