Seattle, Washington - Present Day

Amanda Feral is having a fabulous death. Awakening from a bad spill in her office building garage as a zombie was unexpected, but not without its perks. So long as she's careful, Amanda is guaranteed to keep her fabulous figure and practically live forever. Who wouldn't want that? Then again, eating human flesh takes a bit of getting used to. But when the hunger hits, well, look out humans standing nearby.

When the rather self-centered (come on, wouldn't you be if you were as fab?) Amanda receives a text message of 'Help' from her friend Liesl, well, the cavalry isn't exactly coming. Instead, with a gay vampire and a vain zombie in tow, Amanda stylishly sets off to see what's what with her supernatural friend. Soon, the undead scene starts to look a little ugly as an evil invades unlike anything before. Can Amanda, Balenciaga bag in hand and Louboutin-shod feet, find her way through the murky path of the underworld to stop the sinister plot before true terror (like shopping at Wal-Mart) takes over?

HAPPY HOUR OF THE DAMNED is zombie-licious. It's not often one can say that a tale about a flesh-eating zombie is hilarious, but author Mark Henry has certainly found and hit the funny bone quite a few times. I do have to agree with Amanda's original thought, though; hunger or no hunger, food needs to be washed before eating. It's hard to categorize this story except to say that it's highly entertaining and hard to put down. Amanda reminds me of an even more vain Betsy from MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series, if it's even possible. Best friends Gil and Wendy are along for the ride, adding their own personal angst and ennui to the situation which just inspires even more laughter.

Yes, there's a bad guy and a bit of suspense, but really, HAPPY HOUR OF THE DAMNED is all about Amanda...and don't you forget it!

Kathy Samuels