Adjusting to life after his wife’s death Parker finds himself trying to ride out the zombie plague that has erupted across America and hide from an unknown gang who are occupying Philadelphia. At the same time another group of survivors, looking for anyone left alive, enter the city and find themselves under attack not just from the zombies, but the gang who are systematically shooting anyone in the area. When  Parker saves these outsiders they then have to work together to find out how to get out of the city in one piece.

This is the third book of the MZS series and feels that you should have read the first two books for the background. While there is no explanation of what has happened, which to someone who doesn’t know what is going on is perhaps expected, there is also no recap of who the second group are from the earlier stories. A precis or recap of the earlier tales would have been so useful in working out what the situation was.

The story is written in first person, which also means that we have no idea who or what any of the enemies are. However, when dealing with the group it is well structured and, while the characterisation is excellent for Parker, it is less so for the others in the story, as the previous works have already fleshed them out. The plot is fairly simple, but handled well and the pace doesn’t let up through the story as they try to escape.

All in all, its a bit of a mixed bag. While it was certainly good to read, the lack of background detracted from real enjoyment of the story. If the type of story and the writing style appeals, I would certainly suggest reading the series from the start instead of jumping in to the third book as I did.