Far from Safe (The Far Series #2)

SCI-FI:  The Apocalypse has hit and all college student Rowan wants is to feel safe again, but zombies wander outside her door and her mother is one of them. Devon was a cop when the world still made sense, but now all he can do is protect the small group of survivors he travels with - particularly, the one who has stolen his heart. Rowan led the band of stranded souls across the country to her home in Ohio with the certainty it would be safe there. But, as they quickly learn, nowhere is safe, and there’s more to fear than just the dead.

Those who have read Kate L. Mary’s first installment in The Far Series, “Far from Home”, will hungrily devour this dark and deeply involved next chapter of the ongoing saga. As this is not a stand-alone novel, readers should start this dire journey at its beginning. Otherwise, the large cast of characters and frequent references to events in the past will confound. Though there are no new spins on these “The Walking Dead” style zombies and their quickly deteriorating world, Ms. Mary masterfully portrays the fraying thoughts and emotional states of her characters as they face their horrifying new reality. The longer than usual chapters and slow pacing may allow readers of the genre to relish the extra time within scenes, but impatient readers may find the blow by blow descriptions and attention to minutia tedious. Overall, Ms. Mary’s astute observations on human nature make this an engrossing look at human frailty and perseverance in the most desperate of situations.

Starling Gray