Book Review: "One Ghost Per Serving" by Nina Post

One Ghost per Serving review
Author: Nina Post
4 out of 5 stars

Book Info: Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Reading Level: Adult

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from Curiosity Quills via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Eric Snackerge has had a rough time lately. After being possessed by a mischievous spirit, he lost his scholarship and got blamed for a scandal that left him blacklisted from the legal profession. Now he’s working two minimum wage jobs and is desperate to show his wife and daughter that he can put his life back together — before his best-friend-turned-enemy swoops in and steals his family away.

When Eric learns about an unusual contest, he realizes that winning the grand prize will help him make his daughter’s dreams come true. But he’ll have to overcome his own self-doubt — not to mention the seemingly impossible odds — in order to achieve that goal.

However, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill sweepstakes. Everyone who eats the product develops an insatiable craving for more. Plus, the people behind the contest are dispatching everything from spy cameras to attack helicopters to make sure that Eric doesn’t get any further.

As Eric soon learns, the contest was only the first phase of a much larger plan. If the villains are successful, they will spread a dangerous supernatural pathogen throughout the food supply. But with distribution of the tainted products already underway, does Eric have what it takes to stop their plan and protect his family from being the next victims?

My Thoughts: This book.... what can I say about this book? It was full of simply ludicrous nonsense of the best type. The stores, for instance: one sold tools, plus was a bakery and tanning salon. Another was called Redemption and Beer. Then there is the indoor shooting range/restaurant where Eric works part of the time. The various entities and spirits that Eric interacts with are an absolute hoot, and their names – and the names by which Eric calls the various people around him – made me laugh repeatedly. One of Eric’s friends gives him a text-message friend-break-up (link will take you to a Kelly video that I felt was appropriate given the concept).

There were a few places where I got a bit lost. For instance, I was really puzzled by why, after he had gathered the lids to spell out PUDDING and sent them in to claim the prize, Eric continued to spend his days buying more and more yogurt. It made absolutely no sense to me. At one point he says he’s sent everything in, but then a day or so later he’s talking about needing to send it in... again? I have no idea. Then there is a scene where Taffy supposedly asks to stay at the school to run some tests and Eric is videochatting with her, but then she’s there with him. I’m not sure if I lost track of what was going on, or if there was a plot discrepancy there that was missed.

In all, this is a really surreal book, but it’s highly readable and a lot of fun. I think fans of bizarro fiction will enjoy it the most, as well as those who enjoy fun stuff like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. This is Ms. Posts’ second book, after Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse. Be sure to check it out if you’re in the mood for some rather excellent silliness.