CBR Book#40: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

Travis is a demonkeeper. Catch is his demon. Well, not really his demon, but Travis does have control over Catch. Well, not really control, as in all of the time. Sometimes. When Travis is trying. And sometimes not. Anyway, Travis and Catch have been together for seventy years. That's a lot of time spent trying to keep the demon from eating people.



Augustus Brine is a business owner in the California town of Pine Cove. He owns a bait shop that also sells cheeses and wine. One day he has a tiny Arab man enter his store and ask for something salty. The man is also able to curse at another customer, making blue swirls appear.

Jenny is a waitress who has just kicked out her drunken husband, Robert. Robert is staying with The Breeze in his trailer. Except The Breeze has disappeared and no one knows where he is. Robert is concerned with getting Jenny back and washing the dirty dishes in The Breeze's trailer. Also, with drinking until he hits rock bottom.

Effrom Elliot likes to dream about women. He likes to watch women exercise on television. He also has a lovely wife, Amanda, that pretends that she doesn't know that he likes to watch women exercise. She also pretends not to know that he smokes in his workshop. She's out of town overnight, so Effrom eats burned tator tots for dinner and begins to concoct the guilt trip he'll lay on her when she gets back.

Moore brings all of these characters, and more, together in his novel. It's a quick read full of humor and a bit of suspense. But you don't have to take my word for it!