Gareth Blunt just wanted a fridge that worked.
What he got, for forty pounds from a shop that smelled like regret, was a fridge with a grievance. Then a toaster with a manifesto. Then a washing machine, a kettle, and ? eventually ? his entire kitchen, all possessed by the restless ghosts of appliances who died in unsafe workplaces and decided, in the afterlife, to do something about it.
They've unionised. They've got demands (reasonable defrosting hours, ethical spin cycles, an absolute ban on microwaving fish). And when Gareth refuses to negotiate, they go on strike ? leaving him with a warm fridge, a cold boiler, and a very militant vacuum cleaner blocking the hallway.
By the time he's talked them down, Gareth hasn't just made peace with his kitchen. He's been elected Chairperson of the Living Division, crossed over to attend the Annual General Haunting, and found himself the only living person standing between a room full of dead appliances and the corporate ghosts trying to shut the whole union down.
Nobody warned him being reasonable would escalate this fast.
A cheerfully deranged horror-comedy about workplace rights, bad negotiating, and what happens when nobody ever checked the risk assessment ? even in the afterlife.
Autorentext
Lee Emerick writes horror-comedy for people who like their nightmares served with a side of laughter, and their laughter served with a side of mild dread.
Lee has spent years researching terrifying places, including the DMV, the dentist, the gym, the timeshare, the fertility clinic and the wedding venue. Most of the research was done firsthand, which explains a lot.
Lee's books contain cursed appliances, waitresses who have been dead since 1974, and at least one cul-de-sac that has no business being that friendly. No animals were harmed, but several HOA meetings were.
When not writing, Lee can be found avoiding all-night diners, refusing to renew anything in person, and checking the tooth roots of strangers for signs of ancient entities.
Lee lives somewhere quiet, and it is definitely fine. Please don't ask about the basement.
Find more of Lee's books on Draft2Digital, and remember: if a book seems to be reading you back, that's a plot device. Probably.
info@leeemerick.co.uk