This book is based on the short story 'Surviving the Fittest' the author wrote a couple of years ago, which I only recognized while reading the author's introduction. But I immediately remembered having read that short story back then and, most importantly, that I loved it. Based on this background, I was even more eager to dive into the Haunted Country (again) and reacquaint myself with Charlie and his sister Cindy.
The world is roamed by zombies for a while now, and fifteen-year old Charlie and his mentally handicapped sister Cindy are always on the run, each day fighting to survive the undead, but also the remaining living. Turns out that the living are even more dangerous, because their twisted minds are not predictable at all.
Each encounter with other survivors is a new guessing game - Charlie can never be sure whether they meet fellow humans or sick bastards out for 'fun' or an easy way to get their stomachs filled. While Charlie and Cindy do meet several decent people who help them, this seems to be the exception. More often than not they are captured and abused by men who took the zombie outbreak as an opportunity to unleash their depraved inner demons.
However, Charlie always manages to find a spark of hope in the darkest moments, preventing him from despairing and giving up. Especially the ending, while tragic and heartbreaking, shows that there is still hope to be found. But with humanity as the most precious treasure to protect, this story also shows how it can all to easily be turned into its ugly opposite.
This novel lives from its exceptional characterizations, and sometimes I had a hard time to bear what cruel fate awaited Charlie and Cindy. It only occurs very rarely that a book still manages to shake me, but this one definitely did! While this of course is a zombie story, the undead provide only the background setting for a much greater threat and once more, the real monsters turn out to be those still living...Highly recommended!
(Thanks to the author and Booklover Catlady Publicity for providing a copy of this book - all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased)