A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore isn't exactly his latest, but it is by far my favorite.  I'm not saying Lamb (read what Jay Solomon has to say about this one)  and You Suck didn't delight me as well, but there is something exciting and fun about A Dirty Job.  Moore has a quick wit and a dark sense of humor to say the least, the story is about a new dad Charlie Asher, who is also a widow, and has somehow acquired a new job as a Death Merchant.  Even death has a middleman, who knew? Charlie is a neurotic hypochondriac who becomes a Death Merchant after he looses his wife while giving birth to their daughter.  Things star getting a little weird after that. Strange names start appearing in a notebook, and people start dropping dead.  Meanwhile, he is trying to be a dad and run a second hand store in San Francisco, which is like another character of the book, along with the motley crew he is already surrounded by.  Charlie really has his hands full, to aggravate things, he also has to fight the forces of evil from taking over the world! I love the references to the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Until I read the book I had only heard about the book, since reading Dirty Job I have taken an interest in how death has been percieved and interpreted throughout history.  Clearly Moore knows something about mythology and religion and spirituality, and what I loved about this book is that it is fast-paced and full of action.  There are few moments where the book is boring or slow.  Every word is intentional and meant to stir and contribute to the flow of the story, which like I said is very funny despite the fact that it is about death.  I also loved the imagery it conjures up while reading it.  At times dark and at times dark, but cute.  You just have to read it for yourself.  Highly recommend this, especially if you've never read anything by Christpher Moore before.