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.

Ellen King Rice

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.