Deadbeat Druid

Slayton delivers another tightly plotted contemporary fantasy in his fast-paced third Adam Binder novel (after Trailer Park Trickster). Previously, warlock Adam opened a portal that sent his evil great-grandfather John, a druid, to the underworld—and also took his boyfriend, cop-turned-reaper Vic, and his cousin Jodi. Now Adam is determined to get them back. Death herself provides Adam with Vic’s location on the promise that he also retrieves another living person, Melody, who’s similarly unfairly trapped in the afterlife. Adam; his brother, Bobby; and elf Vran embark on the rescue mission—and along the way encounter the ghost of Adam’s father, who upsets Adam by not being the unrepentant villain he remembers. Meanwhile, Vic and Jodi are captured by demons who feed off their pain. They escape but subsequently get swept up by a cult of the dead who consume others to cling to any semblance of life. When the separate parties eventually reunite, they must find a way to stop John for good and repair the disruptions that their living bodies have brought to the underworld. Slayton continues to impress with complex relationships and clever mythologies. Series fans won’t want to miss this. Agent: Lesley Sabga, Seymour Agency. (Oct.)