A Hole in the World

Ochse (Bone Chase) underwhelms in his Preacher’s Daughter Saves the World series launch, introducing a covert government unit dedicated to investigating supernatural phenomena. It’s a familiar premise, and there’s little to make this iteration stand out. Francis Scott Key Catches the Enemy has a history of seeing things that aren’t there, including ghost buffalo and giant butterflies. But when he wakes up in a ditch following a narcoleptic episode, it’s what he doesn’t see that’s disturbing: all evidence of his hometown of Iron Hat, S.Dak., has disappeared. Francis watches as cars head toward where the town once was only to stop and reverse course. Some digging proves that not only is the town missing, but others don’t even remember it existing. Probing this anomaly falls to Laurie May, aka Preacher’s Daughter, a member of Special Unit 77 who was once “captured by Sufi mystics and held hostage in order to power the mind of a dying demi-god.” Some of the ensuing weirdness feels random, as when May encounters “Ewok versions of Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas.” This run-of-the-mill paranormal thriller makes an inauspicious start to the series. Agent: Cherry Weiner, Cherry Weiner Literary. (Nov.)