Published: October 25, 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Series: N/A
Genre: Horror
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)
My Rating: 4.0/5.0
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.
Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.
When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.
But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.
I kept seeing all these reviews saying this was such a darkly comedic book and yes, it did have moments of dark humor that had me chuckling, but it was overall a much more serious book than I was expecting. Interestingly, the funny parts (and IMO, the best parts) were in Hell.
Peyote Trip (real name mostly forgotten in the eternity spent in Hell) has to snag one more member of the Harrison clan and he might get a re-do in the world above (or adjacent to, as it may be). He and the newest member of the Deals department, Calamity Ganon, are kept busy acquiring souls and meeting quotas, but not so busy that Peyote can’t keep an eye on the Harrison family.
And boy, what a family they are. A whole five generations of deal makers. Silas Harrison, his wife Lily, their two kids Noah and Mickey, and Mickey’s new best friend Ruth are all headed to the lake house for a long six-week vacation. While the kids might be having the time of their lives, Silas and Lily have been struggling with their relationship. Struggling might be an understatement, as Lily has been having an affair with the brother of the girl that Silas’s brother supposedly killed almost two decades ago. The lake house is also where that girl, Sarah, died. What should be a serene summer retreat is marred by secrets and not everything is as it seems. This tense holiday might just be the perfect conditions for Peyote to acquire the last Harrison soul he needs.
As I said, my favorite parts of this book were those starring Peyote and Calamity because what a terrible duo they are! Cal has the doe-eyed innocent look perfected and seems to have the whole Deals Department fooled, except for Pey who has soberly seen what she is capable of. Cal has a dark, dark past and I love that the plot threads of her past are so seamlessly woven into Pey’s and the Harrison’s stories. Hell is, well, Hell. It’s a nightmare of a place outside of time and sometimes, ever so slowly people can advance to a higher circle that is infinitely less shit than the Downstairs. People get their own apartments on the Fifth Floor! They can occasionally get something other than Jagermeister! What joy! But it’s still a monstrous place on the lower floors where torture happens on an assembly line. The portion of the storyline with the Harrison’s was a solid family drama – wife having an affair, dark history, new girl who has slightly suspicious vibes, and family secrets (spooky!).
Overall, this was an excellent read that made me laugh on occasion but was also oddly unsettling. It deals with some dark themes but doesn’t make light of them, as the humor is only incidental and largely centered around the small deals made that don’t factor into the larger plot. This was a brilliant, complex debut and I can’t wait to see what Claudia Lux has in store for readers in the future!
Powder & Page 
This sounds perfect for me!
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