Taste of Wrath

Starred review from March 5, 2018
All-out war is nigh in the bittersweet, superb seventh and final installment (after Gluttony Bay) of Wallace’s series of novellas featuring Sin du Jour, caterers to the supernatural. Allensworth, Sin du Jour’s otherworldly former patron, has revealed his long game: using Sin du Jour as a cog in his plan to take over the world. With a heavy heart, head chef Bronko Luck gathers Lena Tarr, the newly recovered Darren, and the rest of the gang to ask them to fight for the tight-knit family they’ve built. They must summon every weapon in their motley magical arsenal to defeat a horde of presidential meat puppets, murderous gnomes, demon warriors, and more. Not everyone will survive, and some will prove that the greatest strength can come from the most unassuming souls. Humor, horror, absurdity, and a sharp eye for pop culture drive this series, and, in the midst of considerable chaos, Wallace brings emotional resonance to each of his singular characters. He opens his distinctly imaginative bag of tricks to deliver an epic finale that will break readers’ hearts while filling them with hope. Fans will be sad to see this series end and eager to learn what Wallace will come up with next. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary.