Book Review: Dead Mann Walking

By Sandy Amazeen Sep 22, 2011, 1:55 GMT

After Hessius Mann was convicted of his wife\'s murder, suppressed evidence came to light and the verdict was overturned-too bad he was already executed. But thanks to the miracles of modern science Hessius was brought back to life. Sort of. Now that he\'s joined the ranks of Fort Hammer\'s pulse-challenged population, Hessius attempts to make a "living" as a private investigator. But when a missing persons case leads to ...more

Wrongly convicted and subsequently executed for his wife’s murder, Hessius Mann was brought back to “life” after further evidence came to light, overturning the verdict. Thanks to researchers at ChemBet, a radical invigoration procedure or RIP made it possible to bring back the dead, only problem is, not everyone wants to come back or returns in the same condition. As a former police officer, Mann attempts to keep himself from going feral and Misty, a recovering crack head clean while earning an income being a private detective. When a Mr. Turgeon begins placing fat envelopes full on money on the desk, Mann takes on a missing zombie case despite his many well-founded reservations.

A chak, or zombie can be killed by decapitation so the news stories of body parts found strewn about were troubling to say the least and as his missing zombie case unfolds, Mann begins to realize there are several agendas afoot. If he cannot figure out how the pieces tie together, Mann may find himself dead again.

A sufficiently complex plot, good character building and strong antagonists along with a refreshingly different take on zombies make this first of a series stand out from the pack. The Sam Spade meets zombieville theme works as Petrucha creates a society attempting to cope with the results getting ripped. A convincing zombie social order as well as a rather amusing list of ailments that can be cured with superglue plus frustrating memory gaps allow readers to sympathize with Mann’s condition and root for the dead guy.