Zombie Book Review -- 'Inside the Perimeter' by Alan Spencer

Boyd Broman is an ex-cop who, after chasing an intruder down the street, accidentally kills him and lands himself in prison. That is until he is given a chance of getting his life back by going into a secure perimeter and apprehending a murderous cannibal, Hayden, who he helped to put away several years earlier.


But Boyd doesn’t realise his chances of escape are pretty thin. The perimeter he’s been put inside of is also filled with the walking dead, zombies who have been put together with different parts of different corpses.

His only possibility of escape is finding Hayden, but when there are a horde of blood thirst zombies on your back, finding an insane cannibal is never going to be easy!

First of all, I need to say that this book is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there pretty graphic descriptions of the zombies disembodying people everywhere, there are also some intense scenes in the book involving the carving, preparing and eating of human flesh. I have to admit, I did end up skim reading some of these parts, though the author did warn me it was pretty gruesome!

The main character, Boyd, is a likeable character—tough with a sensitive side. He has a family on the outside and is doing what he needs to in order to get back to them. He has moments of brawn, brains and sensitivity, a great combination for a hero and I was definitely behind him the whole way.

The cannibal, Hayden, is just plain nasty. He's actually eating the dead things (which had me near gagging point!) and he feels totally at home in his new surroundings. This guy has no redeeming qualities what-so-ever!

The book came together when Boyd meets Cindy, a young woman who has been put inside the perimeter after falling pregnant with (and then aborting) a high (married) government official’s baby. It seems the perimeter is somewhere the government puts people they want to forget about and in doing so also to keep the dead things supplied with fresh meat.

The story wouldn’t have worked without the relationship between Boyd and Cindy. Even though he is married, that little spark between them is like a light in the darkness and helps break up the constant action and bloodshed. I would have liked for the author to have maybe even made more of it, but perhaps that’s just the girly side of me coming out!

Alan Spencer does a good job on bringing a new twist to the world of zombies. The book is fast pace, violent and gory. If you don’t like your gore, then stay away, you won’t enjoy this one. But if you’re a fan of good old zombie books and movies and want something with a new twist, then you can’t go far wrong with 'Inside the Perimeter'.

Inside the Perimeter is available to buy right here!