About Zombie Abbey:
1920, England
And the three teenage Clarke sisters thought what they’d wear to dinner was their biggest problem…
Lady Kate, the entitled eldest.
Lady Grace, lost in the middle and wishing she were braver.
Lady Lizzy, so endlessly sunny, it’s easy to underestimate her.
Then there’s Will Harvey, the proud, to-die-for—and possibly die with!—stable boy; Daniel Murray, the resourceful second footman with a secret; Raymond Allen, the unfortunate-looking young duke; and Fanny Rogers, the unsinkable kitchen maid.
Upstairs! Downstairs! Toss in some farmers and villagers!
None of them ever expected to work together for any reason.
But none of them had ever seen anything like this.
Excerpt from Zombie Abbey:
Dr. Webb was lurching toward the church out of the mist, something terribly off about his halting gait. More specifically, he was lurching toward Mr. Young.
“Are you all right, Dr. Webb?” Mr. Young called, the former joy in his voice replaced now with concern for the other man.
“Merry!” Lady Grace called out a warning. “Don’t go any farther!”
“But can’t you all see?” Mr. Young said, still walking forward. “Poor Dr. Webb is sick.”
Yes, Dr. Webb was sick. His clothing and general appearance were all disheveled. And he smelled bad, too, the duke realized, as a rotting stench made its way to his nostrils, which flared in response. Why, the smell was similar to that which had enveloped the dead valet, his dead valet, yesterday. Perhaps Dr. Webb had acquired the wretched smell while tending to some poor person in the village?
Dr. Webb still lurched, his arms spreading out now as Mr. Young approached.
“Merry, please!” Lady Grace cried. Then she moved to step forward herself, no doubt to try to stop Mr. Young, but Benedict Clarke held her back, catching her with one arm around the waist.
And now Mr. Young was opening his arms wide, too, as though to warmly greet the returning doctor, but when their bodies met and the doctor embraced him, he immediately began to chew on the closest part of Mr. Young’s body that was available to him, which, in this case, happened to be his upper arm.
The duke watched, frozen in horror as no doubt the others were, too, as the doctor chewed through Mr. Young’s jacket and shirt, straight down to the flesh beneath. It might have been almost comical, were it not so downright horrifying.
Among the things you never expect to see in life: one human being attempting to feed on another like an animal.
My Review:
I’ll admit that I almost didn’t request this on Netgalley, but something kept drawing me to it. I didn’t honk I’d enjoy any book about zombies, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Zombie Abbey is a perfect blend of The Walking Dead and Downton Abbey. Seeing how the aristocrats deal with a zombie apocalypse is quite entertaining. Everything I’ve ever seen on television has been modern day zombies. Having this set in a time where there was still an “upstairs” and a “downstairs” immediately sets this book apart from other zombie apocalypse stories.
Others have said there were slow parts in this story. I’m sorry, but I didn’t notice that. But hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I thought Zombie Abbey was a very entertaining and original story.
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About Lauren Baratz-Logsted:
Lauren Baratz-Logsted is the author of over 30 books for adults (Vertigo), teens (The Twin’s Daughter) and children (The Sisters 8 series which she created with her husband and daughter). She’d love to dress up in period costume from the 1920s but she’d be a lot less excited about meeting zombies. Lauren lives in Danbury, CT, with her husband and daughter and cat, all of whom are writers (well, maybe not the cat).
Author Twitter: @LaurenBaratzL
My Fictional Escape 