Discount Armageddon

McGuire (the October Daye series) launches a new series with a fast, funny adventure involving cryptids (semimythical entities like Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster) and the researchers who love them. Cryptozoologist Verity Price belongs to a legendary clan of monster hunters who turned their back on the genocidal Covenant generations ago and now work to maintain a safe ecosystem for both cryptids and humans. Verity moves to New York to follow her other passion, ballroom dancing, but the arrival of a sexy Covenant agent—just as cryptids go missing across the city—disrupts her carefully balanced routine. Verity must join forces with her ancestral enemy to prevent Manhattan from being destroyed by the ancient power sleeping beneath it. Verity is a winning protagonist, and her snarky but loving observations on her world of bogeyman strip club owners, Japanese demon badger bartenders, and dragon princess waitresses make for a delightful read. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (Mar.)