Unlike the podcast, the novel is narrated from an omniscient viewpoint that follows Jackie Fierro, the teenage owner of Night Vale's pawn shop, and Diane Crayton, the treasurer of the town's PTA, as they investigate two mysteries that bring their lives closer together.

In the small desert town of Night Vale, where the supernatural and bizarre are commonplace, a mysterious man in a tan jacket has been giving people slips of paper that say "King City" on them, and are unable to be removed from the hands of those who accept them.

After Jackie learns that Troy is also her father too, she hears on the community radio station about plastic flamingo lawn ornaments that teleport anyone who touches them to another time and place.

Josh and Diane are reunited, and they, along with Jackie, confront a hoard of Troys outside a bar, and convince him to return to Night Vale and stop being so irresponsible.

Club gave Welcome to Night Vale a grade of C+, criticizing Fink and Cranor for including too many references from the podcast, which they felt "reduces the plot’s progression to a crawl".

Those tantalizing final few chapters provide a glimpse of what Fink and Cranor might be capable of when freed of the constraints of making references and allowed to just tell a story in their fascinating setting.