Paranormal Fiction
Sign Here
Debut
We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Claudia Lux, on your first book!
Quick take
Peyote Trip has a job from hell literally. But this Spooky Season he could be due for a devilishly big promotion...
Good to know
400+ pages
LOL
Unreliable narrator
Whodunit
Synopsis
Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.
When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.
But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of Sign Here.
Sign Here
BEFORE
PEYOTE
You already have a lot of ideas about Hell. It’s amazing what Dante and thousands of years of folklore can do to a place’s reputation. I mean, I’m not going to lie to you: it is Hell. It’s not fantastic. But let’s see if this is relatable: You’re late to your aunt’s boyfriend’s birthday brunch because your alarm was on mute even though you know you turned it up the night before. You barrel onto the subway, managing to squeeze yourself between the woman blasting a Techno for the Lonely playlist and the man who farts every time he sneezes, and, just when the lights of the station are out of view, the train lurches to a stop with a death rattle and goes dark. The woman elbows you in the gut as she hits Replay, and the man’s snot tickles as it sprays your cheek, and you think about how you don’t even like your aunt’s boyfriend or even your aunt and you hate brunch, and what do you say? I’ll tell you; I’ve heard it a million times. You say, “This is Hell.”
Well, you’re right. That’s Hell. At least the top floors of it. Your priests and grandmas have good intentions—the ones who don’t wind up here—but their job is to keep you decent above ground, and if they said Hell was a never-ending brunch, you would be out there stealing and raping constantly.
Up here it’s not the fire-and-brimstone thing you think it might be. It’s music that’s too loud, food that’s too rubbery, and kissing with too much tongue. Doesn’t sound that bad, right? But don’t forget: it’s forever. I mean for-all-time forever. Not a lifetime. That’s a pebble compared to what I’m talking about. Hell is agitation for eternity. You can’t possibly fathom eternity; your little mortal brain would explode. A century feels like an hour, less with each millennium. With endless time and no peace, everyone breaks eventually.
I was about to break too. But then I got a promotion.
Why I love it
Samantha Downing
Author, For Your Own Good
You already have a lot of ideas about Hell.
As soon I read the first line of Sign Here, I wanted to read more. It turned out I did have a lot of ideas about what Hell might be like. Author Claudia Lux managed to replace many of them with some of her own.
In this book, the underworld is largely a maddening bureaucracy populated by doomed souls. One of them is Peyote Trip, the heart and soul of Sign Here. Yes, both of those things do exist in this version of Hell.
Peyote not only has a job to do, he wants a promotion. But first he needs to get one more member of the Harrison family to sell their soul. Like everything in Hell (and on Earth) this is easier said than done, especially with a family that has so many secrets.
This is not an easy book to categorize, which is part of what makes it such a compulsive read. Claudia Lux has written an incredible novel that has a little bit of everything: thrilling twists, a fast-paced plot, lots of hidden agendas, dysfunctional family drama, and sharp, witty writing. Despite literally being set in Hell, this is not a bleak, heavy novel. It’s funny. And on top of everything else, it’s a moving story with a surprising amount of heart.
Sign Here is a knockout of a debut. Don’t miss this wholly original page-turner!
Member ratings (25,352)
Suzanne L.
Watertown, NY
This is the best book I’ve read this year. Twists & turns. Lots of side stories & mysteries to piece together. It kept me hooked from the start. I loved that it was written as a quick read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ashlie O.
Castle Rock, CO
I’m in awe. Chilling revelations, thrilling characters and Lux’s jaw-dropping and delightfully witty descriptions of Hell and the ever complex world above made this an unforgettable read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sylvia G.
Eagle River, AK
This book was a solid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️stars for me. Lux’s voice was humerus and engaging and the narrative flowed nicely. Only downside was the short chapters, which made the sections seem a little choppy.
Emily M.
Williamstown, WV
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!! This was such a phenomenal book! There was a twist at the end that I honestly didn’t see coming. This isn’t the type of book I normally read, but it had me hooked from the start!
Nadia E.
New Hope, MN
Titillating and humorous. This dark ride kept my attention piqued the whole time! A macabre look at friendship that fills you with hope while respecting the beautiful frailties of human life. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐