Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

This is not what Llama Llama looks like.
It's not even what my kids look like.
But it's what a llama looks like.

I know, I know!  This is the fourth book by Christopher Moore book I've reviewed.  I can't help it, I REALLY like him.  You might be thinking that I actually am Christopher Moore assuming an alternate identity to anonymously hock my own books.  For one thing I have yet to write anything negative about any of his books.  Not to mention I loved Sacre Bleu so much I nearly wrote a love letter instead of a review.  But trust me, I'm not Christopher Moore.  For one thing, I just had to tell my tell my kids to stop fighting over the Llama Llama Time to Share book (oh the irony) and I'm pretty sure Christopher Moore doesn't have the foggiest clue about Llama Llama.  But mostly you know I'm not Christopher Moore because these reviews would be a lot funnier if I were.

Practical Demonkeeping is not a new book.  It was Moore's debut, and the more (pun not intended but still fun) I read the more I realized I had already read this book before.  You know, back in my former life when I wasn't a Llama Llama referee.  I had forgotten the name of the book but I hadn't forgotten that I really liked the story and the humor and the absurdities and the fancifulness.  In the small community of Pine Cove, California, things are mostly the same day in and day out.  The locals know everyone and everyone's business, and how to hustle a tourist.  But when a handsome twenty something that seems older than his looks and with a penchant for talking to the air around him shows up, Pine Cove is in for some surprises.  Travis is in town on his quest to find some important candlesticks.  He's been looking for them for about 70 years.  He really wants those candlesticks.

This is what the book looks like.

Travis mostly wants the candlesticks to rid himself of his road companion Catch.  A demon bound to Travis and under his control.....well, mostly under his control.  Catch gets hungry sometimes and when he eats he becomes visible to others.  Which would be a problem if he didn't eat the witnesses.  In Pine Cove, Travis runs into a number of characters including a pretty, newly divorced waitress with an unknown connection to his past.  Then there's Augustus Brine, the hardware store owner who really just wants to enjoy his red wine and go fishing without being pestered by the King of Djinns (who can literally swear a blue streak).  And of course, there's the reason Travis shows up with his demon in the first place; Effrom and Amanda.  They just might have those candlesticks.

There are a lot of characters, a lot of plot twisting, and a lot of fun.  I'm surprised I forgot I had read this before.  But I'm not surprised that I liked it twice.  And I'm sure you won't be surprised the next time I review another Christopher Moore book.