William and Carrie Englund are a pair of slashers. Not serial killers, mind you, but honest to goodness “spree killers”, brother and sister in a sadistically dysfunctional family from a long line of “slashers” as they are more commonly known. William is a bit of an anomaly for a slasher. He only kills other slayers. Carrie is more akin to a Harley Quinn, a chaotic neutral. Her more psychotic tendencies are tempered by her brother, however.
In an interesting bit of world-building, Phipps ties together classical mythologies, folklore, urban legends, as well common archetypes and tropes from many slasher-horror flicks (i.e.: Nightmare on Elm Street, Child’s Play, Halloween, etc.). In this world inhabited by ghosts, zombies, vampires, and even the occasional shoggoth, slashers have supernatural origins and possess their own terrifying powers. To Phipps’s credit, he manages to tie them all in together quite convincingly.
The pair are soon introduced to Nancy, who may or may not be an Artemis–the mythical female slayers of slashers and monsters alike (kind of like Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Instead of killing each other the group unites on a common target. Rescuing a group of co-eds from the clutches of a group of evil old guys. Phipps brings William and Nancy together organically throughout the story as the two work towards their common goals and learn to trust each other. Their relationship feels natural and is probably the sweetest, most realistic thing I’ve read from Phipps.
PKiL is set in the same United States of Monsters universe as Phipps’s Fangton and Teenage Weredeer series. Fortunately, the book is fairly standalone. It doesn’t assume the reader has read any of the previous books from the shared universe. However, I caught several references to previous entries in the universe that made me smile.
Jeffrey Kafer offers up another outstanding performance in PKiL. His characters in this book are easily distinguishable by voice. Kafer’s pacing is on point and he has the comedic chops needed to deliver Phipps’s witty banter and retorts. He’s one of the most consistently dependable narrators I’ve come across.
I’d categorize PKiL as a dark, action comedy rather than horror thriller. It was a fun read, but not my favorite book by Phipps. I wouldn’t recommend this book if you are new to C. T. Phipps. Try his Supervillainy Saga first and then come back to this if you’re a fan. If you’re already accustomed to Phipps’s trademark brand of over the top anti-heroes, quirky sidekicks, and witty repartee, then don’t hesitate to give PKiL a try.
***Full Disclosure: I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.