In the blink of an eye, the world falls into chaos. What started off as a typical day on a regular college campus, quickly turns bloody as a deadly virus wreaks havoc in the south. Raegan Billsby and her friends barely escape the panic with their lives, but quickly realize that the danger has only just begun as swarms of the undead massacre in the streets. She and a rag-tag group of survivors must stand together if they’re going to live through the ever-growing nightmare in a world where no one can be trusted. Tempers flare, and comrades fall in a desperate race to a Rumored haven and no one knows what lurks beyond the next bend. Raegan’s grit will be tested as she clashes with fellow survivors and her own inner demons. As the world collapses around them, will they find the strength they need to fight against the rising tide of blood, or will they wash away, leaving only…Remnants.
Zombie stories are not normally among my favorites, but I found myself enjoying this one. There were even a couple times where zombie descriptions would turn my stomach. The plot was pretty solid with a large assortment of characters. It was interesting to see scenes of minor characters right as the outbreak began, still giving them a tiny bit of life before ripping them away. I really liked that. There's a difference in knowing there were “other people” out there besides the main group and actually witnessing it as they succumb to infection. There's plenty of action in this book, and nobody is safe from the chop block.
Dialogue was a little clunky and didn't quite flow naturally. Sometimes it felt misplaced in a scene (too much standing still and talking rather than running/fighting approaching danger).
I have my theories on what will happen in future books, but I will keep them to myself for now. A good debut novel, and I'm curious where the story will lead next.