Secondhand Souls: A Novel - Hardcover

Moore, Christopher

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061779784 ISBN 13: 9780061779787

Publisher: William Morrow, 2015

Synopsis

In San Francisco, the souls of the dead are mysteriously disappearing—and you know that can’t be good—in New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore’s delightfully funny sequel to A Dirty Job.

Something really strange is happening in the City by the Bay. People are dying, but their souls are not being collected. Someone—or something—is stealing them and no one knows where they are going, or why, but it has something to do with that big orange bridge. Death Merchant Charlie Asher is just as flummoxed as everyone else. He’s trapped in the body of a fourteen-inch-tall “meat puppet” waiting for his Buddhist nun girlfriend, Audrey, to find him a suitable new body to play host.

To get to the bottom of this abomination, a motley crew of heroes will band together: the seven-foot-tall death merchant Minty Fresh; retired policeman turned bookseller Alphonse Rivera; the Emperor of San Francisco and his dogs, Bummer and Lazarus; and Lily, the former Goth girl. Now if only they can get little Sophie to stop babbling about the coming battle for the very soul of humankind . . .

About this title

Review:

“Writing should be fun. [Moore] takes that to a whole new level. . . .weird, expletive-laden, wildly entertaining . . . the perfect palate cleanser before the fall’s literary entrées. . . . You just can’t make this stuff up. But Chrisopher Moore can.” (Washington Post)

“[F]antastically bizarre . . . wickedly entertaining . . . [a] rollicking ride. . . Moore creates a novel that pulses with its own glowing soul start to finish.” (USA Today (3.5 out of 4 stars))

“Moore has created a world all his own, tackling dark subjects with a light-hearted irreverence. There’s a surprising amount of pathos to be found in a story that centers around a squirrel-man with a giant dong. Moore fans, rejoice.” (AV Club)

“[A] perfect way to end your summer reading, proving once again that Christopher Moore is one of a kind.” (Huffington Post)

“Secondhand Souls is a romping tale... There are some great pairings of characters here, and their relationships hold the whole nutty sequel together.” (Bookreporter.com)

“This novel is as zany, heartfelt, irresistible, and flat out as strange as it is billed....Secondhand Souls does not disappoint as a sequel and stands up as a solid novel filled with fun, humor, horror, and a fantastical cast of characters.” (New York Journal of Books)

“Secondhand Souls isn’t a book you savor. ...This is a binge-reading book, a crazy, fast-paced trip that leaves you satisfied, a little sleepy, and ready for the next installment. I mean, I can’t wait to see what happens when Death goes through puberty.” (Dallas Morning News)

“Disturbingly hilarious. And vice versa.” (Jenny Lawson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Let's Pretend This Didn't Happen)

From the Back Cover:

In San Francisco, the souls of the dead are mysteriously disappearing—and you know that can't be good—in this delightfully weird and funny sequel to the New York Times bestseller A Dirty Job

Secondhand Souls

It seems like only yesterday that Charlie Asher took on a very dirty job—collecting souls and keeping the Forces of Darkness at bay. The new gig came with the Big Book of the Dead and a host of other oddities: creatures under the streets, an evil trinity of ravenlike Celtic death goddesses, and one very bad Underworld dude attempting to conquer humanity. Along with a cohort of other oddballs, Charlie faced off against these denizens of darkness—and met his own end. But thanks to Audrey, his Buddhist-nun boo, his soul is still alive . . . inside a fourteen-inch-high body made from lunchmeat and spare animal parts. Waiting for Audrey to find him a suitable new body to play host, Charlie has squirreled himself away from everyone, including his adorable seven-year-old daughter, Sophie, who enjoys dressing up like a princess, playing with her glitter ponies, and—being the Luminatus—spouting off about her power over the Underworld and her dominion over Death.

Just when Charlie and company thought the world was safe, some really freaky stuff hits San Francisco. People are dying, but their souls are not being collected. Someone—or something—is stealing them and no one knows where they are going, or why, but it has something to do with that big orange bridge. Then there's the Taser-wielding banshee keening about doom who's suddenly appeared while Sophie's guardian hellhounds, Alvin and Mohammed, have mysteriously vanished.

Charlie is just as flummoxed as everyone else. To get to the bottom of this abomination, he and a motley crew of heroes will band together: the seven-foot-tall, two-hundred-and-seventy-five-pounds-of-lean-heartache Death Merchant Minty Fresh; the retired policeman-turned-bookseller Alphonse Rivera; the lunatic Emperor of San Francisco and his dogs, Bummer and Lazarus; Mike Sullivan, a bridge painter in love with a ghost; a gentle French-speaking janitor named Jean-Pierre Baptiste; and former Goth girl Lily Darquewillow Elventhing Severo, now a part-time suicide hotline counselor.

With little Sophie babbling about the coming battle for the very soul of humankind, time is definitely not on their side. . . .

Irresistibly zany, rich in humor, heart, and spirit, Secondhand Souls is vintage Christopher Moore.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0061779784
• ISBN 13: 9780061779787
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352