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Working Stiffs
Alternate cover edition for 193906502X/9781939065025
Something has gone horribly wrong in the Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals factory and ex-meth dealer Marshall Owens, the companies owner and drug genius, must keep the surrounding Pittsburgh area from finding out. Unfortunately, the undead assembly line workers have other plans.
The infection spreads and chaos reigns supreme as the surviving Pro-Well employees battle their way through offices with whatever weapons they can scrounge from the supply closet. They must get outside. But they don't know that The General is out there amassing a shambling, rotting army of Pittsburgh's finest.
Will the employees make it?
Will two repulsive works find love in a janitors closet?
How many office workers can one man take down with the blade of a paper cutter and some staplers?
Will Own Marshall go back to selling meth?
And most important of all, will Pro-Well's stock value plummet?
Find out all the answers in this brilliant new horror/comedy novel reminiscent of the style of Christopher Moore.
Something has gone horribly wrong in the Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals factory and ex-meth dealer Marshall Owens, the companies owner and drug genius, must keep the surrounding Pittsburgh area from finding out. Unfortunately, the undead assembly line workers have other plans.
The infection spreads and chaos reigns supreme as the surviving Pro-Well employees battle their way through offices with whatever weapons they can scrounge from the supply closet. They must get outside. But they don't know that The General is out there amassing a shambling, rotting army of Pittsburgh's finest.
Will the employees make it?
Will two repulsive works find love in a janitors closet?
How many office workers can one man take down with the blade of a paper cutter and some staplers?
Will Own Marshall go back to selling meth?
And most important of all, will Pro-Well's stock value plummet?
Find out all the answers in this brilliant new horror/comedy novel reminiscent of the style of Christopher Moore.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Lucy Leitner
21 books54 followersLucy Leitner is the author of five novels and many published short stories that blend horror, sci fi, black humor, and irreverence to explore “the terror of knowing what this world is about.” Her books have been classified as transgressive fiction, satire, splatterpunk, and, her personal favorite, “goofball noir.”
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 28, 2019
“The employees have gone mad,” she had cried into the receiver. “They’re killing one another and eating some while they are still alive and screaming!”
“Remain calm, and stay in your office,” Harold had said. “I will speak to Mr. Owens.”
Then the line went dead, and, unlike her co-workers, it never came back to life.
Try to envision the perfect factory workers . . .
They'd show up on time, they'd work long hours without complaining, and they'd NEVER try to unionize. In fact, they wouldn't even notice if, say, they got an arm torn off in a piece of machinery.
You got it!
ZOMBIES! The ideal employees!
Until, they get loose. Then they'd take to the streets, and NOT to protest the 1%.
Pittsburghers are once again menaced by roaming groups of brainless, hungry zombies . . . and THIS TIME, it's NOT just Steeler's fans!
Can a small group of office workers holed up in a conference room make it out of the office alive, AND before five? Will they follow the advice from one of those annoying motivational posters - “Teamwork: You can reach your goals only with the help of others”, or end up killing each other instead?
Leitner has crafted a funny, undead romp with a delightful Shaun Of The Dead feel. Though there is plenty of grisly zombie action involving organ and intestine chomping, this one is definitely played more for laughs than chills.
Highly recommended for zombie, AND humor fans looking for a good time in the Steel City.
"When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will go to work.”
“Remain calm, and stay in your office,” Harold had said. “I will speak to Mr. Owens.”
Then the line went dead, and, unlike her co-workers, it never came back to life.
Try to envision the perfect factory workers . . .
They'd show up on time, they'd work long hours without complaining, and they'd NEVER try to unionize. In fact, they wouldn't even notice if, say, they got an arm torn off in a piece of machinery.
You got it!
ZOMBIES! The ideal employees!
Until, they get loose. Then they'd take to the streets, and NOT to protest the 1%.
Pittsburghers are once again menaced by roaming groups of brainless, hungry zombies . . . and THIS TIME, it's NOT just Steeler's fans!
Can a small group of office workers holed up in a conference room make it out of the office alive, AND before five? Will they follow the advice from one of those annoying motivational posters - “Teamwork: You can reach your goals only with the help of others”, or end up killing each other instead?
Leitner has crafted a funny, undead romp with a delightful Shaun Of The Dead feel. Though there is plenty of grisly zombie action involving organ and intestine chomping, this one is definitely played more for laughs than chills.
Highly recommended for zombie, AND humor fans looking for a good time in the Steel City.
"When there’s no more room in Hell, the dead will go to work.”
June 7, 2026
If I got turned into a zombie and still had to work I'd be big mad!
I have never read a book with a large cast of characters where I just hated everyone. Except the General. Did it make the book less enjoyable? Nope. Seeing how these people would make it through the zombie outbreak made me want to keep reading. I do have to admit in the end Hank grew on me.
Social satire aimed at toxic work culture made this book a great read, and who doesn't love zombies??
Leitner is a master of combining gore, humor and social commentary and that's why she is a must read author for me.
I have never read a book with a large cast of characters where I just hated everyone. Except the General. Did it make the book less enjoyable? Nope. Seeing how these people would make it through the zombie outbreak made me want to keep reading. I do have to admit in the end Hank grew on me.
Social satire aimed at toxic work culture made this book a great read, and who doesn't love zombies??
Leitner is a master of combining gore, humor and social commentary and that's why she is a must read author for me.
July 10, 2021
Premise: Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals is Pittsburgh’s premiere pharmaceutical company, led by the former meth dealer Marshall Owens, developing drugs that treat diseases and ailments such as erectile dysfunction. When a terrible accident stops production, however, their dirty little secret is revealed: the factory workforce is actually full of zombies who only need payment in human flesh.
The office employees quickly go into survival mode, banding together or falling victim to undead hunger. They gather makeshift weapons of paper cutters and staplers in order to fight off zombie hordes as they try to escape the building before it’s time to clock out. Marshall Owens has barricaded himself in his fourth floor office, but his surviving employees might have plans of making him pay for his crimes against nature.
The zombie horde amassing outside the building makes their escape plans even more of a challenge, especially with no contact with the outside world. The outbreak has spread to other parts of the city, but the surrounded building isn’t enough to make these employees work overtime.
Themes: Survival is the key in any zombie outbreak, and that is no different in Working Stiffs. Improvisation is essential, especially when trying to find food, water, and weapons. Knowing your enemy is important as you make a plan for survival. The employees search for office supplies that can double as weapons and do their best to plan for escape from the Pro-Well building. We are given insight into the creativity needed for survival situations.
Romance sort of plays a role in the story, though a small part, even if it is unrequited or hidden between unlikely characters. Two employees make their secret romance known, while the goth girl on her first day of work longs for the gay pessimist who becomes the appointed leader of the survivors.
Pros: The dialogue is pretty funny if you aren’t offended by obscenity. The unique characters are probably the best part of Working Stiffs, being thoughtfully characterized without becoming too much of a caricaturization. I liked the fast pace of the action and the funny conversations, especially of the boorish O’Brien. And the loveable General will surprise everyone with his leadership. I also liked that no one is safe when it comes to becoming a zombie meal.
Cons: One of the problems I had with Working Stiffs was that I wasn’t convinced the improvised weapons would have been quite as effective as they were. I don’t think reams of paper and telephones with cords attached would smash a skull as well as they did in the story. A minor gripe considering the humorous nature of the book, I feel like it ended with a few loose ends unresolved while other things tied up too quickly. Perhaps it needed a bigger climactic event to have more payoff. I thought some of the content was offensive for the sake of being offensive, such as with the self-depreciating homosexual or the comments about obese people.
Recommendations: If there is such a thing as a lighthearted zombie gore fest, this falls into that category. Working Stiffs is humorous, full of violence, gore, profanity, and indiscriminately offensive toward all social groups, from geek to goth, including religion, race, age, sexual preference, weight, et al. Some people will be offended by these things while others will greatly enjoy the book because of them. I have a feeling after reading this review you will know which camp you fall into. Think of Working Stiffs as a cross between Office Space and Shaun of the Dead.
The office employees quickly go into survival mode, banding together or falling victim to undead hunger. They gather makeshift weapons of paper cutters and staplers in order to fight off zombie hordes as they try to escape the building before it’s time to clock out. Marshall Owens has barricaded himself in his fourth floor office, but his surviving employees might have plans of making him pay for his crimes against nature.
The zombie horde amassing outside the building makes their escape plans even more of a challenge, especially with no contact with the outside world. The outbreak has spread to other parts of the city, but the surrounded building isn’t enough to make these employees work overtime.
Themes: Survival is the key in any zombie outbreak, and that is no different in Working Stiffs. Improvisation is essential, especially when trying to find food, water, and weapons. Knowing your enemy is important as you make a plan for survival. The employees search for office supplies that can double as weapons and do their best to plan for escape from the Pro-Well building. We are given insight into the creativity needed for survival situations.
Romance sort of plays a role in the story, though a small part, even if it is unrequited or hidden between unlikely characters. Two employees make their secret romance known, while the goth girl on her first day of work longs for the gay pessimist who becomes the appointed leader of the survivors.
Pros: The dialogue is pretty funny if you aren’t offended by obscenity. The unique characters are probably the best part of Working Stiffs, being thoughtfully characterized without becoming too much of a caricaturization. I liked the fast pace of the action and the funny conversations, especially of the boorish O’Brien. And the loveable General will surprise everyone with his leadership. I also liked that no one is safe when it comes to becoming a zombie meal.
Cons: One of the problems I had with Working Stiffs was that I wasn’t convinced the improvised weapons would have been quite as effective as they were. I don’t think reams of paper and telephones with cords attached would smash a skull as well as they did in the story. A minor gripe considering the humorous nature of the book, I feel like it ended with a few loose ends unresolved while other things tied up too quickly. Perhaps it needed a bigger climactic event to have more payoff. I thought some of the content was offensive for the sake of being offensive, such as with the self-depreciating homosexual or the comments about obese people.
Recommendations: If there is such a thing as a lighthearted zombie gore fest, this falls into that category. Working Stiffs is humorous, full of violence, gore, profanity, and indiscriminately offensive toward all social groups, from geek to goth, including religion, race, age, sexual preference, weight, et al. Some people will be offended by these things while others will greatly enjoy the book because of them. I have a feeling after reading this review you will know which camp you fall into. Think of Working Stiffs as a cross between Office Space and Shaun of the Dead.
June 12, 2026
All right, men, are we ready to beat the shit out of our coworkers?
3 ½ stars. Lucy Leitner's "Working Stiffs" is a fairly funny zombie tale with a lot of the usually found, common themes from the genre. If you're keeping score, this particular z-plot is centered around a group of average folks trying to survive the apocalypse that has broken out at their headquarters. So yes, it's basically an escape tale where the boss's forays into the world of bizarre pharmaceuticals backfires spectacularly. I mean, using zombies as free labor? What could possibly go wrong? Cue "Yakety Sax" aka Benny Hill theme music… and yeah, start running, too!
He shuffled slowly, because any self-respecting zombie moves slowly and laboriously…
So we eventually find ourselves at the Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals "campus (which) stood proudly as a beacon of hope in the sphincter of Pittsburgh." This also includes the packaging facility, all of which is the brainchild of CEO Marshall Owens, the company's owner and drug, I mean, chemical genius who "abandoned his parasitic so-called career as a meth dealer" after he blew himself up in an explosion that would have qualified as a "Breaking Bad" blooper of the worst kind. Thanks to this, he is left with a face- and bodyful of truly frightening burn scars, which leave him looking "like a cross between Freddy Krueger and the Phantom of the Opera…" So yeah, basically like Elon Musk once the ketamine kicks in…
This isn’t cocaine… It’s Pro-caine, Pro-Well’s legal dietary supplement.
Still, Owen manages to compensate for his disfigurement and even become a media darling as well as "the omnipotent savior of the sick, the environment, and Pittsburgh’s water polo league" by being a charming, well-dressed, and smooth-talking rich dude who practically owns the city by now. And we all know how those folks can do whatever they want because of reasons! In fact, luckily for him (like, very) some time ago he was given the benefit of the doubt about his criminal past, promising that he was on the road to redemption and was going to make up for his many wrongs. So here he is now - after the influx of much investment money and whatnot - currently trying to cure literally every ill that befalls mankind, no matter how literally unbelievable - or unnecessary - that may be ("…we’re fighting everything from cancer to female cleft chins.").
…he rose from his cubicle, his chiseled face gray and rotten, his eyes as glazed as a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
What's even more exciting is that somewhat fortuitously (ha!) we learn that "after a male enhancement drug backfired and turned the lab rats into obedient slaves that could still function without a heartbeat", which helps then keep the packing lines running, worker morale, um, nonexistent, and most importantly, costs low! In fact, Owens has managed to keep the authorities from getting too curious - not an auditor or health official to be found anywhere! - particularly as he's hired many of the worst thugs he met in prison to both protect his secrets, hunt for the "food" needed to keep the packing lines running, and guard his own life. Still, as everyone and their cousin Timmy expect, his workforce breaks out after one random person's misguided attempt to undo the great wrongs of keeping these converted street and other "they'll never be missed" folks (including the homeless, drunken frat boys, prostitutes, and anyone who dares walk alone at night for any reason at all) imprisoned like this that, again, kept them in a "semi-conscious state that made them ideal workers but also flesh-eating ghouls."
…the bum looked as if he hadn’t bathed since Mel Gibson was sane…
So naturally, despite no one having checked with HR first to see if this was ok and would fit into the usual enforced schedule, the office quickly turns into an abattoir filled with the requisite amounts of offal, viscera, and blood by the bucketful! Not only that but the infection spreads to the surrounding Pittsburgh neighborhoods where not even what are usually well-armed police forces can stem the tide of destruction. So it's up to the surviving Pro-Well employees to battle their way through the mayhem with whatever weapons they can scrounge or construct from basic office and available cleaning supplies. The folks at Dunder Mifflin Inc. should be happy to see this often included heavy packs of paper used to bludgeon the undead! Whatever it takes…
They are not murderers. They are valued members of our Pro-Well family.
A large part of the strength of this story - which itself is about as basic of a z-tale through and through as you'll find - lies with some interesting characters who more often than not have a lot of weird extra baggage they're toting around in their heads. Hank is probably the best of this motley crew, as he not only does a lot of the heavy lifting against the z's but also brings to the table his severe OCD, his experience from two tours in Vietnam, his absolute misogynistic opinion of just about everything in the world around him, as well as what seems to be his homosexuality. But he is definitely the one we hitch our wagon to in terms of dealing not only with the drudgery of office existence but what to do when the apocalypse appears outside of your tiny and soul-draining cubicle.
The place was a dive that had become trendy in the same ironic way as Pabst Blue Ribbon and William Shatner…
There's a literal plethora of additional players that have more or less interesting traits, including new-hire Janice who has barely found where her own cubicle is stationed when all hell breaks loose. Sure, there are others we get to know and love-to-hate ("…his gambling spun out of control after he got into the fledgling pigeon triathlon scene.") but really it's pretty apparent - just as the outbreak itself - who is doomed for devourment and who just may make it out into a bright new future of profiting from the whole ordeal. So besides these characters and their own quirks, we are treated to some pretty funny but maybe not "ha ha" humor that Leitner regales us with throughout. Sometimes the jokes take a looooong time to reach their punch lines while others smack us like the most beloved Dad jokes (or Mom jokes, I don't judge) of our youth. But in the end, you can tell she has a good time with the book, particularly as she manages to take a bite out of her hometown Pittsburgh scene, particularly anyone who hangs onto the success - or usual lack of - of the Steel City's various professional sports franchises. And naturally the rivals thereof:
The Detroit Red Wings are commie cyborgs.
Overall then a fun if not terribly deep story - horror-comedy y'all, write that down! - that I would place in the middle of my plethora (a different number from the previous plethora mind you) of zombie reads. Things keep moving at a fairly brisk pace even though a lot of that is owing to the fact that we spend a lot of time between one conference room and whatever else can be found on the populated two floors of Owen's glass house. The execution is pretty average where the typos spotted are surprising since this is apparently a re-release (e.g. Craigslist is one word without an apostrophe and dammit, when will people finally learn that Spider-Man has a hyphen?). But what the heck, as long as we can enjoy the demise and degustation of the rich and their on-going milking of the hypochondriacs of the world, it's all copacetic with me!
3 ½ stars. Lucy Leitner's "Working Stiffs" is a fairly funny zombie tale with a lot of the usually found, common themes from the genre. If you're keeping score, this particular z-plot is centered around a group of average folks trying to survive the apocalypse that has broken out at their headquarters. So yes, it's basically an escape tale where the boss's forays into the world of bizarre pharmaceuticals backfires spectacularly. I mean, using zombies as free labor? What could possibly go wrong? Cue "Yakety Sax" aka Benny Hill theme music… and yeah, start running, too!
He shuffled slowly, because any self-respecting zombie moves slowly and laboriously…
So we eventually find ourselves at the Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals "campus (which) stood proudly as a beacon of hope in the sphincter of Pittsburgh." This also includes the packaging facility, all of which is the brainchild of CEO Marshall Owens, the company's owner and drug, I mean, chemical genius who "abandoned his parasitic so-called career as a meth dealer" after he blew himself up in an explosion that would have qualified as a "Breaking Bad" blooper of the worst kind. Thanks to this, he is left with a face- and bodyful of truly frightening burn scars, which leave him looking "like a cross between Freddy Krueger and the Phantom of the Opera…" So yeah, basically like Elon Musk once the ketamine kicks in…
This isn’t cocaine… It’s Pro-caine, Pro-Well’s legal dietary supplement.
Still, Owen manages to compensate for his disfigurement and even become a media darling as well as "the omnipotent savior of the sick, the environment, and Pittsburgh’s water polo league" by being a charming, well-dressed, and smooth-talking rich dude who practically owns the city by now. And we all know how those folks can do whatever they want because of reasons! In fact, luckily for him (like, very) some time ago he was given the benefit of the doubt about his criminal past, promising that he was on the road to redemption and was going to make up for his many wrongs. So here he is now - after the influx of much investment money and whatnot - currently trying to cure literally every ill that befalls mankind, no matter how literally unbelievable - or unnecessary - that may be ("…we’re fighting everything from cancer to female cleft chins.").
…he rose from his cubicle, his chiseled face gray and rotten, his eyes as glazed as a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
What's even more exciting is that somewhat fortuitously (ha!) we learn that "after a male enhancement drug backfired and turned the lab rats into obedient slaves that could still function without a heartbeat", which helps then keep the packing lines running, worker morale, um, nonexistent, and most importantly, costs low! In fact, Owens has managed to keep the authorities from getting too curious - not an auditor or health official to be found anywhere! - particularly as he's hired many of the worst thugs he met in prison to both protect his secrets, hunt for the "food" needed to keep the packing lines running, and guard his own life. Still, as everyone and their cousin Timmy expect, his workforce breaks out after one random person's misguided attempt to undo the great wrongs of keeping these converted street and other "they'll never be missed" folks (including the homeless, drunken frat boys, prostitutes, and anyone who dares walk alone at night for any reason at all) imprisoned like this that, again, kept them in a "semi-conscious state that made them ideal workers but also flesh-eating ghouls."
…the bum looked as if he hadn’t bathed since Mel Gibson was sane…
So naturally, despite no one having checked with HR first to see if this was ok and would fit into the usual enforced schedule, the office quickly turns into an abattoir filled with the requisite amounts of offal, viscera, and blood by the bucketful! Not only that but the infection spreads to the surrounding Pittsburgh neighborhoods where not even what are usually well-armed police forces can stem the tide of destruction. So it's up to the surviving Pro-Well employees to battle their way through the mayhem with whatever weapons they can scrounge or construct from basic office and available cleaning supplies. The folks at Dunder Mifflin Inc. should be happy to see this often included heavy packs of paper used to bludgeon the undead! Whatever it takes…
They are not murderers. They are valued members of our Pro-Well family.
A large part of the strength of this story - which itself is about as basic of a z-tale through and through as you'll find - lies with some interesting characters who more often than not have a lot of weird extra baggage they're toting around in their heads. Hank is probably the best of this motley crew, as he not only does a lot of the heavy lifting against the z's but also brings to the table his severe OCD, his experience from two tours in Vietnam, his absolute misogynistic opinion of just about everything in the world around him, as well as what seems to be his homosexuality. But he is definitely the one we hitch our wagon to in terms of dealing not only with the drudgery of office existence but what to do when the apocalypse appears outside of your tiny and soul-draining cubicle.
The place was a dive that had become trendy in the same ironic way as Pabst Blue Ribbon and William Shatner…
There's a literal plethora of additional players that have more or less interesting traits, including new-hire Janice who has barely found where her own cubicle is stationed when all hell breaks loose. Sure, there are others we get to know and love-to-hate ("…his gambling spun out of control after he got into the fledgling pigeon triathlon scene.") but really it's pretty apparent - just as the outbreak itself - who is doomed for devourment and who just may make it out into a bright new future of profiting from the whole ordeal. So besides these characters and their own quirks, we are treated to some pretty funny but maybe not "ha ha" humor that Leitner regales us with throughout. Sometimes the jokes take a looooong time to reach their punch lines while others smack us like the most beloved Dad jokes (or Mom jokes, I don't judge) of our youth. But in the end, you can tell she has a good time with the book, particularly as she manages to take a bite out of her hometown Pittsburgh scene, particularly anyone who hangs onto the success - or usual lack of - of the Steel City's various professional sports franchises. And naturally the rivals thereof:
The Detroit Red Wings are commie cyborgs.
Overall then a fun if not terribly deep story - horror-comedy y'all, write that down! - that I would place in the middle of my plethora (a different number from the previous plethora mind you) of zombie reads. Things keep moving at a fairly brisk pace even though a lot of that is owing to the fact that we spend a lot of time between one conference room and whatever else can be found on the populated two floors of Owen's glass house. The execution is pretty average where the typos spotted are surprising since this is apparently a re-release (e.g. Craigslist is one word without an apostrophe and dammit, when will people finally learn that Spider-Man has a hyphen?). But what the heck, as long as we can enjoy the demise and degustation of the rich and their on-going milking of the hypochondriacs of the world, it's all copacetic with me!
July 13, 2012
It is a given that anything zombie is vastly popular, in print, film, comics, and TV. But thankfully, debut novelist Lucy Leitner gives us something fresh (er, okay, except for those rotting, renaimated corpses with a hungry penchant for human meat) and funny as hell. Yeah, after reading this slender novel, it would easy to see it a black comedy horror thing akin to Shaun of the Dead, or Night of the Living Dead meets The Office, but I give her huge kudos for making Working Stiffs all her own. After all, it is set in Pittsburgh, home of the godfather of zombie-horror, George Romero.
The novel is about a mad pharmaceuticals mogul, Marshall Owens, who designs a drug that turns humans into zombies. But he does this to use them as slave labor in his manufacturing plant...until one day they revolt, break out, and begin eating the denizens of the South Side area. The Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals office workers are unaware of this until the zombie horde (led by the General, a mostly harmless homeless man who somehow doesn't feel the need to consume his fellow man) begins to storm the home office and tear apart their coworkers. A ragtag group of surviving office workers bands together and uses office equipment to fend off and kill the hungry living dead. What Leitner does best is intersperse the obvious zombie gorefest with a lot of dry wit, black humor, often perverse but poignantly true, as the quirky office workers (led by Hank, an aging gay rocker type, who hates everyone) try to find a way to stay alive. Those from Pittsburgh, like this reviewer, will especially get a kick out of the numerous cultural and local sports references of the Steel City. Highly recommended!
The novel is about a mad pharmaceuticals mogul, Marshall Owens, who designs a drug that turns humans into zombies. But he does this to use them as slave labor in his manufacturing plant...until one day they revolt, break out, and begin eating the denizens of the South Side area. The Pro-Well Pharmaceuticals office workers are unaware of this until the zombie horde (led by the General, a mostly harmless homeless man who somehow doesn't feel the need to consume his fellow man) begins to storm the home office and tear apart their coworkers. A ragtag group of surviving office workers bands together and uses office equipment to fend off and kill the hungry living dead. What Leitner does best is intersperse the obvious zombie gorefest with a lot of dry wit, black humor, often perverse but poignantly true, as the quirky office workers (led by Hank, an aging gay rocker type, who hates everyone) try to find a way to stay alive. Those from Pittsburgh, like this reviewer, will especially get a kick out of the numerous cultural and local sports references of the Steel City. Highly recommended!
March 13, 2015
I am going to start with what I think are the pros for this author and story.
The author’s marketing is freaking brilliant. The company in the book is called ProWell Pharmaceuticals. The author created a website for this company:
ProWell Pharmaceuticals <— This is beyond hilarious. Not only did she create a website for the company, she created a zombie workout site for survival:
FITApocalypse <—- She really has an edge with her marketing plan.
CONS:
To me, it had a very Stephen King vibe, not in the story, but in the descriptions; where he goes into pages of description for one person. Another dislike for me was that the author goes on and on about humanity, and whores and women, etc. The story itself was really good. The idea, the flow and thought process from beginning to end. For a female author, she’s really rough on women. I feel she tries too hard at throwing in pop-culture references.
Overall, this is really midline for me. It was easy enough to read, but I found myself skipping pages and skimming the story, just to actually get through it and finish it.
The author’s marketing is freaking brilliant. The company in the book is called ProWell Pharmaceuticals. The author created a website for this company:
ProWell Pharmaceuticals <— This is beyond hilarious. Not only did she create a website for the company, she created a zombie workout site for survival:
FITApocalypse <—- She really has an edge with her marketing plan.
CONS:
To me, it had a very Stephen King vibe, not in the story, but in the descriptions; where he goes into pages of description for one person. Another dislike for me was that the author goes on and on about humanity, and whores and women, etc. The story itself was really good. The idea, the flow and thought process from beginning to end. For a female author, she’s really rough on women. I feel she tries too hard at throwing in pop-culture references.
Overall, this is really midline for me. It was easy enough to read, but I found myself skipping pages and skimming the story, just to actually get through it and finish it.
December 31, 2025
Working Stiffs by Lucy Leitner is a fun and unique take on the zombie apocalypse. Set in a corporate office, the story follows multiple points of view as coworkers try to survive when their workday turns into a nightmare. The office setting adds a fresh twist, mixing dark humor with chaos and tension. The rotating POVs keep the pace moving and make the outbreak feel fast and unpredictable. Overall, it’s an entertaining and creative zombie story that stands out from the usual apocalyptic reads.
January 27, 2026
I just love Lucy Leitner’s writing. Such a witty, funny banter in her books while also being horrific and gory! This was the zombie workplace, evil bug pharma, slap to society’s face kind of read I was needing! I received an ARC of this and am so glad I did! Book releases Feb 20!
May 27, 2026
This was fun - a good blend of humor and violence. A lot of bloody zombie goodness and a bunch of characters you love to hate, or at least dislike. I found myself kind of relating to Hank, the main character!
January 1, 2026
It was a very dawn of the dead-esque read. It was really good. If you love zombies you can’t skip this one.
August 5, 2012
When one thinks of zombies and Pittsburgh, the name that readily comes to mind is that of filmmaker George Romero. However, if this books gains the popularity it deserves, the name Lucy Leitner will also come to mind when one thinks of undead folks shambling through the Steel City.
Romero's films were social commentary, but Ms. Leitner's book goes a step beyond that, mixing the zombie apocalypse with the world of office politics, and the result is hilarious!
When Marshall Owens, a reformed meth user who now owns a large pharmaceutical company, attempts to develop a new drug for erectile dysfunction, he accidentally creates zombies instead. Figuring he can save a few bucks, he uses the drug to create a workforce of zombie slaves, but it all goes awry, as such things are wont to do.
Working Stiffs is a wonderfully entertaining novel, populated with a wonderful cast of characters, my favorites of whom are Hank, a curmudgeonly middle-aged gay guy who basically hates everything but has a soft spot for an elderly street person known as The General; and Janice, a woman who, on her voyage of self-discovery, has been a hippie, a punk and is currently a goth.
I was actually sad when this novel came to an end but will gladly read the next book Ms. Leitner writes, no matter what it's about.
Romero's films were social commentary, but Ms. Leitner's book goes a step beyond that, mixing the zombie apocalypse with the world of office politics, and the result is hilarious!
When Marshall Owens, a reformed meth user who now owns a large pharmaceutical company, attempts to develop a new drug for erectile dysfunction, he accidentally creates zombies instead. Figuring he can save a few bucks, he uses the drug to create a workforce of zombie slaves, but it all goes awry, as such things are wont to do.
Working Stiffs is a wonderfully entertaining novel, populated with a wonderful cast of characters, my favorites of whom are Hank, a curmudgeonly middle-aged gay guy who basically hates everything but has a soft spot for an elderly street person known as The General; and Janice, a woman who, on her voyage of self-discovery, has been a hippie, a punk and is currently a goth.
I was actually sad when this novel came to an end but will gladly read the next book Ms. Leitner writes, no matter what it's about.
December 28, 2012
Loved it! The coolest thing is that I know Lucy. Anyways, think she wrote an awesome book.
November 23, 2015
I loved this book! It is funny and fast paced keeping my interest the entire way through it. I recommend this anyone with a sense of humor.
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