Slayers of Old

Hines (the Janitors of the Postapocalypse trilogy) again treats genre tropes with irreverence in this entertaining fantasy thriller told from the perspectives of its three leads, who were all Buffy-style badasses in their youth but now seek quiet retirements. Jenny Winter was a Hunter of Artemis, charged with defending humanity “against the things that went bump in the night.” Half-demon Annette Thorne used her supernatural skills as a PI. They moved in with Temple Finn, a mighty wizard who’s hung up his cloak, and together the trio run Second Life Books and Gifts in Salem, Mass. Peace and quiet isn’t on the agenda, however. First, supernatural creatures pop up around town. Next, Annette is attacked by demon hunters armed with holy water. Her assailant turns out to be a young man who had a vision of the three friends bringing about the end of the world. As it soon becomes clear, the roommates have an apocalypse to stop. Hines brings a wry touch to his vividly imagined urban fantasy world; at one point, Jenny notes that “I hadn’t heard anything about people losing their souls. Not to a harvester, at least. TV and smartphones were a whole other class of spirit killers.” Ben Aaronovitch fans will appreciate Hines’s humorous approach to supernatural peril. (Oct.)