Zombie, Illinois: A Novel

The sequel to the bestselling Zombie, Ohio, this explosive supernatural thriller from Scott Kenemore tells the story of three Chicagoans who have been thrown together by a bizarre, interconnected series of events during the first twenty-four hours of a zombie outbreak in the Midwest's largest city. A partnership is crafted between a pastor from Chicago's rough South Side, an intrepid newspaper reporter, and a young female musician, all of whom are fighting for survival as they struggle to protect themselves and their communities in a city overrun with the walking dead. Between the barricaded neighborhoods and violent zombie hunters, the trio encounters many mysterious occurrences that leave them shaken and disturbed. When the mayor of Chicago is eaten by zombies on live television, and a group of shady aldermen attempt to seize power in the vacuum, these unlikely friends realize that they have stumbled upon a conspiracy to overthrow the city . . . and that they alone may be qualified to combine their talents to stop it. Zombie, Illinois will delight devoted zombie fans and put readers in mind of some of the best recent works of supernatural horror. You will be left shocked, horrified, and craving brains! This novel will grab you from the first page and not let go until the riveting finale.

From Publishers Weekly

Political reporter Ben Bennington, troubled inner-city pastor Leopold Mack and defiant punk-rocker Maria Ramirez take on marauding zombies and crooked Chicago politicians in this wickedly satirical page-turner by Kenemore (Zombie, Ohio). Knowing where the bodies are buried is integral to the power struggle that ensues after a resurgent Al Capone devours the mayor on television, an effectively gory scene that hints at Chicago's buried past coming back to light. Ramirez's father is next in line to be mayor , but amid the zombie chaos, some conspire to usurp his power. In the ensuing melee, Kenemore steers our sympathies: "...zombies are more a force of nature than a sentient, evil entity.... The humans are the ones with murder in their souls." Nevertheless, both are lethal, and Kenemore creates an authentic sense of place and character in ravaged Chicago as well as wittily sustained tension throughout. Pastor Mack's statement that they " start by taking care of each other" invokes atypically hopeful sentiments for a zombie-genre offering: the self-reliance of the poor may set the stage for a renaissance of city spirit. This blend of idealism and wry political commentary infuses new meaning into the zombie ravages portrayed so graphically here.

From Booklist

One thing’s for sure, you won’t be thinking: ho-hum, another book where the mayor of Chicago gets eaten by a zombie Al Capone. That’s one of the highlights of this follow-up to Zombie, Ohio (2011), in which a college professor survives an attempt on his life, only to discover he hasn’t really survived at all. But this isn’t really a sequel: it takes place at roughly the same time as the earlier book but in a different location and with different characters: the drummer in an all-girl rock band, a church pastor, and a newspaper reporter (in one of many of the book’s in-jokes, the paper he works for is called Brain’s). The reporter has the hots for the drummer, the drummer hates the pastor (whose daughter also plays in the band), and all three of them soon run into some shady politicians who are determined to use the zombie apocalypse to gain control of the city (one of the politicians being the drummer’s father, whom the drummer also hates). Did we mention the zombies? They’re crawling out of the cemeteries, they’re lurching out of Lake Michigan, they’re attacking and chomping and tearing the living apart. Fans of zombified mayhem will not be disappointed. If Zombie, Ohio was at its heart a noir with zombies (man tries to solve his own murder), this is a political thriller with zombies (good guys try to stop evil politicians from taking over the city)—different in tone from Ohio, but in its own way just as good. It’ll be interesting to see what story the author tells next. --David Pitt

About the Author

Born in New York and educated at Kenyon College and Columbia University, Scott Kenemore is the nationally bestselling author of The Grand Hotel, Zombie, Ohio, and numerous other works of horror, fiction, and satire.  He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

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