#55 Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

In a slightly alternate modern setting, heroes and villains slug it out every day. There are temp agencies for villains, and we met Anna as she is going in for a call for data entry work for a villain. She has few friends and they all also do temp work for villains. Anna gets an onsite job for a minor villain and as working as background setting when the villain is working a kidnapping plot. An “A” level hero stops it and Anna is badly injured. During her healing she comes up with a spreadsheet on the cost of heroes on people lives. Her spreadsheets get her a job with an A level villain and then things really get interesting. The worldbuilding in the book is great and lots of thought on the little bits that build a better background and expand the story. By the end of the story there is room for more in this setting but it does end on a satisfying note.

I also did listen to an audio review copy of the book and the narrator does an excellent job with the sarcasm between friends during the story.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss and NetGalley