A wacky paranormal novel centers on a college student who’s at least partly responsible for hell’s newly open gates’ unleashing demons.

Eliza Horowitz is only 19 years old and has already decided relationships are either boring or tragic. But her enigmatic UCLA history professor Oliver Crowley excites her, and Eliza has just the thing to grab his attention. Well, she has to steal it first, as it’s a rare book (and family heirloom) from her Hollywood producer father’s library. Crowley seems to like it but then walks away with the volume when Eliza was merely showing it off. Hoping to retrieve her father’s book from Crowley’s university office, she stumbles on a dark, creepy tunnel leading to her professor. Apparently, he’s an alchemist who is using the volume to bring someone back to life. And now it’s either his fault or Eliza’s when a “tear in the universe” allows demons into the world. But Crowley realizes that Eliza harbors the skills of an alchemist, which is a surprise to her, and together they may be able to slam shut this wide-open hellish portal. In a concurrent plot that abandons the present day for the early 20th century, teenager Aurelio Cienfuegos falls in love. But this farmer’s son’s shot at marriage fizzles after he’s wrongfully accused of murder. Aurelio keeps his head down and finds work on a film set only to one day become a Hollywood actor—with a new stage name, of course. It’s only a matter of time before he reunites with his love in a turn of events that ultimately ties to Eliza’s story.

Actor and playwright Lacámara’s first novel presents a bracing, animated tale. It boasts a sprightly supporting cast, from kindhearted gangbanger Jaime, who reluctantly takes part in a hit, to UCLA student Ethan, who’s obsessed with a decidedly uninterested Eliza. They join others in a demon-infested story that showcases such creatures as skeletal zombies, a giant scorpion, and an earthworm-eating homunculus. While these otherworldly beings deliver ample scares, they never truly overwhelm the comedy, most of which comes courtesy of likably snarky Eliza. She, for example, appreciates a creepy black mirror blurring her facial blemishes and hilariously throws a fit when Crowley suddenly vanishes at school with her dad’s book (“No one leaves this hallway until I get some answers!”). Lacámara fills in the Los Angeles backdrop with nods to real-life movies, actors, and scandals, especially in the Old Hollywood plotline, where stars like Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin show up. Likewise, the author deftly weaves historical flourishes into the narrative, including Eliza’s family heirloom and an intimidating figure whose unwelcome arrival, it seems, is imminent. Aurelio’s story, though slightly less funny than Eliza’s, is equally engaging; their dual plots come together in the latter half in numerous ways that only a few readers will predict. The final act, meanwhile, delivers an unlikely hero, growing distrust among allies, and a startling betrayal. The author surely has a sequel in mind, as this novel ends with unanswered questions, suggesting that further adventures await Eliza.

A delightfully bizarre and rollicking supernatural comedy with colorful humans and ghastly monsters.