Family reunions can often be tough. Whether it’s the uncle who won’t stop yapping about his new propane tank. Or the young cousins who keep referencing a social media trend you’ve never heard of. Or that random lady you don’t recognize who insists that you’ve “gotten so big since I last saw you!”

And to say nothing of the evil, vampiric granny planning on reshaping the world in her image.

What’s that? You can’t relate that last one? Hmm. Maybe that’s just a Boateng family thing.

Drum Solo

After decades spent trapped within a magical object known as the Midnight Drum by the vampire-hunting Abomofuo, Nana Bekoe is finally ready for her big comeback.

First order of business? Assembled the forces of black magic into an army to wage an all-out war against the Slayers in retaliation for the death of Serwa’s maternal aunt many years ago. And she has a great head start. Already, creatures of black magic from around the globe are answering her call to help upset the balance of magic and destroy the Abomofuo for good.

Nana Bekoe was even able to convert a very special slayer to her side: Serwa’s own father. Sure, she had to poison his mind to the point that he can’t even remember his own name, much less the fact that he has a wife and daughter whom he loves more than anything in the world, but that’s still a pretty big get!

Especially because said wife can’t even fight back at the moment, as she’s on bed rest due to her high-risk pregnancy with the second-ever recorded half-obayifo, half-Slayer child.

Hmm, how early is too early to start teaching a newborn the ins and outs of world domination? Probably not until after they start teething, right?

One could argue that Nana Bekoe doesn’t even need a huge army to take down the Abomofuo. She’s plenty powerful on her own.

Mother’s Slay

If you’ve never seen her mold her black magic into a whip, one that can slice through the air faster than a snake in mid-strike, consider yourself lucky. Unless you really want to serve under her. In that case, it’s totally awesome.

She can even wield her black magic in places where it shouldn’t be possible, such as the Compound, global headquarters of the Abomofuo. Apparently, her powers were mutated during her time in the Midnight Drum, and now no one knows their exact limits.

Talk about a plan backfiring spectacularly. Maybe next time, they should just exile her to Disney World. No one ever comes back from those trips as anything other than exhausted. And the wait times for rides are almost as long as the time she spent trapped inside the Midnight Drum.

Aunts Marching

And besides, who needs an entire army when you can simply gather your loyal relatives? We’re not entirely sure why the two would team up, but we have heard that Nana Bekoe has been able to free Effi from her prison cell.

On the surface, Nana Bekoe and Auntie Effi seem similar, but their causes couldn’t be more opposite. Effi wants to make a world where obayifo are free to exist without persecution. Nana Bekoe wants to wipe the Abomofuo, and anyone related to them off the face of the earth.

But who knows? Maybe after they destroy their enemies, they’ll turn on each other? One can only hope. Just don’t ask us who we’ll be rooting for in the end. That’s not something we’re sure we want on the public record . . .

Fear the Reaper

The situation may seem totally desperate, but rest assured that Serwa has a killer plan to bring an end to Nana Bekoe’s schemes once and for all. A secret plan that she’s not going to tell anyone about. Because they would totally just try to talk her out of it.

Regardless, it’s too late to turn back now. Serwa has made a deal with Owuo, the god of death, to deliver him someone to be his eternal companion down in Asamando, the underworld.

And the person she has in mind? Nana Bekoe, of course. That’s certainly one way to get your grandma back on the dating market.

But is it the most ethical thing to do? Well, according to Serwa, after all the pain that Nanae Bekoe has caused, she more than deserves an eternity spent amusing a sadistic apron-wearing deity.

But then, why does it feel so wrong? Why is Serwa having second thoughts about the whole thing? Empathy for the enemy? An understanding that this conflict is more complicated than a simple matter of good vs. evil?

She’d better find the answer soon, because after the next few days, someone is going to have to join Owuo’s farm. Even if that person ultimately winds up being Serwa herself. . .

That is, if she (and the rest of the world) can survive that long. Until then, just be grateful that the most dangerous thing your grandma does is to continue to play pickleball after a hip replacement.

Find out if Nana Bekoe will succeed in Rick Riordan Presents: Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Saving the World by Roseanne A. Brown, on sale now!