In Chuck Tingle’s LUCKY DAY, on May 23, the world experienced what became known as an LPE, a Low Probability Event. Over eight million people lost their lives in seemingly impossible and bizarre ways. They were either crushed by falling fish, hung by a soaring parade balloon, murdered by an enraged chimpanzee holding an old typewriter, or several other improbable and grisly deaths. While many people seem to have moved on, Vera, a probability professor and survivor of the chaos, has moved steadily into nihilism.

Her reclusive life takes a turn when she is approached by Special Agent Layne asking for her help in trying to take down a casino; one sporting the best odds for their clientele while also remaining wildly profitable. Is this impossible “good luck” linked to the “bad luck” suffered on May 23?

Whenever I recommend one of Chuck Tingle’s horror novels, I’m nearly always asked if he’s the same Chuck Tingle who writes those “butt books”. Yes, it’s that same Chuck Tingle and while I haven’t read one of the books that brought Tingle to the dance, I have to imagine that these horror novels could not be more different from those parody stories. Chuck is a tremendous writer and I think Lucky Day has overtaken Bury Your Gays as my favorite of his non-comedy work. The ideas presented here surrounding probability, statistical analysis, fate, and destiny as well as the way that Tingle navigates those ideas left me smiling from ear to ear. This book is devourable in a single sitting, if you have the time; it’s a hard one to put down. LUCKY DAY is reminiscent of a Black Crouch novel crossed with Jason Pargin with a queer slant.