Larry’s Post-Rapture Pet-Sitting Service, By Ellen King Rice #bookreview #beachread

While I was on vacation, I read Ellen King Rice’s new book, Larry’s Post-Rapture Pet-Sitting Service. What a hoot! As with her previous books, it’s set in the South Puget Sound area of the Pacific Northwest. This book is a joy.

So, without further yak-yak, here is my review of

Larry’s Post-Rapture Pet-Sitting Service: A loser’s account of surviving the righteous and other afflictions, by Ellen King Rice

Publisher:Undergrowth Publishing (August 20, 2020)
Publication Date:August 20, 2020

But First, the Blurb:

One man with highly flexible morals and a dodgy past.

His mother, in dire need of beer and pretzels.

A history-mad teenager in search of a job.

And cats. Lots of cats.

As the alleged man of the house, Larry has to make ends meet, one way or another.

Selling post-Rapture pet care insurance seems simple enough.

Until Larry crosses paths with a left-behind televangelist looking to carve a new domain. Out of his hide, if he lets her.

Review: “A large and colorful cast of characters fills the novel, and their experiences and coping mechanisms in the rapture-altered world give the story a welcome variety of perspectives.” – Kirkus Reviews

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My Review:

I’m still smiling about this book. Larry is the most perfectly imperfect man ever. Marjorie is a wonderful person, a little rough around the edges, but possessing a heart of gold. Every cloud has a silver lining, but sometimes you have to hustle to get there first. Marjorie excels at keeping her son hustling.

Larry is accustomed to not flying first-class, so to speak, so he’s not surprised that he was left behind. He loves life and all the pickles he’d have missed had he been raptured or sent the other way.

I loved the notion that all the dogs went to Heaven.

Abigail Ross is a credible villain. The varying degrees of devotion her entourage of now-unenthusiastic minions feels for their employer since the rapture began is well-drawn. The many snake-like ways she tries to thwart Larry’s success kept me turning the page. I had to find out how everything was resolved.

Larry attracts a good posse. Every character in this group and their circumstances are unique, and yet they fit together, becoming stronger by virtue of being not quite saintly enough for the rapture.

I laughed out loud in many places, worried for Larry and his crew, and celebrated when certain animals were rescued.

If you like humor, dark or otherwise, and love thought provoking character-driven novels, this is one you should read.

About Ellen King Rice: Ellen usually writes mysteries with mycological elements, but recent political events have drawn her out of the woods to admire the resilience of the people of the Pacific Northwest. Call it a Menippean satire for the modern era, or a rollicking tale of imperfect people surviving in uncertain times, this is a story of doggedness and pickles. Winner of a 2020 IPPY Gold medal for Best Regional Fiction for “Lichenwald” (and a 2019 Silver Medal IPPY award for “Undergrowth” and a Wishing Shelf Book Awards finalist for “The EvoAngel”) Ellen King Rice is a former wildlife biologist with passions for epigenetics and fungi. In her younger years she served as a wildlife conservation officer, a big game manager, an endangered species biologist and as a lobbyist for environmental issues.

You can find Ellen and her books at https://www.ellenkingrice.com/