Review: Deadline by Mira Grant

Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn’t seem as fun when you’ve lost as much as he has.

But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news-he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead.

Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun.

Deadline by Mira Grant. Book #2 in the Newsflash series. Narrated Chris Patton and Nell Geisslinger. Published by Hachette Audio, 2011. Runtime of 15 hours.

Where are the zombies? No, seriously….This is a zombie book, but there is a serious lack of said zombies. You see some at the start, you see some at the end. In the middle is a couple hundred pages of……………. driving? Is this a zombie book for people who don’t actually like zombies?

In the same line of thought, is this a horror book for people who don’t really like horror? There is a little bit of suspense, but nothing scary or creepy. Instead, Deadline just feels like a medical thriller? The plot is good, just bummed at the lack of zombie horror.

Shaun is an ok character, but he is not a good main character. He is kind of a clueless jerk to everyone. He makes stupid choices, allllll the time. I get his sister just died, but why does everyone just let him act however and still follow him on his reckless mission? He is much better as a side character.

I do enjoy the story of Deadline. It is interesting, the mystery has a good hook. I did not really understand the plan(s) of keep going to the CDC? Seemed a little foolish. They shouldn’t have trusted the CDC, and the outcome felt too predictable. How did Shaun and Co. not see it coming too? The big twist at the end was cool. A nice reveal… but again, it felt a little too predictable from the very beginning.

Deadline is a fine sequel. It has decent suspense and mystery. It is a little frustrating that there aren’t more zombies in a zombie series. The book also suffers a bit from having an unlikable main character. It’s fine. Just don’t expect much horror or zombies.