White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland

White Trash Zombie Gone Wild
Written by: Diana Rowland
Narrated by: Allison McLemore
Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins 
Series: White Trash Zombie
Unabridged Audiobook

I like zombie stories.  I can come up with lots of reasons why, but it usually boils down to this:  I like problem solving.
Fewer things involve more problems to solve than a zombie apocalypse...that said...these aren't that type of zombie story.

This is the latest book in the White Trash Zombie series, book five actually.  I've really enjoyed this series, especially the growth of our primary character Angel Crawford.  Angel starts off as a teenage delinquent with the usual problems of drug and alcohol abuse and a long police record.  The twist here is that instead of her turning into a zombie being the end of her life and the subsequent end of the world it actually saves her life, and in more ways than one.

In this series we are told the story from the point of view of the zombie, and how the zombie parasite actually gives Angel a second chance at life.  One of those benefits includes drugs and alcohol no longer having any effect on her, and her mystery good samaritan getting her a job in the local morgue.  This is handy as it allows her easier access to human brains in a non-violent way.

So in this latest story we find Angel in yet another bind, this time we are back in what seems to be a regressive state.  In the aftermath of her mission to New York we discover Angel is again suffering from her addictive personality and has a new drug addiction problem.  This drug however does affect zombies, referred to as a 'mod.'  The problem is that even though the mod does have many positive effects, it is addictive to the parasite.

Initially I was afraid we were retreading an already resolved storyline, but what I have since come to admire is Rowland's ability to use the very real problem of addictive personalities and why so very many addicts fall back into drug abuse after getting 'clean.'

I was also pleased to get some more background and development of another recurring character  in the story, Nick.  Nick is a co-worker at the morgue who was initially hostile towards Angel, but has since become a casual friend, and as we see in this story perhaps something more.

Allison McLemore performs again and does an excellent job.  At this point I'm going to be trying out some other books she preforms outside this series just on the strength of her performances in the WTZ series.

If you like ZA stories, be aware there is no apocalypse here, there are however very well developed characters  and stories that are well paced and hold your interest.