Book Blurb:
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.
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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.
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My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense, Zombies--
This book is listed as Downton Abbey meets Zombies, which struck me as very interesting (and exciting!). Disclaimer: I have never seen Downton Abbey (yes, I know, I planned to watch it but life and reading has interfered) but I have friends who rave about it so I thought I would give this book a try. Also, I love EVERYTHING zombies (movies, tv, pop culture but mainly zombie books) and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was one of my favorite movies so I was hoping this would be along the same lines as that.
I actually found this to be a spoofy version of a zombie British history where sure there are some terrible deaths, destruction, and horror elements, but it had an overall feel of a comedy of manners, where a potential zombie outbreak takes a back seat to a possible etiquette crisis.
There are a ton of characters and voices in the story, each chapter told from a new person's point of view from Kate, the daughter of the Lord of the manor, random guests (suitors, doctors, ect...) and servants, to the family's spoiled cats. I will admit to being very confused while I was first reading Zombie Abbey since I was trying to keep everyone straight and figure out what was actually going on plot-wise. I was on overload for the first third of the story. Since there were so many characters, it was also hard to connect to any one character, I had no idea who to root for survival and who to hope was eaten (yes morbid I know, but these are zombies we are dealing with!). Once I had a better grasp on who the people were I was slowly coming to understand, I got lost in the antics, mischief, drama and horror of the book and I absolutely loved it! This was just the dramedy that I needed, a perfect, ridiculous escape read.
I highly enjoyed this fun, unique read and I highly recommend Zombie Abbey to those who like the rules and manners of the English Aristocracy mixed with the danger and fear of the undead zombies. This was such a great escape from regular life!
I am voluntarily reviewing an advance, complimentary copy of this book.
Author Bio:
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).
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