Book review
Written by Tim Waggoner
Angry Robot paperback
Release date 6 August 2009

Zombie private detective Matthew Richter has two days left to “live” and pins his last hope on a final investigation…

Although there are places where Tim Waggoner’s novel tries a little too hard to be outlandish, this is a terrific melding of the horror and private detective genres.

It’s set on an alternate world, linked to Earth, where vampires, lycanthropes and other forms of horror movie tropes all exist under the guidance of Father Dis and the Darklords, a society that Waggoner reveals to the reader exactly when needed (even if you may not realise that you need it at the time).

Waggoner’s writing is visually led, and the Blade Runner/Dark City atmosphere is well drawn. Richter, with his seemingly bottomless pockets, makes a good protagonist – a former cop who can’t quite lose all the scruples of his old profession – and the romance between him and part vampire Devona builds at a steady and natural pace.

The author is also very good at creating three dimensional smaller characters who cross the path of the leads, something which gives the book the air of a pilot movie, as loads of intriguing situations are glimpsed but not expanded upon. Paul Simpson

VERDICT: 7/10
A great start to what is hopefully an ongoing series.