Just about escaping from Tenerife with their lives, the courageous Spanish lawyer, his lover Lucia, Ukrainian pilot Viktor 'Prit' Pritchenko, and Lucullus the cat, sail into the midst of a hurricane that threatens to end them. But fate twists again, and sees them arriving at the last sanctuary on USA soil, the stronghold of Gulfport, Mississippi, which seems to not only be thriving, but pioneering a way to deal with the horrific TSJ virus that has all but wiped out humanity. However, it is not long until before our little Spanish band realise that life in this haven comes at a cost they are unwilling to pay.

The final part of the Apocalypse Z trilogy throws our plucky Spanish survivors into a situation they have not encountered before. Self-proclaimed prophet, Reverend Green, fuelled by religious fervour,  rules over this community with the assistance of a militia group made up Aryan Brotherhood ex-convicts. Survivors are welcome to embrace all Gulfport has to offer, as long as they are devout, and white... anyone else is consigned to existence in a ghetto, and doomed to suffer at the hands of policies the Nazis would have been proud of, when they are not bring asked to put their lives on the line for their 'betters'. The Spanish lawyer is tempted by the offer of a normal life in a place where strides are being made to tackle the TSJ virus, but his indecision leads him into mistakes that divide him from his friends, and put them all in terrible danger.

The story plays out from the points of view of the lawyer, Lucia, the unhinged Reverend Green, and Green's brutal head henchman Malachi Grapes, and Loureiro mixes up both plot and action like never before (also adding in a great summary of the way the infection, now known as the TSJ virus, cut a swathe through humankind). Most of this I was here for, especially the parts which would very much be at home in any creditable dystopian story about survival and resistance. However, Loureiro does lose the plot a bit in this final book, for instance, the left-of-field, world domination side plot about North Korea was seriously bizarre, and just too out of place in a story has revolved around the lawyer and his pals throughout the three books. 

The audio book did keep me entertained, and Nick Podehl's narration was superb, right to the bitter end. Pamela Carmell's translation from the Spanish keeps everything flowing smoothly too. There are some original twists on the usual zombie story, particularly when it comes to the infection, and the promise of hope in the future - although I would have liked to see more between the final showdown, and the jump forward in time Loureiro conjures as the parting shot, as so much obviously happened in the wings that I would have loved to have read about! 

I am sad to be saying goodbye to these characters (especially the plucky Ukrainian Prit, and Lucullus the cat): the bonds of friendship provide emotional content to balance the thrills, spills and truly terrifying events that get your adrenaline pumping. The age gap between the lawyer and Lucia does still rankle a bit, but at the end of the day (and world) you have to view it through the lens of societal conventions going out of the window in an apocalypse. I did like that Lucia finally name drops the anonymous lawyer right at the end - I was beginning to wonder if we would ever discover his name.

Apocalypse Z is a series highly recommended by me. Books two and three do not reach the heights of book one, with its simpler, more intimate plot, but the series is still worth your time if zombie tales that trundle along at pace are your bag.