Dr. Zimm's Elixir

by Mike Lee, Mike Lee

When Dr. Thadeus Zimm developed a way to extract information from the newly deceased, he changed the world of criminal investigation forever. And some other stuff, too.

The Zimm Industries "Z-pack" allows a short window of communication with the dead. Properly applied, Dr. Zimm's concoction allows the technicians of Zimm Industries to interview (deceased) victims of violent crime. One such technician, Matt Freeman, is busily plying his trade, along with his partner, when he gets drawn into the investigation of a series of terrorist attacks. At least, until Matt himself comes across an unexploded bomb at one of the scenes... and finds out there's another side to Dr. Zimm's Elixir.

*The cover of this book says, "Not your average zombie story." That's because many of the best zombie stories are very prone to fall into one of a few themes and settings. So much so that I want to make this disclaimer, so folks who buy this one aren't expecting something very similar to the standard for the genre. This is not a post-apocalyptic, "Hordes of zombies! Whack 'em in the head!" story. And I didn't put it in the "Horror" genre, or the "Post-Apocalypse" genre (although Amazon sometimes adds genre categories after the fact, so you may or may not see it there now.) for that reason. While I am a big fan of the best books in those genres, it's not what I have written here, and I want to make that clear to readers who are looking for that kind of story. I don't want anyone to be disappointed because they expect zombie stories to follow that well-established pattern. While I reserve the right to WRITE one of those at some point, if that's what you are looking for, you should read the sample before purchasing this book. It's different from those.
I hope you enjoy it.
M.L.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 19, 2014

About the author

Mike Lee lives in Englewood, Colorado, and practices psychotherapy there. He started writing in graduate school, occasionally being printed in local newspapers such as the Rocky Mountain News. He began writing fiction in 2007, as a hobby. Horker's Law is his first novel.

Reviews

[Charlie Wicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

More love for Mike Lee

I have enjoyed several books by Mr. Lee and they are good reads that I have enjoyed what I especially like is the ideas he puts into them. Refreshing. I hope to see more from him in the future.

[Scott Toney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Dr. Zimm's Elixir. This book gives a truly fresh face to the Zombie genre, and also advances its realm greatly. When I think Zombie I think pulp and gore and high-intensity. What we have here is, yes that in places, but also a book that is so well thought out that though I never saw the future coming I was always in awe of the plot when it did arrive. When I was a kid I loved Sherlock Holmes. I know that the genre is completely different here, but I found myself thinking that author Mike Lee's mind must work in a similar way to Arthur Conan Doyle's at times. Each area of his world is plotted perfectly and the way things weave to conclusion are brilliant. It made this work fantastic for me and in a genre that is often overdone I found myself completely enthralled. I've been a Lee fan for quite some time now, with Fey. being my favorite of his books to date, but this holds an excellent spot on my library shelf of must reads. I stayed up late every night I read and could not put it down until the wee hours of the morning.

I know Lee from a website but was not asked to read or review this work. I was so enthralled by it that I could not help myself.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even with plentiful typos and a couple mis-cues; this was a great story. A detective story with zombies! What a great and unique combination. Mike Lee has a habit of bending and combining genres, just look at "Fey" for another example. He does is with skill and flash. With a once-over from a good editor this could be a 5 star tale just from its twists and turns. It was a really fun read even if the big climax was telegraphed a little and the epilogue made for a bit of a 'Disney' ending.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It was a nice twist on the traditional zombie story. The narrator, Dale Dudley, did a great job on his first narration!