The Redemption Center Is Closed on Sundays

Hairston (Archangels of Funk) mixes a serial killer investigation with elements of urban fantasy and sci-fi to create a cozy, magical, and strikingly unique concoction. She pits a quirky cast—headlined by cleaner and aspiring detective Paula B. Queenie, podcaster An’qwenique Robinsin, and multiverse-traveling St. Bernard/poodle mix Oona—against a mysterious villain targeting a “necklace of picturesque New England towns.” Paula opens the story musing that “everybody is entangled in miracles and mysteries,” and Hairston demonstrates this aptly over the ingeniously constructed first section of the book. It toggles between Paula and An’qwenique, narrating from “today” and “yesterday,” respectively, as a neighbor is murdered and An’qwenique and many others become stranded at the mysterious Redemption Center, a crumbling mansion, with seemingly no way out. Oona and her magic red wagon lead everyone back to the where they belong, but not before the killer strikes again. Hairston balances a phantasmagoria of mystical and interdimensional elements with a cast of sharply drawn characters, creating very real-feeling people moving through a delightfully irreal world. The result is a lively and lovely tale of community triumphing over evil. (May)