Black Friday by Michael Hodges is $0.99 at Amazon US.
I'm not sure what to make if this one. It sounds promising and the author has written other popular books. But the plot seems to owe a LOT to Dawn of the Dead and The Mist (especially the Mist TV series where they are holed up in a mall).
Quote:
Patricia worships Zoot, CoupFinity, CashReturn, and DealParadise—her favorite shopping apps and websites. Every buzz of her smart phone is a celebration of savings. So Patricia takes a trip to Bridgefield Mall on Black Friday, her face buried in the glow of her smart phone.
While scanning deals at a kitchen appliance store, the fire alarm roars. The horde of shoppers she’d been elbowing stampedes out the exits, leaving Patricia with all the deals to herself.
After securing her items under a cloth-draped table, Patricia decides it’s time to investigate why no one came back. She tries calling her family, but her smart phone won’t work. Not even Twitter.
The mall lights flicker and surge. Bulbs shatter and spray glass into the air. Patricia bolts for the Macy’s exit, the mall quaking under her feet. When she reaches the parking lot, an ominous mist surrounds the mall, and an unseen, crazed man shouts out to her.
Woken from her shopping craze, she realizes there’ll be no deals at Bridgefield Mall today, and no app to save her.
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