State of Decay

Knapp's intense debut is a high-adrenaline thriller that takes the familiar zombie story down a radically new path. In a future America deeply embroiled in global conflicts where undead “revivors” are used as soldiers, Nico Wachalowski, a military man turned FBI agent, stumbles upon a weapons smuggling operation while breaking up a ring trafficking in revivor sex slaves. The ensuing investigation leads him into a web of murders, terrorism, and conspiracies. Knapp's writing is sharp and his fast and furious plot twists keep the pages turning. He sets his stakes so high, however, that the book's last section often feels rushed and its resolution is somewhat muddled and anticlimactic. Still, fans of zombie fiction and readers looking for a good thrill will find it here. (Feb.)