Zombie Candy

You know early on, from the color of the inappropriate bra in the opening scene, that Zombie Candy is going to be a black comedy. Most people could sympathize with the male obsession for sex and zombie movies, but who would put up with a husband who doused every dish with cilantro?

Frederick Lee Brooke serves up another literary treat with this bizarre and comical tale of love and betrayal. Candace Roach enlists her best friend Annie Ogden (our favorite sleuth from Doing Max Vinyl) to find out what her husband is really up to on his weekly business trips – but their home-cooked aversion therapy gets out of hand and hurtles along an astonishing highway of the undead.

Weaving elements of mystery, horror and romance in a story that starts in Chicago and ends in a quaint medieval town in sun-drenched Tuscany, Zombie Candy transcends any single genre.

Home for good from Iraq but unsure about her future, Annie Ogden isn't your typical woman sleuth. Her best friend, Candace Roach – gourmet cooking instructor, owner of a house in Tuscany – isn't your typical wronged woman either. Candace teaches gourmet cooking, and loves nothing more than orchestrating a four-course meal full of flavorful surprises and artistic touches. A selection of her recipes is found in an appendix to the book.

But with each shocking discovery in the investigation of her husband, the friendship between Candace and Annie is further put to the test. Candace ultimately takes matters into her own hands and, in an elaborate ruse, stages a nightmarish zombie drama in which her husband plays the starring role.

In the words of Emma Calin, author of Knockout, A Passionate Police Romance: "This book has all the ingredients of a perfect noir comedy – well formed characters, international locations,  a fast moving plot with no brakes, and of course zombies. Revenge is a dish best served cold – and as a betrayed wife, master chef and cookery instructor, Candace cooks up the perfect recipe for the ultimate gazpacho."

Also by the author

Doing Max Vinyl

Max Vinyl is a recycling king in Chicago. When his environmentalist girlfriend catches him dumping old computer junk in Lake Michigan, Max gets a taste of her violent side. Even his ex-wife can't save him this time. Meanwhile two of Max Vinyl's brawny enforcers have provoked Annie Ogden, just back from four years in Iraq-bad idea! Doing Max Vinyl-guaranteed to make you laugh till you cry.

Frederick Lee Brooke

I was an early reader and decided to become a writer before hitting high school. An affinity for learning languages led to my spending a year in Germany during college, then a year in France a few years later, as a teaching assistant in a lycée. Teaching agreed with me. There followed a 20-year career in the language school business, first as a teacher, then as school manager and salesman of language training. A few years ago I started writing again and in early 2011 finished my first novel, Doing Max Vinyl. I enjoyed writing it so much that I quit my job at the language school in order to devote all my time to writing my second book, a sequel to Doing Max Vinyl. Nowadays you'll find me writing and revising day and night, when I'm not saying hello on Twitter.