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The Return Man

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What to expect

The outbreak tore the USA in two. The east remains a safe haven. The west has become a ravaged wilderness. They call it the Evacuated States.

It is here that Henry Marco makes his living. Hired by grieving relatives, he tracks down the dead to deliver peace.

Now Homeland Security wants Marco, for a mission unlike any other. He must return to California, where the apocalypse began. Where a secret is hidden. And where his own tragic past waits to punish him again.

But in the wastelands of America, you never know who - or what - is watching you . . .


(P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton

Critics Review

'Bloody excellent.'
Financial Times
Zito expertly piles on thrills, cliffhangers and numerous twists, investing renewed life into the shambling, cliché-ridden corpse of the zombie subgenre.
Guardian
'An overload of thrills, spills and adventure.'
Sun
Hands down one of the best zombie novels I've read in a long, long time. From first page to last, THE RETURN MAN is an astonishing read. With characters you genuinely give a damn about and a story that'll keep you turning page after page, this is an outstanding debut.
David Moody, author of Autumn
'In a word: relentless.'
Sunday Telegraph
Contagion meets Mad Max.
The Times
. . . a perfectly balanced layer cake of action and horror . . . This is a stunning debut and matches the feelings I had when I first read the likes of World War Z and Hater . . . you are unlikely to experience a better crafted and adrenalin fuelled thrill ride than V.M. Zito's novel THE RETURN MAN.
Liberation Frequency
A page-turning, action packed, well-crafted debut novel that will take your breath away. Highly recommended.
The Founding Fields
'Henry Marco is a wonderful protagonist - inventive enough to be fun to read, and at the same time sufficiently complex to seem real . . .A highlight of the subgenre.'
Drying Ink, Best Horror Novel of 2011
Thrilling.
Publishers Weekly
The story is tremendous, totally gripping and orchestrated in such a way to keep the reader on their toes, with plenty of twists, turns and dramatic moments - this is one of those page turners that grip you completely.
Sfbook.com
THE RETURN MAN is very highly recommended. This is a thought-provoking, suspenseful and above all gripping take on the Zombie Apocalypse sub-genre. Brilliant.
Civilian-reader.blogspot.co.uk
Full-throttle, intense and not for night reading.
West Australian
The Return Man is a cracking zombie novel . . . It's a real page turner, it's action packed, the characters jump off of the page, it's unputdownable and it's one hell of a rollercoaster ride.
dogeardiscs.wordpress.com
This is an outstanding piece of fiction. If it came from the pen of an established name I would say they were at the top of their game. For a first time writer, it is nothing short of an astonishing piece of work. I would heartily recommend it to anyone with a pulse. V. M. Zito is most definitely a writer to look out for.
geeksyndicate.wordpress.com
Author V. M. Zito
Narrator Garrick Hagon
Duration 14 hours and 39 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781444726909
Format Audiobook
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Genre Horror and supernatural fiction, Science fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction
Availability AU, GB, IE

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