The Spy's Little Zonbi

by Cole Alpaugh

From the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Bear in a Muddy Tutu comes a unique twist on love and espionage.

Chase Allen never intended to be a killer, even for the good guys, but after he is recruited as a secret agent, terminating dictators and jihadists is all in a day's work. He marries a dark beauty and they have a child, his Little Zonbi, who means everything to him. Now that his priorities have shifted, Chase strives for normalcy. But it isn't easy for a spy to escape his past.

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2013

About the author

Cole Alpaugh began his newspaper career in the early 1980's, at a daily paper on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where he covered everything from bake sales to KKK meetings. He moved on to a paper in Massachusetts to specialize in feature essays, where his stories on a Hispanic youth gang and the life of a Golden Gloves boxer won national awards. His most recent newspaper job was at a large daily in Central New Jersey, where he was given the freedom to pursue more "true life" essays, including award winning pieces on a traveling rodeo, and an in-depth story on an emergency room doctor. The doctor's story ended when the physician brought back to life an elderly woman who'd once been his children's babysitter. The essay was nominated by Gannett News Service for a 1991 Pulitzer Prize. Cole also did work for two Manhattan-based news agencies, covering conflicts in Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and guerrilla raids conducted out of the refugee camps along the Thai/Cambodia boarder. His work has appeared in dozens of magazines, as well as most newspapers in America.

Cole is currently a freelance photographer and writer living in Northeast Pennsylvania, where he spends his afternoons watching his daughter hit fuzzy yellow balls and ski through slalom gates. You can find him online at ColeAlpaugh.com.

Reviews

[Patricia Touman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do I buy a book. I am at our library at least twice a week. I could not help myself and ordered this when it first appeared on Amazon. I loved Muddy Tutu and I adored The Turtle Girl. This story is very different, but I recognized the sadness and the humor. I read this right after rereading Miss Peregrines, so it was a fairly dark and strange week for me.

The story is about a college student who is recruited into a CIA spy program. These spies are masked as journalists. The ensuing assignments are fast paced and never what I expected. The story then becomes about Chase Allen's relationship with his wife and daughter. His daughter is the Zonbi in the title. I won't spoil what happens in the end, but it made me cry. Again, not over what you might think, so it isn't a spoiler.

The Spy's Little Zonbi is strange and beautiful. It's a book I won't soon forget. I'm recommending it for our December book club, so I'll encourage our members to add their opinions.

[Tom Buske · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. If you like bizarre humor and gory violence, you will enjoy this book.