Book picks similar to
Wet Work by Philip Nutman


horror
zombies
splatterpunk
fiction

The Becoming


Jessica Meigs - 2011
    In the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, the Michaluk Virus has escaped the CDC, and its effects are widespread and devastating. Most of the population of the southeastern United States have become homicidal cannibals. As society rapidly crumbles under the hordes of infected, three people-Ethan Bennett, a Memphis police officer; Cade Alton, his best friend and former IDF sharpshooter; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines-band together against the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the world. As Cade, Brandt, and Ethan hole up in a safe house in Tupelo, others begin to join them in their bid for survival. When the infected attack and they're forced to flee, one departs to Memphis in search of answers while the others escape south to Biloxi, where they encounter more danger than they bargained for. And in Memphis, the answers that one man finds are the last answers he wanted, answers that herald a horrific possibility that there may be more to this virus than first suspected.

GAMELAND: Season One


Saul W. Tanpepper - 2012
    Connected to their Infected Players via neural implants (government-mandated in the event of an outbreak), Operators pit the Undead against one another using remote gaming controllers in a high stakes game of money, violence, and power. For the poor, the televised action on state-controlled Media streams is horrifying yet powerfully addictive. Volunteering to become an Undead Player is strictly forbidden, but fame and money lure some to The Game.On a whim, a small group of computer hackers and gamers decides to sneak onto the island, hoping to catch a glimpse of the uncontrolled Infecteds, unimplanted victims of an outbreak that took place there over a decade earlier. But while breaking in turns out to be a lot easier than any of them could have ever imagined, getting back out is one a hell of a killer. As they soon discover, when you play, you play to win. Because, if you die, you become part of The Game. The series consists of eight episodes publishing monthly through December 2012. Also available in paperback.EPISODE 1: Deep Into the GameZpocalypto gamer Jessica Daniels and her gang of code jackers decide to break into Long Island's Gameland hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the Infected Undead, risking arrest and an extension to their Life Service Commitment (a civil or military obligation fulfilled after death). But getting past the EM field, the wall surrounding the island, the mined waters, requires the addition of a stranger to their fold. Tensions within the group rise. So do the risks. After a near-fatal accident during preparation nearly takes the life of one of their members, emotions run dangerously high. They press on and find an abandoned wasteland like nothing they ever expected. Excitement quickly turns to dread as the dangers become all too clear.Approximately 50,000 words (~185 pages)EPISODE 2: FailsafeJessie and Kelly clash after one of their group gets stranded among the Infected Undead, forcing Kelly to make a rash decision which will ultimately deliver them into the hands of those who would turn them all into mindless players in The Game.Approximately 50,000 words (~185 pages)EPISODE 3: Deadman's SwitchUnable to escape from Long Island because of the failsafe device implanted inside their brains, the group digs in until they can devise a way to neutralize it. Jessie is anointed as their leader despite Jake's claims that she is unfit. A final desperate attempt is made to leave, setting into motion a sequence of events that will result in one of them dead, another infected, and all of them running for their lives.Approximately 52,000 words (~192 pages)EPISODE 4: Sunder the Hollow OnesA mutiny in the group splits the members, leaving Jessie out in the cold. As she continues to struggle to fulfill her promise to bring everyone safely home, a chance encounter with one of Gameland's residents dredges up deeply buried memories, leaving her feeling haunted and doubtful about her future.Approximately 44,000 words (~160 pages)EPISODE 5: Prometheus WeptAfter one member of their group is infected, Jessie makes a decision to hand over another to a mysterious group of Undead sympathizers in exchange for a promised antidote. But will she be able to collect the medicine and return before it's too late? Will the medicine work? And will she be able to get them all back home again?Approximately 41,000 words (~150 pages)EPISODE 6: Kingdom of PlayersArmed with a potential antiserum to the reanimation virus, Jessica races back to Gameland to save her infected friend. Waylaid along the way, she must fight for her life to save another. Will she make it back in time? Or will her friend die and return as one of the Undead?Approximately 41,000 words (~150 pages)EPISODE 7: Tag, You're DeadTorn between rescuing Ashley from the homicidal Ben and staying with Jake, who's been infected, Jessie, Kelly and Reggie must carefully plan their next move. But Reggie falls ill and the Undead break into their stronghold. Soon they're fighting for their lives in a battle that will lead all of the group to their darkest hour.Approximately 47,000 words (~170 pages)EPISODE 8: Jacker's CodeThe shocking conclusion to the high-tech horror thriller, GAMELAND. Jessie and the remaining gamers and hackers struggle against all odds to escape Gameland and Long Island, even though some of them have been infected with the zombie virus. Determined to do whatever is necessary to get home, they will have to face some of the most difficult decisions of their lives. But even if they're successful, will they ever be able to go back to the lives they so recklessly left behind?The world is suddenly a very different place from the one they left behind, and not all monsters live behind walls.Approximately 54,000 words (~196 pages)

Dead Eye Hunt


Peter Meredith - 2019
    Now, 150 years later, we live in over-crowded polluted cities, surrounded by vast radioactive wastelands. And no, we did not get all the zombies. They live among us, sometimes hiding in plain sight. Although the tattoos and piercings help them blend in, and the drugs help to contain their rage, they can never fully control their hunger. It’s endless. When they give in and people go missing and partially eaten corpses start turning up, the Dead-Eye hunters are called in to clean up the mess. Their job is to keep up the charade that we're safe. They do it for a price. In this world, money talks. Cash is king. Cole Younger knows that better than anyone, and he is hot on the trail of his next buck when he discovers that the tables have been turned. He’s not hunting Dead-Eyes, they are hunting him.

Frontier Justice


Arthur T. Bradley - 2013
    Governments have collapsed. Cities have become graveyards filled with unspeakable horror. People have resorted to scavenging from the dead, or taking from the living. The entire industrialized world has become a wasteland of abandoned cars, decaying bodies, and feral animals. To stay alive, U.S. Deputy Marshal Mason Raines must forage for food, water, and gasoline while outgunning those who seek to take advantage of the apocalyptic anarchy. Together with his giant Irish wolfhound, Bowie, he aligns with survivors of the town of Boone in a life and death struggle against a gang of violent criminals. With each deadly encounter, Mason is forced to accept his place as one of the nation's few remaining lawmen. In a world now populated by escaped convicts, paranoid mutants, and government hit squads, his only hope to save the townspeople is to enforce his own brand of frontier justice.

The Unblemished


Conrad Williams - 2006
    Follow the frantic journey of a mother whose daughter is infected with the stuff of nightmare, and look through the eyes of Bo Mulvey, a man upon whom the fate and survival of the entire human race depends. This apocalyptic novel set in London is an epic tale of history and destiny, desperation and desire, and atrocity and atonement.

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud


Max Ehrlich - 1973
    Peter Proud’s ordinary life as a professor in California is threatened by recurrent dreams that all end the same: with his murder in a lake at night by a mysterious woman named Marcia. These dreams—which he comes to believe may be flashbacks from a previous life—become so disturbing that he seeks answers from a sleep researcher, a clairvoyant, and an expert in psychic phenomena in order to recover his past. But he soon discovers a new dimension to his dilemma while watching a television show called “America, Past and Present”—and realizes the show is set in the town in his dreams. He travels to Springfield, Massachusetts, and comes face to face with the woman from his nightmares. The woman, Marcia Curtis, is shocked to see in Peter personality traits and characteristics that precisely recall those of her dead husband, Jeff, including his voice. Peter meets and falls in love with Marcia’s daughter, Ann, just as Marcia realizes that he is a reincarnation of Jeff. Will a second tragedy occur just as Peter is about to unravel the mystery behind his dreams?   In this classic suspense novel first published in 1973, Max Ehrlich expertly interweaves multiple themes of life after death, romance, tragedy, and altered consciousness into an unforgettable tale.

Bad Karma


Douglas Clegg - 1997
    You will never escape me.” She’s the most dangerous inmate in the hospital for the criminally insane...and she just broke out. When Trey Campbell takes his family to Catalina Island, his escaped patient leaves a trail of bodies behind as she hunts for her one true love – from a previous life.

Death Match


Lincoln Child - 2000
    Investigation into a second couple's double suicide reveals a stunning labyrinth of artificial intelligence, creative genius, and a melding of technology that does indeed deliver on the company's guarantee of a perfect, lifelong mate.

Monster Island


David Wellington - 2004
    The most "developed" nations of the world have fallen to the shambling zombie masses. Only a few pockets of humanity survive — in places rife with high-powered weaponry, such as Somalia. In New York City, the dead walk the streets, driven by an insatiable hunger for all things living. One amongst them is different; though he shares their appetites he has retained his human intelligence. Alone among the mindless zombies, Gary Fleck is an eyewitness to the end of the world — and perhaps the evil genius behind it all. From the other side of the planet, a small but heavily-armed group of schoolgirls-turned-soldiers has come in search of desperately needed medicine. Dekalb, a former United Nations weapons inspector, leads them as their local guide. Ayaan, a crack shot at the age of sixteen, will stop at nothing to complete her mission. They think they are prepared for anything. On Monster Island they will find that there is something worse even than being undead, as Gary learns the true price of survival.

Surviving the Evacuation: Outback Outbreak


Frank Tayell - 2019
    He always hoped to see her again, but feared she was dead. When an elusive billionaire reveals Corrie is living under an assumed name in the Australian outback, Pete unquestioningly jumps at the chance of a reunion. But you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket, and billionaires don't do favours for free. Corrie is in hiding from her old employer, and from the Rosewood Cartel. Now that they've both found her, only a miracle can save the two siblings, and what happens in Manhattan can't be described as miraculous.What begins as a viral outbreak soon turns into an impossible horror. People are infected and die, only to rise up and continue transmitting the infection. Even as the army is mobilised, the virus spreads beyond the borders of the United States. Nowhere is safe from the living dead.As Australia is quarantined, the mining town of Broken Hill becomes a transit hub for the relief effort. Tourists are evacuated while civilians are conscripted, Pete and Corrie among them. Together with a bush pilot, a flying doctor, and an outback cop, the struggle to maintain civilisation begins. Supplies run low. Looting is rampant. Laws are forgotten, especially by the cartel who haven't abandoned their search for Corrie and their quest for revenge.Set in Broken Hill and beyond as the Australian quarantine begins.As this book returns to the beginning of the outbreak, it can be considered a good entry point for readers new to the series.

Saint Peter's Wolf


Michael Cadnum - 1991
    Obsessed with the latest addition to his collection--a set of fangs embedded in silver--art collector Benjamin Byrd soon finds himself transforming into a nocturnal, bloodthirsty being.

Long Time Coming


Edie Claire - 2003
    But back at home, the past is ready and waiting to haunt her...Eighteen years have passed since Joy's childhood best friend, Jenny, met her death in a tragic car accident just a few days after their senior prom. A broken Joy left their small Kentucky hometown shortly after - determined never to come back. But when her father's illness forces her to return, she realizes that neither time nor distance have truly healed her troubled soul.Plagued with nightmares of the accident and crippled by a vague fear whose source she can't identify, Joy realizes that in order to move on she must face the truth behind several disturbing gaps in her memory of that fateful spring. But the only person who can help her is a man she despises - Jenny's erstwhile boyfriend Jeff, now a respected doctor, whose carelessness as a teenager was the cause of Jenny's horrendous death - and Joy's own emotional destruction. Can she ever forgive? She may have no choice but to try. Because both the danger she sensed - and the childhood friendship she treasured - now suddenly seem very much alive...

Blood on the Floor


R.R. Haywood - 2016
    An Undead Adventure. Twelve days ago a deadly infection spread across the world. Populations have been destroyed. Law and order are gone. Life, as it was known, has ceased. The infected are now the strongest species and survival has become brutal. Heather has survived by hiding. Hiding is her thing. People are bad. What others do to survive is no concern of hers. On a mission for supplies, she makes a decision that not only places her in danger but one that will change everything she ever knew - or believed in... Set against the backdrop of The Undead - the UK's best-selling zombie horror post-apocalyptic series that is a cult smash-hit with over 1500 top reviews. Blood on the Floor is the first Undead standalone adventure by RR Haywood. *This ebook version includes The Undead Day One.

Left To Die


Lisa Jackson - 2008
    . .One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piece, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can't yet see the beauty in his work--but soon, very soon, they will. . . Than Being Left Alone. . . In the lonely woods around Grizzly Point, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come. . . To Die. . . When Jillian Rivers opens her eyes, she's trapped in a mangled car. Then a stranger, claiming to be a trail guide named Zane McGregor, pries her free. Though she's grateful, something about him sets Jillian on edge. And if she knew what lay out there in the woods of Montana, she'd be truly terrified. Because someone is waiting... watching... poised to strike and make Jillian the next victim...

Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead.


Chris Pauls - 2012
    . . with the walking dead. This fast-paced thriller reimagines the historical events of the fateful Titanic voyage through the lens of zombie mayhem. Captain Edward Smith and his inner circle desperately try to contain a weaponized zombie virus smuggled on board with the 2,200 passengers sailing to New York. Faced with an exploding population of lumbering, flesh-hungry undead, Smith's team is forced into bloody hand-to-hand combat down the narrow halls of the huge steamer. In its few short days at sea, the majestic Titanic turns into a Victorian bloodbath, steaming at top speed toward a cold, blue iceberg. A creepy, tense page-turner, Deck Z will thrill zombie fans and Titanic buffs alike.