Plague Town
An Ashley Parker novel
Dana Fredsti

Titan Books
April 3, 2012 / 978-0857686350
Horror
Amazon

Reviewed by Jan Fields

A nasty flu virus has been racing through Redwood Grove. People are dying -- but not for long. The few who survive the flu have to deal with the reanimated hungry dead. Ashley Parker is immune to the virus, and finds herself in the middle of the battle to contain the zombie hoarde. The series sees itself as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" meets "The Walking Dead." I'm not a huge zombie movie fan, but found this creepy good fun. I love all Buffy-esque heroines and Ashley is a good one. She's tough, funny, and nicely crafted --plus, the book includes romantic elements without having the lead stupidly making out when she should be kicking butt. The plot moves along swiftly and keeps you reading to find out who makes it out unbitten.

Although this is the first book in a series, the title also felt complete unto itself. Since I hate series books that seem to just stop with no sense of resolution, I especially enjoyed how satisfying the story turned out to be. As guilty pleasure novels go, this one is hugely enjoyable and fast enough to consume in practically one sitting -- if you don't mind reading into the night. But don't blame me if the sound of wind moaning gives you nightmares.