Hench

This was a pleasant surprise.

I picked up Hench based on CBC Canada Reads defense by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.

Truly, if we are talking chicken and egg here, the egg was CBC Canada Reads and the chicken was Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. I love Kim's Convenience and think he's hysterical so why wouldn't I like a book he likes?

Evildoers at a temp agency is where we find our protagonist, Anna. Even villains need someone to help with filing and coffee. So Anna goes from villain to villain until she finds herself at a press conference that goes horribly wrong. A superhero shows up to save the day. The hero injures Anna, who is rushed to hospital and learns she is now a former temp because of her injuries, and she's pissed. Anna's spite is her superpower, and she uses it to find a different villain to work with and the excitement begins again.

I cheered for the bad guys more than once. Or were they the bad guys after all?...

If you love The Boys on Amazon Prime, you will love this book. The description of one of the battles (and that is not even remotely the point of the book), is hysterical and disgusting, but more hysterical. Full disclosure... I am entirely sick of superhero movies. I don't want to see any more re-takes or prequels or anyone in a cape that isn't Gaga. I made the exception for The Boys and love it, but that was going to be the end of my commitment to superheroes. No more. Hands down. Don't even ask. Then came Hench.

So why would I love a book that is so obviously not my kind of book? Because it is hysterical. Not laugh a minute jokes, two superheroes walk into a bar, kind of hysterical. Clever funny–which is my favourite kind of funny after potty humour.

Besides, Natalie Zina Walschots is from Toronto. All the best writers are from Toronto... right? (This is your cue to say, ‘damn straight they are Kristine!”) Shucks, thanks.

I waited for a library copy and got a 7-day read notice about five weeks later. I read this book in two days. But if you can't wait the twelve weeks for a library copy, this is definitely one I would have bought and probably read again on a beach. You know, like when travelling. You remember travel, don't you?