Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand

Deadline Deadline:
Newsflesh Book 2
by Mira Grant
Orbit

Supplied for review by Hachette New Zealand

Reviewed By: Tosca Waerea

It's hard to write a synopsis for this book without giving away any spoilers but I'm going to do the best I can. It's been a year since Shaun and Georgia Mason investigated the truth behind the Kellis-AmberLee virus outbreak – a strain that gave rise to reanimated dead people (zombies, for want of a better word) in Grant's post-apocalyptic Newsflesh series. Now, a year after those shocking events, Shaun Mason and his news crew are getting on with getting on but life just isn't the same and probably never will be again. When Kelly Connolly, a CDC researcher who faked her own death, turns up on his doorstep with a conspiracy story, Shaun finds himself on the trail of the truth once again.

I'm always a bit apprehensive about reading sequels because so many of them don't do justice to the first book. Happily, Deadline, book 2 in Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy, doesn't suffer from that problem. If you're lucky for wall to wall gore and body parts then you're in for a disappointment. Deadline is not that kind of story. If Feed was a political thriller with zombies then Deadline is a medical thriller with zombies. It's full of action, twists, suspense, cover-ups and, surprisingly, emotion. And oh! That ending! This series is a must-read.

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