Click on image to enlarge.

Category: Horror/Suspense/Thriller
Description: Two mob families go to war after one family's main hitman switches sides--and to show his newfound loyalty, he has to whack his former boss, who also happens to be the current Don. The Don is buried alive on a mob-controlled construction site that was once the location of a church that had banned the same Don's ancestors, causing them to invent their own religion. The Barrlucio and Piranzza families battle for control of the underworld before their main henchmen find out a Don has been offed without permission. Major problems arise when a group of mysterious Sicilians arrive from Italy and manage to retrieve the Don's corpse. Well, his living corpse. Before long, the Don's undead state leads to the outbreak of reanimated dead, including a showdown at the Staten Island Mall and NYC's Central Park. Add to the mix a corrupt military general that is bent on using the outbreak to bring down the mob and the entire city and an even more corrupt Catholic priest who is responsible for the whole mess in the first place. Ah, nothing like a few bowls of scungilli, classy suits, bullets and zombies.
eBook Publisher: Coscom Entertainment, 2009 2009
eBookwise Release Date: July 2009

2 Reader Ratings:

Great	Good	OK	Poor

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [392 KB]
Words: 65425
Reading time: 186-261 min.

"Zombies meet the mob--what's not to like? Nick Cato's Don of the Dead takes an oh-so-cool central idea and turns it into a tale that is at times funny, often gory, and 100% a hell of a good time! I freakin' loved it ... capisce?"--James Newman, author of Animosity, People Are Strange and Midnight Rain

"Don of the Dead is violent, visceral and fascinating--a comedy darker than heart blood."--Simon Clark, author of Blood Crazy and The Midnight Man

"Don of the Dead is the coolest concept story I've read in awhile and Nick Cato delivers the goods. It's as if George Romero has eaten the brains of Mario Puzo, Martin Scorcese and Dave Barry and spit out fictional gold. An ambitiously entertaining tale of mobsters, monsters, and mayhem, told with an offbeat mix of reverence, humor and horror. Recommended reading!"--Michael Arnzen, author of Licker and Proverbs for Monsters

"Don of the Dead is insanely entertaining--a splattery, whacked-out novel with outrageous characters and a frenzied pace. Miss this one, and you might as well be wearing cement shoes while zombies eat your face."--Jeff Strand, author of The Sinister Mr. Corpse and Pressure

"Nick Cato takes a refreshing new look at zombies and knocks 'em dead ... Italian-style!"--Monster Librarian

Prologue

What was left of the underworld now belonged to the Barrlucio crime family. Salvatore stood on the stone steps of St. John's Church of the Blessed Sacrament, looking over the smoldering remains of mid-town Manhattan. The members of his family who had not suffered the effects of the virus that had overtaken New York positioned themselves, their weapons aimed at a horde of creatures crowding the street before them.

Behind the creatures, filthy dogs crawled underneath abandoned cars and trucks, chasing each other through the crowd of the undead. Sounds of pain and mumbling filled the air.

Although the living-dead things hungered, they stopped moving when Antonio stepped out from behind Salvatore.

Out of instinct, they knew they must obey him. They knew he could help them. They knew he could help ease their cravings.

Slowly, the Don began to speak to the subhuman beasts, many who would not understand a word he was about to say. Antonio raised both hands into the pitch-black night, looked down to the crowd and opened his decaying mouth.

As he spoke to his new family, mysterious trench-coated men from Sicily made their way through the cannibalistic clique.

Their leader stopped the Don's speech. "Antonio, you must come with us now. It's only a matter of minutes before this section of the city is destroyed."

Helicopters hummed in the distance.

"Bbutt, wwhaaat about aallll of them?" Antonio said, pointing to his fellow fiends.

"Antonio," the leader said, putting his hand on the Don's ice-cold shoulder, "without you, the Family will never be able to start over. Look around you, brother; there's nothing left! What are you going to control here? Almost everything has been ruined!"

The Barrlucio family raised their heads as the sound of choppers grew louder.

The don lowered his hands.

"Come with us, Antonio. Come back to Sicily. There's nothing in this city now except death."

"What about us?" Salvatore asked.

"By all means, you must come too," the leader of the darkly-dressed Sicilians said, motioning for him to put down his gun.

"But how are we gonna--"

"Trust us, Salvatore." The leader snapped his fingers. "Now, before they start bombing the area, let us depart." He turned and pointed at the creatures.

To Salvatore's amazement, the flesh-hungry freaks stepped back, making a path for the Barrlucios to get through.

"Come. Do not be afraid. They will not harm you."

Regardless, the remaining humans kept their Uzi's drawn. They followed the don and the mysterious Sicilians onto a waiting school bus, packing it quickly. The zombies filled in the escape trail as soon as the doors closed, and began following the bus as it headed for the George Washington Bridge.

Salvatore stood in the aisle, his nerve-wracked mother holding onto his arm for support. Through the rear window, he could see the creatures chasing them in vain; whoever these people were, they had some kind of supernatural control over the undead. And, more importantly to the don's son, they had the trust of his father.

When they were halfway across the span, the explosions began. Salvatore swallowed hard. Whatever was left of the New York virus outbreak--as the local news had labeled it--was about to come to an end. It was just a matter of luck and precise timing the over-crowded school bus made it to the Newark airport before anyone spotted them.

A matter of incredible luck.