Against a fiery-and possibly paranormal-threat, a witch becomes Earth's last hope, in the second book of this witty and sharp urban fantasy series.

Tophet County's Midnight Carnival has it all: a mesmerizing (literally) Phaeras Wheel, the racy delights of Sphinxter's All-Archonic Peep Show, and the lip-smacking lure of "things which never should have been fried." It's the perfect prelude to the witch's romantic night with her boyfriend, Chad . . . until a creepy fortune teller makes dire predictions with an enchanted deck of Garbage Pail Kids cards, an otherworldly pyromaniac sets the moon on fire, and a shipload of pasta-faced beasties from Lovecraft's backlist lands on the Dunwich Park softball field.

These unsettling events are only the beginning of the witch's troubles. Soon, a series of homicides-by-grievous-immolation sets off a county-wide panic. Then Chad starts keeping secrets and avoiding the witch like a plague of haunted warts. And her good friend Hank O'Brien, aka Deputy Eye Candy, is getting hotter by the hour. The icing on the ghoul-cake? The human mayor has resurrected the Witch's Task Force and forced her to partner up with the ghost-obsessed Dread Lord of Human Resources to investigate.

Yes, things are heating up in Tophet County. The witch will have to tread carefully as she takes on mysterious murders, lunar refugees, and superstitious eldritch abominations-or she might just get burned.

Blending the out-of-this-world intrigue of supernatural procedurals like The X-Files with the quirky characters and relatable awkwardness of Parks and Recreation, Playing with Fire is the twisty and fun continuation of a must-read horror comedy series.