Lizzie gazed about the room in alarm. The tips of Father’s slippers peeking out from beneath the bed also glistened with the same viscous red liquid. All that blood! What happened here? What happened? - Excerpt from Chapter 1
With Halloween just around the corner, there's no better time than the present to read a good old fashioned horror novel, which was exactly what I did yesterday morning.
What did I read?
Well, I read the exciting horror-thriller "Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter" by C.A. Verstraete. Published by Imajin Books, the book is now available in print and Kindle.
No, this isn't a non-fiction novel about the real Lizzie Borden who was accused of killing her father and step-mother with an ax at their family home in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1892. Instead, the author puts a spin on the original crime story by adding zombies!
The novel opens up on hot August morning in 1892, where the fictional-version Lizzie Borden find her stepmother wandering into house in a zombie-like state, forcing Lizzie to defend herself. After searching the house for her father, she finds him in the same state as her stepmother, and with the help of her older sister, Emma, they kill him.
It seems there is a zombie epidemic spreading across Fall River and it's up to Lizzie to protect her sister at all cost.
Final Thoughts: While putting a horror-spin on a true story or a historical figure is nothing new (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter comes to mind), this is first one I've read involving the Borden ax-murders of 1892.
Yes, tossing in a bunch of zombies into the Lizzie Borden tale could of backfired, but it works quite nicely here. The author wastes no time by starting the first chapter with Mr. Borden's murder, which it turns out he's actually a flesh-eating zombie. The descriptions are excellent, the dialogue is snappy, and Lizzie's character is likeable.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter. It was surprisingly well-written and fast-paced with short chapters (not James Patterson short).
*I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Christine (C.A.) Verstraete enjoys putting a bit of a “scare” in her writing. He stories have appeared in various anthologies and publications including Mystery Weekly, Happy Homicides 3: Summertime Crime, Siren’s Call Magazine, and more. She also is the author of books on dollhouses and a YA novel, GIRL Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie. Her latest novel is Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter.
Learn more at her website and her blog.
You can follow Christine Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Thanks for hosting me and for the review! Will you put it on Goodreads and Amazon also? :)
ReplyDeleteI posted my review on Goodreads.
DeleteZombies aren't my thing....Lizzie is. My.late father worked for firestone in Fall River after the war, and he was engaged to Lizzie's ( great) neice, Jane. I've been fascinated w/ Lizzie ever since...obviously he didn't marry her
ReplyDeleteInteresting connection... Thanks for coming by!
ReplyDelete