Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

TL;DR: Chuck Tingle gets better and better every time.
Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher!

Plot: How it made sense was so clever, and just weird enough to make sense. Well done Mr. Tingle.
Characters: Unlikable but also so lovable. I was cheering for these folks the whole way through.
Setting: We roam a bit but I loved the desert setting in the later half, it added a lot I feel to the story.
Horror: Oh my god. Yes. Just yes.

Summary:

Vera is a survivor of a global catastrophe known as the Low Probability Event, but she definitely isn’t thriving. Once a passionate professor of statistics, she no longer finds meaning in anything at all.

But when problematic government agent Layne knocks on her door, she’s the only one who can help him uncover the connection between deadly spates of absurdity and an improbably lucky casino. What’s happening in Vegas isn’t staying there, and the world is at risk of another disaster.

Thoughts:

Absurd Horror seems to be something I really enjoy. Lucky Day leans heavily into the ‘what is happening’ feeling you can get from some horror. You don’t know if you should laugh or look away and somehow you end up doing both (or in my case giggling wildly because that’s my fear reaction). Yet in the end, somehow he makes it make sense.

Vera is a black sheep, she experiences some intense trauma on the day of the Low Probability Event and after that she wallows in depression, suicidal thoughts, and the classic talk of the void and darkness. Agent Layne who drags her out into his investigation is the direct opposite. Golden Retriever, enjoy every moment type, the two make for a fantastic back and forth that grounds well against the absolutely wild events of this book.

Chuck Tingle, like always, also manages to fit some topical themes into this as well such as bi-erasure and how far the hand of government should reach. It’s not heavy handed, and worked so well into the overall story. I loved seeing him at work here.

The over the top nature of a lot of this isn’t going to be for everyone but if you’re strapped in and ready for it it’s fantastic. There are some notes of what feels like some Junji Ito inspiration as well, which delighted me to no end, and I had a blast. I can’t recommend this one enough, but do check your trigger warnings.