A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

A friend and colleague, Aidan, told me I should read something by Christopher Moore. Well I am now hooked!! THANKS AIDAN!! I picked up Dirty Job because I can loan out a book that has more than three copies and this one did plus the cover was pretty cool. The black cover shows an old-fashioned baby buggy with a little skull-faced baby in it, who has a teeny scythe and a big red bow and it glows in the dark (I found that out at three am).

Charlie Asher, an run of the mill guy, fell in love and married Rachel. Rachel liked the fact that Charlie was a cautious and stable guy, she loved him they had a daughter. Rachel died unexpectedly taking Charlie's spirit with her.

Now Charlie is a single father with a new baby named Sophie, to take care of. His sister Jane, who borrows Charlie’s suits, is there to help, as are two neighbors. The neighbors don’t speak English very well, but they adore Sophie. Charlie owns a sort of flea market type store. His employees are Ray and Lily who are eccentric characters within themselves.

The problems start when Charlie sees a guy in Rachel's hospital room dressed in a green suit who's supposed to be invisible. Other things start to take place. Things start glowing red, except no one notices. It might have helped if Lily had given Charlie the book that had arrived in the mail, but she was so sure that it had to be for her considering she is a goth and the book is named The Great Big Book of Death. It takes some time for Lily to realize that the book really belongs to her boss.

Charlie is now responsible for peoples' souls. And the red-glowing things are containers where someone's soul moves to after death. Well Charlie runs a Junk shop so there’s all sort of things that can be used. There are also some dreadfully disturbing creatures after Charlie, and possibly Sophie. So with all this going on Charlie must also be a business owner and a father. He has weird help including some of the other people who deal with the deceased but it’s a lot to take in.

The book is a very humorous but yet sometimes gloomy. I love the jokes about bathroom functions and anatomy.

There is so much going on and you're never quite sure what to expect. You wouldn't choose poor Charlie to be responsible for anyone’s soul but in the end you want him to win and the gross things have to lose. I can’t wait to read another one of Moore’s books. Definitely Five Stars!!

Thanks Aidan I can’t wait to see what you recommend next!!