Sparkle Hayter, a transplanted Canadian turned New Yorker, has attracted a cult-like following for the sassy, girl-powered Robin Hunter mystery series. Her new novel, Naked Brunch, abandons the winning Robin Hunter formula without abandoning Hayter’s oeuvre of pop-culture satire and feminist politics.

Set in a fictionalized New York-like city, the book features a vast cast and varied scenarios. At the centre sits poor Annie Engel, a legal secretary who hasn’t been herself since awakening from an erotic wolf dream, only to discover herself naked and covered in blood and dirt. The night before is a complete blank, except for the enticing dream. While Annie’s trying to piece together her personal mystery, a larger one unfolds around her.

Brutal, inexplicable murders by what appears to be savage dogs are taking place during full moons. Annie’s oblivious to any personal connections to these murders, despite pesky physical peculiarities such as rampant body hair, aggressive behaviour, and insatiable meat cravings (she’s vegetarian). When the next full moon rises, Annie realizes she’s not just experiencing personal and professional frustrations, she’s living with LMD – lycanthropic metamorphic disorder, a rare genetic aberration better known by its street slang terminology of “werewolf.” What’s a poor girl to do?

The madcap caper that ensues makes the werewolf storyline seem natural compared to the heinous big-city crimes committed daily in the name of profit, status, and image. Hayter’s world is full of corruption, deceit, and intrigue as she satirizes life and love in the new millennium. Hayter’s stint as a CNN reporter and experience as a stand-up comic are used to full effect here. She doesn’t miss a beat as she traipses through historical, scientific, and pop cultures, incorporating multiple plot twists.

However farfetched and satirical Naked Brunch may be at times, though, it’s basically a love story, concocted purely for fun. And that’s not a bad thing.