Peyote Trip has been working in Hell ever since he arrived eons ago. His job is to answer people’s calls for help and get them to sign a contract, guaranteeing their afterlives will be spent in Hell, no matter how good they were when alive. However, Peyote has big plans for himself, and all he needs is one more contract within this one family before he can fulfill it. While Pey is forced to work with a new wildcard coworker, Calamity, we also follow his Earth family as they get closer to calling for his help. Review Parallel to Peyote’s story we follow the Harrisons, who have not one but many a big family secret and the agents of Hell working on them ceaselessly. You see, Peyote can get a promotion if only he succeeded in convincing one more member of the Harrisons to sell their soul... Overall: the ending was spectacular. The sarcastic, entertaining, intelligent writing enchanted me!

This is one of the rare moments where a book is completely original. I can't relate it to anything and that deserves high praise. Berkley Publishing Group and Claudia Lux provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for October 25, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine. In essence, I enjoyed Peyote and all the descriptions of Hell and his job, but everything else fell flat. It was somewhat fun and funny, a little bit thrilling, but never enough of either to make an impact. Final ThoughtsSpecial thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. The Harrisons seem like any other family: husband, wife, two kids. Except they all have secrets. As they head to their lake house for the summer, Peyote and his coworker, Calamity, are in pursuit. But nothing goes as planned for either party. There are too many POVs, short, impactful chapters, interesting, flawed, peculiar characters in this novel. And surprise, surprise: the incidents take place in both hell and earth. It seems like you read two other stories: one of them is family’s drama and mystery’s unfolding. The other one is a trip to the hell, a place where pens, coffee machines are not working,

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House and to NetGalleyfor providing me with an ARC of this book! SummaryThere were some aspects of the ending that I completely missed. I came to GRs for answers but the book is so new, there's not a lot of discussion or questions about it. Or maybe it's just me! I was definitely confused on some parts and not sure I interpreted the ending correctly. It's a very interesting, unsettling and attention grabbing interpretation of hell and my favorite bits of the book definitely involved Peyote and his interactions with this co-workers, and the brief but horrifying glimpses into the punishments they mete out and experienced first hand in hell's ever revolving hierarchy. It's a harsh juxtaposition between these moments and the relative mundanity of the Harrison family vacation but I feel like they suited each other well and made for an interesting reading experience overall. It's here I must admit that I'm underselling the Harrison's storyline a bit but it's your typical domestic thriller so I don't want to give anything away there really. Overall, this unique, thought-provoking, and entertaining novel has great characterization, and a tense and suspenseful part three. Those who relish mild horror with family drama and suspense may enjoy this book.