Vacation, & Home, by Matthew Costello

I don't know why I love apocalyptic novels, but I always have. Therefore, it is no big surprise that I did really enjoy 2 novels I read recently by Matthew Costello. The second, Home, was a sequel to to the first, Vacation. You can read both as stand-alones, but in each case, you will not be able to fully appreciate them.
Vacation establishes the setting in a not very distant future, where there has been a breakout, and spreading, of what are termed can-heads. These barely human creatures are cannibals similar to zombies, except they did not rise from the dead, and they are definitely not slow, or stupid. But they do crave human flesh, preferably live, it would seem. And due to this mutation, which no ones seems to know the cause of, the world has changed, mainly in the realm of security. People live in gated communities protected by electrified fences, as are major highways, as well as other precautionary measures. I don't want to give away too much, but the novel is about an overworked NY cop who is taking his family on vacation to what is advertised as a secure family resort. As in all good zombie-type stories, the monsters aren't always just the ones you think they are.
Now, as I said, I really did enjoy Vacation, but what made me truly glad to have read it, was reading Home. Home, the second novel, is the icing on the cake, the cheese on the cheeseburger (and damn fine cheese, too), the point on the dagger, etc. I really can't tell you much about Home without giving away a real spoiler of Vacation. But I can say, not only did I have a great appreciation for this second novel, but it definitely made me appreciate the first one much more. As in Vacation, Home has twists and turns that will definitely grab your attention. I was not disappointed. If you read Vacation, you would be doing yourself a great disservice by not reading Home. And that, is all I have to say about that.