I devoured this story like a rotter eating brains (except they don't eat brains... as far as anyone knows.)
This book and the ones before it, they aren't about zombies (or rotters/infectees) and the end of the world; they're about people. Normal, non-heroic people just trying to survive while navigating the mundane (like the way female characters actually worry about, y'know, "girl problems") and the sort of friend/lover/enemy relationships that warrant an "it's complicated" status. While I could bang on about how the UK/US English can sometimes feel a bit out of place, I'd rather sing from the rooftops about how terrifyingly well those relationships are explored. The words are sparse, but their meaning... Winter sees more than she realises, only there's the knowing-audience-smugness that says actually we both know what's going on. Winter and Leo, Winter and Castle, Winter and Summer... There is so much nuance in each of their scenes, yet it still keeps you guessing right until the very end. Now the group have reached the CDC, there may be fewer mentions of the walking not-exactly-dead, but don't think there's any less tension because they're safely stowed away in a bunker.
Honestly, this one kept me on the edge of my seat. Language oddities aside, this series of post apocalyptic adventure with a feminist slant is far deeper than I'd imagined it could be. Winter may be a jumbled up sort of character, but her reliably unreliable narration sets the scene so well that it's sure to draw you in to her Days of Doom.
-I received a free copy of this ebook from the author. I chose to review it under no obligation because I loved it-