What makes a zombie a zombie? Conventional horror wisdom is that a blood-borne virus infects someone bitten by a zombie who then becomes a virus host --- a zombie themselves. While many zombie flicks and stories focus on gruesome attacks, zombie mannerisms, and the survival of the uninfected, ONE YELLOW EYE takes a different approach. In it, Leigh Radford delves into the medical origins of and possible cures for a zombie outbreak in London as her protagonist tries to save a loved one --- and maybe the world.

"ONE YELLOW EYE is an interesting take on classic zombie tropes, and Radford combines those tropes with others pertaining to pandemics.... A dark romance with plenty of science drama, dread and heartache, Radford’s debut novel shows a lot of promise."

Kesta Shelley loves her work, but she loves her husband, Tim, much more. At the hospital, she spends her days over the eye piece of a microscope in the oncology department but also has a background in pathology and virology. Often more comfortable with specimens in the lab than socializing with people, Kesta always relied on Tim to bring her out of her shell. But just when it looked like the horrific zombie outbreak had run its course in London, Tim was bitten and Kesta found herself alone. Well, not quite alone: she still had work, her closest friend, Jess…and Tim. When Tim began to change after being bitten, Kesta made the impulsive decision to keep him at home, even as a dangerous, yellow-eyed, unblinking zombie. 

Now Kesta is leading a double life. While at the hospital, trying to appear her usual hard-working self, she is always thinking about Tim and how she can steal medical supplies and medicines to take care of him. Jess notices her becoming distracted and unkempt, and how much she is drinking these days. When Kesta is finally offered a spot, along with her boss, to work on Project Dawn --- the top-secret program designed to understand and then create a vaccine and cure for zombieism --- all she can think about is how it may bring Tim back to her.

Of course, Project Dawn is not quite what Kesta expected, and her world continues to unravel. Her neighbors are complaining about the noise in her apartment, Jess is increasingly concerned, the ethics of her work are complicated, and she is consumed with trying to determine the source of what appears to be a species-jumping virus. 

Radford takes a deep dive into the fictional research, testing and experimentation as Kesta and her colleagues try to understand where the outbreak came from, how it is transmitted, and how to prevent it from continuing to spread. In a city where many lives are lost and the sense of safety is destroyed, every moment Kesta works at Project Dawn is vital. 

ONE YELLOW EYE is an interesting take on classic zombie tropes, and Radford combines those tropes with others pertaining to pandemics. Less horror and more thriller, it offers some compelling and realistically flawed characters. Kesta is brilliant, manic and obsessive. The grief she is trying so hard to avoid is being prolonged each day as she struggles to keep Tim “alive” and with her. Here, zombies are more than their virus --- they’re all too human and worthy of love. 

A dark romance with plenty of science drama, dread and heartache, Radford’s debut novel shows a lot of promise.