Secondhand Souls - by Christopher Moore (Paperback)

Book 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 . . .

From the Back Cover

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. 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 seven-year-old daughter, Sophie, who enjoys being the Luminatus--spouting off about her power over the Underworld and her dominion over Death.

Then 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.

To get to the bottom of this abomination, Charlie and a motley crew of heroes will band together. And with little Sophie babbling about the coming battle for the very soul of humankind, time is definitely not on their side. . . .

Review Quotes

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

"This novel is out of the gates hilarious with just enough grotesquery to make the reader squirm... But that is the beauty of a Christopher Moore novel, the weird is wonderful and the normal seems weird... This novel is as zany, heartfelt, irresistible, and flat out as strange as it is billed. A great addition to Christopher Moore's hilarious bibliography, 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

"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

"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

"[F]antastically bizarre . . . wickedly entertaining . . . [a] rollicking ride. . . . While character-driven and super fueled by witty, understated dialogue, the plot is brimming in this absurdist view of hip San Fran taking on End Time. . . Moore creates a novel that pulses with its own glowing soul start to finish." - USA Today (3.5 stars)

"[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)

"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

"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

"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

"A solid and darkly funny sequel that will delight fans." - Library Journal