Locus and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi brings us a turbo-charged tale of a family business with a difference - as Charlie discovers when he inherits it. This one comes with a hidden headquarters, minions, talking cats and James Bond-like supervillain rivals.'Starter Villainestablishes Scalzi as SF's leading humourist' -SFXWarning: supervillain in training. Risk of world domination.Inheriting his late uncle's business proves complicated. It's also way more dangerous than Charlie could ever have imagined. Because his uncle had kept his supervillain status a secret – until now.Divorced and emotionally dependent on his cat, Charlie wasn't loving life. Although they weren't close, news of his Uncle Jake's death didn't help. And that was before Jake's rivals (seriously vengeful ones) ambushed his funeral. Now Charlie must decide if he should stay stuck in his rut, or step up to take on the business, the enemies, the minions, the hidden volcano lair . . .Even harder to get used to are the talking, computer-savvy cats – and the fact that they’re management. If Charlie says yes to his inheritance, could this lifeline become a death wish? Or could it finally be his chance to shine?‘You will laugh so loudly you will wish you weren't reading in public’ – New Scientist‘Prepare to be delighted’ – Daily Mail‘The book had me hooked from page one’ – London Weekly News