Hey Ghouls! I’m horror comedy author D.M. Guay. I write the 24/7 Demon Mart series, but I am also a huge reader and a huge horror comedy geek. Now, if you’ve been part of my newsletter, Monsters in your Inbox, you already know you get a new book recommendation–curated by me–every month. These are all books I have personally read and think YOU would like. (I don’t swap. No one can beg, buy, or swap to get a spot. So this is all me!)
Some of you have asked for a handy archive of past book recommendations, so I have compiled them here.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
2022 Monsters in your Inbox Book Recommendations
Dial M for Mutants
It’s 1994, and Buck Vincent is on the downside of his career as a reporter for a monster-hunting tabloid. Crocodile boy? Hell hounds from outer space? He’s seen it all–well, faked it all. Until he joins up with the new hire, and the two meet a crazy old lady who claims the hellhound ate her husband.
Dial M for Mutants is a well-written debut novel that hits the sweet spot: A blend of monsters, film noir detective story, and buddy comedy. Loved it and really hoping Mat Thorne writes more books!
Check it out: https://amzn.to/3Fhkv2L
Dead Star Park by Mark Hill
So…it turns out that summer jobs at amusement parks? Not the formula for endless fun and consequence-free cotton candy binges we all hoped for. At least not for Casey, a ride operator at Dead Star Park who sees strange visions every time she steps inside the Haunted House ride where a little boy disappeared–without a trace–years before. Casey is determined to solve the little boy’s cold case, but she gets way more than she bargained for when the mystery turns into a Lovecraftian cosmic mystery.
Check it out: https://amzn.to/3AUZ2w5
How to Be Dead by Dave Turner
Dave is 25-years-old and unexceptional in many ways. He works an uninspiring, dead-end office job–Until the night he steps in front of a car to save the girl of his dreams, and Death takes him out for a beer. Things are not the same when he returns to his earthly life. So, when Death shows up with a job offer and a second chance at love? What’s a Dave to do?
Nobody loves a grim reaper comedy more than me. This one is well done, and it’s part of a six-book series, so if you like it, you can dig in. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3Le7hs2
Zombie, Inc.
Decades after the zombie apocalypse, civilization has rebounded and adjusted. Thanks to Zombies, Inc., all are safe–uh huh. sure– and the few remaining zombies have become high tech home security systems for the wealthy. Until Zombies, Inc., assessment manager Carl and his new hire, Dill, stumble upon some problems. Surprise! Turns out the zombies aren’t the real monsters here, but in good zombie fiction, they never are. If you like zombies, dry/dark humor, and social commentary, this book is totally for you. Check it out here:https://amzn.to/3rqjrpK
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking
This is technically a YA novel, but I promise even if you strictly read adult fantasy, you will like it. Mona is a 14-year old orphan and low-level wizard whose magic only works on baked goods. She works in her aunt’s bakery, willing the bread not to burn and the gingerbread men to dance. Her familiar is a sentient sourdough starter with a bad attitude. (Very Kevin-like!) Her life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body in her bakery, in a society that doesn’t take kindly to magic folk. This book won a Nebula award, is available in audio, AND you can get all formats via your public library!
Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3uPlYeU
The Veterinarian’s Field Guide to Rabid Unicorns
You caught me. I originally picked up this book because of the title. I mean, come on. But, I was delightfully surprised by the story. It reads like the plot of a 1950s drive-in movie, in the best possible way. Bertie is a down and out veterinarian. So when a mad scientist offers him a job on a private, Caribbean island, working at a new exotic animal theme park? Bertie goes, but he does not find paradise. No, he does not. He finds unicorns. Lots and lots of unicorns, and they are NOT like the unicorns in fairy tales. These corns have a taste for meat. And blood. And his new boss, Dr. Om, turns out to be even worse than the one he left behind. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3931iI5
Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files 1)
Bob Howard is an IT guy/ low level operative for a super secret government agency named “The Laundry.” Math and computer coding are the magic that opens portals to other dimensions, where Lovecraftian beasties await. Bob is the guy who makes sure no mere mortal accidentally stumbles across the equations. This book contains a short novel, “The Atrocity Archive,” and a novella, “The Concrete Jungle,” which won a Hugo award. Both follow Bob’s adventures and both are a heavy on the computer geek jargon, but the premise is solid and clever, so if you don’t mind a lot of tech speak, check it out! This book is the first in a 12-book series, and it’s in audio for my Audible peeps!! Check it out: https://amzn.to/3mYOqpQ
Tales from the Gas Station 1 By Jack Townsend
This is a book I would have suggested forever ago, but I took for granted that every single one of you had already read this, but it Turns out that is not true! Tales from the Gas Station follows a low-level retail employee with a terminal, degenerative brain disease. He works at a run down gas station at the edge of a dark forest, where all kinds of strange things happen. Man-eating monsters, cultists, trans-dimensional travel? Yep. All for minimum wage. This is book series is incredibly engaging, with good straightforward writing, compelling characters. Gah! Just so much to like. It really draws you in, and once you are in to the universe, there’s a lot to explore: They’ve got a blog, CreepyPasta youtube vids, and more, so if you enjoy the world, there is a lot to explore. Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3nmwp4N
Demon Gotta Go
Ty Burdin is trying to carve out a modest living as a private investigator in Knoxville, Tennessee. Unfortunately, Ty comes from a long line of top-notch demon hunters, and The Agency isn’t about to let him quit. Duh. He can’t leave. Not while there’s a redneck war demon on the loose!
Seriously, peeps. Move this one up on your TBR pile. The writing is really good, and I was all in on this story immediately. It’s a page turner. And if you like it, it’s a five-book series, so you’ve got plenty to dig into. Check it out: https://amzn.to/3PNhBZw
Kaiju Preservation Society By John Scalzi
Jamie is an exec at a new food-delivery start up, and it’s time for his performance review. He’s excited and full of ideas–which the CEO steals. Right after firing him. Bummer, right? Well, it gets worse. Broke, desperate, and demoralized, Jamie ends up delivering food for the company that dumped him, until one of his customers offers him a job that will change his life. As an animal handler for giant, Godzilla-sized animals. Oh yeah. Cue kaiju! I’ll stop here because spoilers. But dude. LOVED this book. It was a quick, fun read. Catchy, satisfying, fun, and written by a fellow Ohioan! It should also be available in your local library. If not, check it out: https://amzn.to/3QGRZx7
Braineater Jones
This is a delightfully well written noir-pulp detective story set in a 1930s America where zombies are real. People keep coming back from the dead. No one knows why. But they do know that if the newly resurrected drink a lot of booze, it preserves their humanity. If they don’t, they turn into mindless brain-eating ghouls. Unfortunately, It’s Prohibition America, and booze is illegal! Enter Braineater Jones, a guy who wakes up dead, murdered, with a hole in his chest, and no memory of his former life. Or who killed him. He’s determined to find out. And to solve mysteries for the other undead along the way. Check it out: https://amzn.to/3TUkFVC
Zombie Elves Ate Santa Claus
Okay, so the title pretty much sums it up. But this is still a fun, well written short story even if the name does give it away. Zombie elves eat Santa, then they steal the sleigh and crash land on a roof in the burbs on Christmas Eve. Because there aren’t nearly enough yummy brains at the North Pole. Cue Christmas zombie outbreak. Single mom Sam and her two kids fight off elves and undead neighbors. This is a good, short read. Perfect for stolen moments away from the fam, sitting by the fire, in the safe warm glow of your holiday lights. Unless. Oh no. What’s that? Is that an elf under the tree? AAAAH! Check it out here: https://amzn.to/3A36hmr
That’s all for 2022! Need more?
Check out the 2021 Monsters in Your Inbox Book list!
Or the 2020 Monsters in Your Inbox Book List!
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horror comedy and comedy fantasy author D.M. Guay 