Pocket Apocalypse, by Seanan McGuire

In my review of Seanan McGuire's first three 'InCryptid' novels, I gave the author a very specific request for book four: I wanted the plot climax to kick off with the hero naked, unconscious, and in need of rescue. I don't want to spoil anything, but I would give Pocket Apocalypse a solid B+ for its wish fulfillment alone.

Pocket Apocalypse is the second book to feature cryptozoologist Alexander Price. Alex has spent his entire life fighting to protect the lives of supernatural creatures, but when his girlfriend Shelby informs him that they need to investigate a possible werewolf outbreak in Australia, he would really prefer to let someone else handle it. Werewolves are not a species; they're remorseless, diseased killing machines. Alex is terrified of them—and equally terrified of Shelby's many Australian family members, most of whom seem to regard him with loathing.

Pocket Apocalypse fixes almost all of the problems I had with Alex's first book, Half-Off Ragnarok. I still don't find Alex and Shelby anywhere near as charming as the characters in the earlier books in the series, but at least McGuire doesn't ask her readers to ignore a ridiculous plot element (and, of course, she really came through for me on the nudity/rescue/unconsciousness thing). I'm still not 100% happy—for one thing, I don't understand why McGuire's cover artist insists on depicting Shelby in a Sexy Safari Guide costume, while Alex gets to dress like a show host on the Fishing Channel—but this is a massive step in the right direction, and revived my enthusiasm for this series.