Title: Boss From Hell
Author: Laurie Bell
Publisher: Self published
Page Count: 334
Genre: Contemporary paranormal, supernatural, comedy/humour
Spice: None
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blurb
Starting a new job can be murder...
Mig Solder's new place of work is a little ... odd. Sure, there's unlimited free coffee, but there's also personal messages that seem to have no sender, colleagues that don't seem quite, well, human, and random emails warning her to run. Now.
When she discovers her predecessors didn't quit, they just disappeared, Mig decides to put her obsessive attention to detail to good use and investigate. With the help of her mysterious new neighbor, her spirit-contacting best friend, and her wild grandmothers, Mig uncovers a plot way above her pay grade. And once she starts dabbling in the supernatural, the consequences won't just appear on her performance review, it may just take her life - and her soul.
Review
Buffy with shades of Supernatural combine with an ordinary (yet sassy) administrator who suddenly finds herself plunged into the shadowy world of demons and spirits.
When Mig is suddenly fired then offered a new dream job the same day (with an excellent pay package and great perks no less), she’s over the moon. But the dream soon unravels when Mig discovers her last three predecessors are missing. Certain something is amiss and determined not to be next, Mig makes it her mission to get to the bottom of it.
The first thing you notice about this story is the voice of its narrator. In three words: voice for days. Mig’s character practically springs off the page as we’re introduced to her 20-something life and watch her navigate its ups and downs, which get progressively bigger and more supernatural. Perhaps what I most enjoyed about this is Mig is an ordinary woman. She’s not the fated vampire slayer or a jiu-jitsu champion, she’s an unassuming pencil pusher (a very good pencil pusher, mind you) who’s haplessly found herself in the crosshairs of a supernatural conspiracy. She could not be more ill-equipped to handle such a situation, and yet through friendship, family, a timely new neighbour and a ton of luck, she does.
As a main character, Bell has absolutely worked gold here. From Mig’s coffee addiction to financial independence worries, her character is relatable on so many levels. Ordinary as she may be, her underdog story is something we can’t help but get behind, especially as she takes on the role of office detective and steadily drifts into deeper and more paranormal waters.
Part mystery, part humour, this paranormal office high jinx doesn’t just keep you on your toes, it keeps you turning the page over and over.