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Jailbait Zombie
A Felix Gomez Novel, #4

by Mario Acevedo

     

Felix Gomez is a vampire enforcer for the Araneum, the head honchos of the vampire world. His job is to track down anything that might reveal the supernatural world to humans and endanger vampires. He's dealt with renegade vampires and even aliens in the past but this time the job is a little messier—zombies. Someone is making unusually smart zombies—zombies that can drive cars—but like all zombies, these guys are mostly into destruction and brains. Felix has to put a lid on it quick before the zombies cause such a big stink no one can ignore them. Along the way, Felix meets Phaedra Nardoni, a psychic superpower who can blast Felix into Iraqi flashbacks with barely a thought. And Phaedra recognizes that Felix is a vampire, which means the Araneum insists he kill her—but how do you kill a kid who's already dying?

This was the most complicated of the Felix Gomez novels I've read as the author juggles the psychic crazy girl, the madman who makes zombies, and the looming threat of the Araneum. If Felix messes up this assignment, his friend Jolie has orders to skin him. Ouch. I found this novel less funny than the last I read though it certainly opens with a hilarious zombie scene. The zombie mastermind is hysterically quirky as well, but the violence was rougher and Felix certainly suffered for the cause. Plus bringing all the disparate elements to a satisfying ending proved hard on the author. One storyline is meant to continue but some of the others seemed to just drop rather than really fulfill their potential. Still, it's blazingly fast paced and Felix is an appealing hero who's not terribly heroic sometimes. I'll definitely sign on for the next novel when it comes out—Felix has me hooked.

The Book

Eos / Harpercollins
November 2009
Mass Market Paperback
0061567175 / 978-0061567179
Fantasy
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
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The Reviewer

Jan Fields
Reviewed 2009
NOTE: Reviewer Jan Fields is the editor of Kid Magazine Writers emagazine and has written dozens of stories and articles for the children's magazine market.
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