The Wrong Dead Guy

In this fast paced sequel to The Everything Box—the second entry in New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey’s comedic supernatural series—chaos ensues when Coop and the team at DOPS steal a not-quite-dead and very lovesick ancient Egyptian mummy wielding some terrifying magic.

Coop, a master thief sort of gone legit, saved the world from an ancient doomsday device—heroism that earned him a gig working for the Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome top secret government agency that polices the odd and strange. Now Woolrich, Coop’s boss at the DOPS, has Coop breaking into a traveling antiquities show to steal a sarcophagus containing the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkhuf. With the help of his pals Morty, Giselle, and a professor that’s half-cat, half-robotic octopus, Coop pulls off the heist without a hitch.

It’s not Coop’s fault that when DOPS opened the sarcophagus they didn’t find the mummy they were expecting. Well, it was the right mummy, but it wasn’t exactly dead—and now it’s escaped, using a type of magic the organization hasn’t encountered before. Being a boss, Woolrich blames his underling for the screw up and wants Coop to find the missing Harkhuf and make it right, pronto.

Digging into Harkhuf’s history, Coop thinks the mummy is hunting for an ancient magical manuscript that will help him bring his old lover back to life.

Which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t a warrior sorceress hell-bent on conquering the world with her undead armies.

Coop would very much like to run from the oncoming chaos. It’s one thing to steal a mummy, but another to have to deal with head-hunting bureaucrats, down-on-their luck fortune tellers, undead mailroom clerks, and a rather unimpressed elephant. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to run. If he wants the madness to stop, he’s going to have to suck it up and play hero one more time. But if Coop manages to save the world AGAIN, he’s definitely going to want a lot of answers. And a raise.

Coop, a master thief sort of gone legit, saved the world from an ancient doomsday device heroism that earned him a gig working for the Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome top secret government agency that polices the odd and strange. 

Now Woolrich, Coop’s boss at the DOPS, has Coop breaking into a traveling antiquities show to steal a sarcophagus containing the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkhuf. 

Coop pulls off the heist without a hitch. And it’s not his fault that when DOPS opened the sarcophagus they didn’t find the mummy they were expecting. Well, it was the right mummy, but it wasn’t exactly dead and now it’s escaped. Being a typical boss, Woolrich blames his underling for the screw-up and wants Coop to find the missing Harkhuf and make it right, pronto. 

Digging into Harkhuf’s history, Coop thinks the mummy is hunting for an ancient magical manuscript that will help him bring his old lover back to life. Which wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t a warrior sorceress hell-bent on conquering the world with her undead armies.

Coop would very much like to run from the oncoming chaos. It’s one thing to steal a mummy, but another to have to deal with head-hunting bureaucrats, down-on-their-luck fortune-tellers, undead mailroom clerks, and a rather unimpressed elephant. Unfortunately, there’s nowhere to run. If he wants the madness to stop, he’s going to have to suck it up and play hero one more time. But if Coop manages to save the world AGAIN, he’s definitely going to want a lot of answers. 

And a raise.

“Kadrey’s plot doesn’t depend on magic; instead, magic is the broth bringing all manner of delicious ingredients together in this wonderful stew of a story. This unusual urban fantasy is a delight.” - Publishers Weekly on THE EVERYTHING BOX

“Richard Kadrey’s The Everything Box is a manic and hilarious Venn diagram of Elmore Leonard, Dave Barry, and the Book of Revelations. The last time the end of the world in a novel was this funny, aliens destroyed Earth to build a hyperspace bypass through it.” - Matt Wallace, author of Envy of Angels and Lustlocked on THE EVERYTHING BOX

“The story is fast paced, very funny, and exceptionally clever. Kudos to this author!” - Suspense Magazine on THE EVERYTHING BOX

“This book has everything I need in a book, and some things I didn’t know I needed. I couldn’t stop laughing at the freelance poltergeists, inept angels, doomsday devices, mooning werewolves (...mooning werewolf. I just got that), and small time career criminals in way over their heads. Highly recommended.” - Mur Lafferty, author of The Shambling Guide to New York on THE EVERYTHING BOX

Praise for The Everything Box: “A rolling bouncy-house of a caper tale, The Everything Box abounds with quick-witted characters, snarky dialogue, and surreal analogies. If you haven’t sampled Richard Kadrey’s take on fantasy yet, this is a great place to start.” - Christopher Moore, New York Times bestselling author of Lamb, A Dirty Job, and The Serpent of Venice on THE EVERYTHING BOX

“This book is great fun. Kadrey makes magic, humor, and crime mix effortlessly.” - Seattle Book Review on THE WRONG DEAD GUY

“Absurdly entertaining and entertainingly absurd” - Locus Magazine on THE WRONG DEAD GUY

“I love Kadrey’s sense of humor, and that’s why this book worked so well for me. It’s a fun read, and a series I hope continues for at least a few more installments.” - Pop Culture Beat on THE WRONG DEAD GUY

“Kadrey has done a fine job building on the momentum, humor, and premise of the first book, and frankly I can’t wait to see where he takes it in the third...It’s a damn good read from a damn good author.” - Tor.com on THE WRONG DEAD GUY

“[The Wrong] Dead Guy is a riot. It’s just plain dangerous fun — like playing drunk in a bouncy castle or running too fast downhill.” - NPR.org