Wanted: Dead or Undead by Angela Scott

Title: Wanted: Dead or Undead
Author: Angela Scott
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Released: March 30th 2012
Pages: 225 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon


Trace Monroe doesn’t believe in luck. He never has. But when a fiery-headed cowgirl saunters through the saloon doors, wielding shotguns and a know-how for killing the living dead, he believes he just may be the luckiest man alive. Trace wants to join "Red’s" posse, but she prefers to work alone—less messy that way. 

In order to become her traveling companion, Trace has to agree to her terms: no names, no questions, and if he gets bit, he can’t beg for mercy when she severs his brain stem. He agrees, knowing only that Red is the sharpest shooter he’s ever encountered. The fact she’s stunning hasn’t escaped his attention either. 

What he doesn’t know, is that Red has a very good reason to be on top of her game. She not only has the answer for how they can all outlive the plague taking over the wild, wild west, she is the answer.


When Angela contacted me to see if I would review her book, I was more than willing to do so! I don't think I have ever read a western novel before, and since I love zombies, I thought it'd be definitely interesting; and it really was! At the end, I was just sat there thinking, Why hasn't this been published in the UK yet?!

The story is told by both Red and Trace's point of view, and the novel basically follows their intertwining lives as they try to survive in a world overrun by zombies, forming a Posse along the way. I have to say, I immediately liked all of the characters; they all reminded me of those classic western characters in movies, cowboy boots, tipped hats and all.I especially liked Red - I adore strong heroine characters, and she's definitely in my Top 20, even though I found she did make a few stupid decisions and seemed to be easily trusting despite saying she wasn't. I also loved the children's characterization; I found them both adorable, and my heart went out to their situation.

I found the plot particularly strong, and I could tell that Angela knew where she was going with novel and where she wanted this installment to end. Nowadays, zombie books seem to be getting increasingly popular, but this is the first I have read where they seemed to be traditional zombies; one bite, and you're infected. I think the mixture of old western dusty towns and zombies is a pretty awesome combination, because I know that I associate anything western with tumbleweeds, guns, and mutated creatures - and this book had it all.

I have to say, the only thing that bothered me was the relationships between the different characters. It was obvious of who would get together, and I thought their coupling was adorable. But I wanted to see more depth to it; for me, it just seemed like one minute they were barely acquaintances, and the next minute they were married? I'd have liked to see a bit more of them falling for each other.

Overall, I loved this novel, and I am so glad that Angela asked me to review it. If you like zombie novels but haven't stumbled upon any really amazing ones, then I definitely recommend you to go out and buy this now. The mixture of zombies, romance and tension really makes this a gripping read, and I am now waiting for the next installment to be released.
Rating: 4/5
(I also thought the title was genius; when you first read it, you think, Doesn't she mean Dead or Alive? But then you read the blurb and you're like, Ah, I get it: zombies.)