Dead & Breakfast

In this playful series launch from Thor (This Is How We Roll) and Hilis, a gay vampire couple deal with a murder at their small-town bed and breakfast. Bloodsuckers Arthur Miller and Sal Conte run the Iris Inn in sleepy Trident Falls, Ore., a “slice of idyllic peace” tucked away in the Cascade Mountains. No one bothers them about being gay, but there’s a quiet strain of prejudice developing against paranormal beings in the region, spearheaded by Trident Falls’s mayor, George Roth, whom Arthur and Sal both loathe. Unaware of the tensions in town, new city manager Nora Anderson—who’s staying at the Iris until she finds more permanent housing—invites Roth to the inn’s wine and cheese night, then finds him dead in the property’s garden with a pair of puncture wounds in his neck. Certain that they’ve been framed, Arthur and Sal set out to find the killer with the help of other paranormal locals including a werewolf and an elf. Witty, exciting, and full of eccentric worldbuilding, this sly supernatural cozy stands out from the pack. It’s a hoot. Agent: Carrie Pestritto, Laura Dail Literary. (Oct.)