Aftertaste

Post (Knuckleduster) serves up a succinct, frequently disgusting creature feature that will make readers laugh and gag in equal measure. Saelig Zilch is dead, and has been for a while, but working for a strange organization killing monsters gives him a new lease on life. Nanobugs with his essence are injected into a dead body, and he’s assigned to track down a werefrog who’s terrorizing a North Carolina town. Galavance Petersen isn’t happy with her job at Frenchy’s restaurant or her lazy boyfriend, Jolby Dawes, but she never could have imagined how Jolby has really been spending his free time, and her regional manager gives new meaning to the concept of the nightmare boss. After Gal hits Zilch with her car, they team up against a terror from the swamp that’s turning more murderous by the minute. Some balancing pathos is provided in the form of Zilch’s memories of his wife, Susanne. Readers may grow weary of Gal’s opining that Jolby the jerk really isn’t that bad (he is), and details about Zilch’s employer are slim, but all in all, this darkly funny novel will appeal to readers who like gross-out humor balanced with just the right amount of existential angst. (Oct.)