by David Wong
First published 2021
Zoey Ashe never expected her new life as a crime boss to include animated corpses. The 23-year-old inherited a criminal empire in the futuristic city of Tabula Ra$a, where she feels completely out of place among the high-tech chaos. On Halloween eve, a trunk-sized package arrives at her door containing a gutted body. The corpse suddenly springs to life, rampages through her house, and accuses her of murder in an electronic voice. Enemies already circle Zoey from every direction, sensing vulnerability in the young woman who never asked for this power. The city teems with publicity-seeking vigilantes who have enhanced themselves with superhuman abilities, creating a powder keg ready to explode. Now Zoey must work with her team of tech-savvy con artists to solve this gruesome mystery while preventing Tabula Ra$a from collapsing into complete anarchy. Her old job never involved dealing with walking dead bodies or keeping an entire city from destroying itself.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Tabula Ra$a
Period: Future
Audio CD · Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence