Practical Demonkeeping was Christopher Moore’s debut novel, and I’ve had my copy for approximately 20 years. I have a vivid memory of picking it out at this awesome discount bookstore by our house and convincing my mother to let me buy it. I was maybe 11. It was way too adult for me. But I loved it at the time, and have reread it several times since. I just found out that Moore wrote TWO sequels to it (!!) and when I recently found one at Half Price Books, I thought I ought to give the first one another read (it’s been a while). I was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up.
“If you think anyone is sane you just don’t know enough about them.”
Travis O’Hearn has been traveling with his own pet demon, Catch, for about 100 years now. He’s stuck with Catch, and forced to put up with him and his murderous habits. They’ve found themselves in Pine Cove, California, where Catch plans to do the usual — eat some drifters and help Travis cheat at pool. But Travis has come to Pine Cove for reason — he thinks he might be able to rid himself of Catch once and for all.
With a supporting cast that includes a djinn, a witch and a very stressed out waitress, Practical Demonkeeping is good, dirty fun. If you like Moore’s most recent books, you’ll probably be pretty pleased with this one, too.