Without question, my favorite novel from last year was written by Nora B. Peevy (read my review here). As I said at the time, Flesh-Eating Turtles! was an outrageous and sharply satirical critique of scientific hubris, complete with awesome giant turtle mayhem. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend putting it in your Amazon cart right away. 

Now we have a follow-up anthology from the author called Cemetery Tacos and Other Delights. These stories reflect Peevy’s penchant for monsters, ghosts, witches and cows. Except for a couple of hiccups, it’s a terrific (delightful?) collection of absurd, genre-busting horror with a big pop of dark humor. 

Unfortunately, the book begins with my least favorite story. While “Knock, Knock” contains a touch of psychological realism and emotional subtlety, it mostly reminds me of bad New Yorker-style fiction from the 80s. And it certainly doesn’t capture the charm of Peevy’s writing that I enjoy so much.  

Things pick up quickly as Peevy reimagines the Queen of Hades as a flirty vigilante in a story called “A Taste of Murder.” In this case, Persephone’s got her sights set on a serial killer known as the Midwest Mangler. 

When she eventually traps her prey in a gas station restroom, Persephone lets loose with a wonderful explosion of purple prose. “I, so lush and green and fecund before him,” she tells the reader. “I tore his shirt off like we were in a cheesy porno. Really, I wanted to tear his head off with my bare hands and use his spinal cord as the newest belt in my collection, but I had discipline after all these years on the road tracking down the slime of the earth. I would relish this moment like a fine wine and a box of chocolates—every girl’s best friend.” 

Without a doubt, the craziest thing in Cemetery Tacos and Other Delights is “Carnivorous Cows from Outer Space.” The author introduces us to Mooligan, an alien cow who’s leading a covert operation from Planet Moo to conquer Earth. 

Even though he’s responsible for Chick-fil-A, his mission isn’t exactly going as planned. “In trying to save Cowkind from annihilation,” he says, “we have managed to become food for lower, less intelligent life-forms.”

There’s no easy way for Mooligan and his troops to take over the planet, but he’s still optimistic. “Did you know that cows eat eight hours a day?” he says. “Why, if every cow ate one human per hour during their normal eating schedule, the world would be a better place. Don’t you think? I think so.”

And finally, “The Witch of Fox Point” is about a witch named Stella and her great-niece, Anne, who successfully stops the coming Armageddon with the Seal of Solomon. When the dust finally settles, Anne has a question for her great-aunt. “If you’re a witch and witches are real—are vampires and werewolves real too?” Stella shakes her head and sighs. “That’s a story for another time,” she says. 

[ Cemetery Tacos and Other Delights / By Nora B. Peevy / First Printing: April 2026 / ISBN: 9781685101725 ]