DEADFALL by Shaun Jeffrey

Zombies, they’re everywhere nowadays. These shambling members of the undead are giving even the agile vampires a run for their money; folks can’t seem to get enough of them. Which brings me to the novel at hand: DEADFALL by author Shaun Jeffrey, a writer whose previous work I enjoyed in the form of his last book, THE KULT—a fine serial killer novel.

DEADFALL’s premise is pretty simple: Amber Redgrave leads a team of mercenaries on what turns out to be a bogus mission. When they reach their target location--an abandoned mining village--they discover they have been tricked by their mysterious, wealthy employer, and what lies in wait for them is a horror which they could not have anticipated even in the darkest corners of their minds; indeed, it is something far worse than the run-of-the-mill kidnappers they had been expecting to confront and remove. Meanwhile, as Amber and her team are fighting for their lives against an endless stream of the undead, two animal rights activists infiltrate an isolated warehouse where unspeakable experiments have been taking place--which, of course, tie back to what’s occurring in the village. The action trades off between the two plot lines until all is revealed by book’s close.

Right about now you might be thinking, been-there-done-that, but what saves this book from Zombie Rehash Hell are well-plotted action and the neat twists near the end of the book. Author Jeffrey is a tidy craftsman with a clear understanding of his goals, leaving little in the way of story filler. Furthermore, the novel’s character interaction is satisfactorily developed, as in the case of a misogynistic member of her team who gives Amber a hard time throughout their struggle for survival, adding weight to her miseries and further challenging her abilities as a leader of an all-male team of rugged warriors.

To sum up, Shaun Jeffrey’s DEADFALL would make a worthy addition to any zombie or thriller collection and is recommended to those who can’t get enough of the resurrected dead. The publisher is Leucrota Press.