Cooking for Cannibals by Rich Leder is one of the best horror comedies to come along in years. This irresistible story revolves around a seriously devoted behavioral gerontologist, scientist/researcher named Carrie Kromer, who cares for her mother in a nursing home, but does something against her moral nature: She steals an anti-aging medication still in the experimental stages, and this is where the story takes off. Mix in an ex-con superstar butcher named Johnny who cooks for the nursing home (his dream is to be a top chef), his crooked parole officer, some now-younger nursing home residents who come to Johnny's rescue, and a side effect that makes the younger-than-they-ought-to-be hungry for human flesh, and you have a recipe for a fun-loving, graphic parody on your hands. If that isn't enough plot, you have Carrie and Johnny striking up a romance, investigators trying to figure things out, and pharmaceutical suits out for blood.

Rich Leder has created a comic thriller that keeps you involved with plot and character until the end. Books and movies are saturated with cannibals and science gone amok, so obviously it's time to have a little fun with the genre, and that's exactly what this author does. He gives a solid story about cannibals that pulls you in with the expected tropes but puts a comedic twist on it that's refreshing and fun. He also gets into the characters more deeply than you might think, and there is a sweet side to the story. Today's troubling times could use a little--or a lot--of humor. This one is tailor-made for the big (or small) screen. If you're looking for escapism in the vein of Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies or Shaun of the Dead, then treat yourself to Cooking for Cannibals by Rich Leder.

Cooking for Cannibals by Rich Leder is a dark thriller with plenty of comic relief to give you a good time. Carrie Cromer steals an experimental medicine from the lab she works at. The miracle medicine will help people age in reverse. She takes it to the nursing home where her mother is and voila, it works! However, the medicine has side effects that need to be addressed immediately and chef Johnny is the perfect person to cook up the remedy for that. Before they know it, the attraction between Johnny and Carrie becomes too much to ignore. But their chemistry has to take a back seat as they become embroiled in the chaos Carrie created in the first place. Can they find a way to get out of this mess? Will they ever get a chance to grow old and grey together?

Fascinating and original; these are the two words that come to mind when I think about this story. It is surprisingly funny. The dark comedy is just the thing this story needs to become even better and more entertaining than you think. Johnny is cheesy, but a very endearing kind of cheesy. He and Carrie grow together and act like a couple as the story progresses. They develop at their own pace and make readers feel comfortable. The setting, the premise, and the development of the plot are all handled well by Rich Leder. He adds a flair to the narrative that makes it hard to resist. The author gives us a hesitant yet brave character in Carrie and a smart yet cunning character in Johnny. They act as the perfect combo to drive the plot forward and make sure the reader is too invested in the story to put it down. Cooking for Cannibals is brilliant and entertaining from the start until the end.