From the mind of Stephen Lomer has sprung a world in which typos – yes, good old fashioned typographical errors – literally kill the vast majority of people who read them. For the small percentage of the population who can survive seeing a typo, a career awaits in the Typo Squad, an elite law enforcement group that stops “errorist” groups from generating death and destruction through the dissemination of misspelled words and improper punctuation. (A malevolently placed “Thrusday’s Specials” on a restaurant menu could kill a room full of diners!)

Lomer takes what would be otherwise be “stock” cop characters – the ex-member with a dark secret brought out of retirement, the sexy new female partner, the wise-cracking ensemble of fellow detectives, the hard-nosed lieutenant, the evil villain – and makes them his own through a complete and clever immersion into the premise. Names of people and places relate back to the world of writing and the written word, often with groaning results. For example, the sexy new female partner’s first name is Thea…so bonus points if you guess her last name. What’s especially interesting is that while typos do not kill members of the Squad, they do have a unique physiological effect on each member, effects that push the plot. Thea’s reaction to typos is… intriguing.

But Typo Squad is not satire or shtick – the threat presented is real, violence happens, and the humor can be dark, including a running joke that is definitely off-color. You don’t have to be a lowly copy-editor, grammar Nazi or spelling nerd to appreciate the premise or enjoy the story (though it might help). Lomer writes in a clear and straightforward style that matches the fast pacing of the story. Typo Squad is clearly set up to be a series, and I’m looking forward to the next one.