Just Kill Me

Growing up in a funeral home has given Megan Henske a macabre sensibility. Her new job as a historical ghost-tour guide in Chicago seems like a perfect fit until her former-babysitter-turned-current-boss, Cynthia, hatches a plan to drum up more business. By systematically scaring willing victims to death (such as an elderly woman living miserably in a nursing home), she hopes to create real apparitions. "I nod along, not sure if they're serious or not," thinks Megan. "Like, they're talking about how to make someone into a ghost in the same kind of tone you'd use to tell someone how to make a Denver omelette." This offbeat tale meanders toward an eerily open-ended conclusion, taking side roads to explore Megan's relationships with her mother and an online girlfriend. Along the way, Selzer (Play Me Backwards) packs in plenty of stylized, rapid-fire exchanges and obscure film and pop culture references, as well as a bit of Chicago history, but these disparate pieces never entirely coalesce, leaving many unanswered questions. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Adrienne Rosado, Leibo Literary. (Aug.)