Assistant to the Villain

Assistant to the Villain is the first novel of Hannah Nicole Maehrer's series of the same name, published in 2023 by Entangled: Red Tower Books and Penguin, among others. It is a fantasy comedy set in the kingdom of Rennedawn, where the most infamous Villain runs an organisation that needs far more administration than anyone would guess, and where the paperwork of villainy is the running joke.

Evie Sage needs the money for her family, so when an accident involving Rennedawn's most infamous Villain ends with an offer of employment, she says yes and hopes for the best. The job is mostly paperwork attached to organised mayhem, and her new employer is temperamental, secretive and, unhelpfully, attractive. The advertisement asked for a loyal, level-headed assistant with discretion and excellent benefits, and Evie discovers that the reality of the post is stranger than the listing.

It also becomes clear that somebody inside the operation is working against him, and that a good part of the Villain's empire is being taken apart from within. Finding the person responsible means Evie has to work closely with an employer nobody else is willing to cross, and the conspiracy sits under the dungeon while the comedy stays in the office.

The series continues in Apprentice to the Villain, and the first novel establishes Evie, her employer, the kingdom of Rennedawn and the organisation she has joined. It is a workplace comedy in a dark fantasy setting, with a crush nobody admits to and a betrayal nobody has identified yet.