The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

By: Charlie Huston

Narrated by: Richard Powers

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Webster Fillmore Goodhue has found temporary work as one of the mop-up crew for the Los Angeles County crime division. In other words, he cleans up grisly crime scenes for the cops. When the daughter of a recent Malibu suicide victim asks for his help cleaning up after her brother has gotten into a little trouble, every cell in Web's brain is telling him to turn her down. But she's very attractive, and before he knows it, he's well on his way to getting his face kicked in, facing down some gun-toting LA cowboys, and hanging on for dear life. And that's only the beginning.

©2009 Charles Huston (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of his generation's finest and hippest talents..." (Publishers Weekly)

"[A] runaway freight that feels like a combination of William Burroughs and James Ellroy.... Fiercely original...." (Stephen King)

Hang in there

Don't be tempted to give up on this book 1/3 of the way in. The characters are quirky and interesting, and eventually there is a plot, though it gets a bit heavy-handed at the end. If you are offended by foul language, then be forewarned that this book is a tsunami of obscenities.

I don't know about John Huston

or his two other novels. DUH!!!
Hard to compare this to his others because they're all great. CHARLIE Huston has no bad books. The narrator is one of the best, but I will admit the story starts kind of slow and evolves in fits and starts, but I loved it. His best books aren't on Audible, go get them all and enjoy.

Good but not Great

I'm a fan of John Hustons other two books. This book just wasn't as good.

I think the problem is that I couldn't relate to the main character. He was disturbed by a trauma and his way of dealing with it just didn't make sense.

If profanity bothers you (doesn't bother me) than stay away from this book.

I also suggest that you listen to an excerpt first.

Overall the book was good but not great.

Great characters

Huston has created a great cast of characters but I found the story to be somewhat lacking. It was ok but could have been so much better with the interesting characters.

Hilarious

If you are someone offended by the profligate use of curses, don't bother. If you accept irreverent humor, this is great!

An amazing book by one of the best modern authors

Charlie is modern pulp writing. Check out Powers from Sony or Moon Knight some time.

What a disappointment

The main character is a immature loser who stays that way through the whole book. Nothing profound, deep, or amusing, simply shallow self-indulgence. Couldn't care less of the protagonist lived or died. Kept hoping it would get better but gave up at 2/3 through - don't waste your money!

Gross

Charlie will never be confused with Charles Dickens.

Started Off Well, Then Became Mundane

My reaction to this audiobook is the opposite of many other reviews. I enjoyed the opening chapter of the book, but as it progressed, I moved from interest, to plain curiosity of where it was going (with no emotional investment in the characters), to mild discomfort (particularly with the obnoxious character, Jaimie) to just wanting the thing to be over. The plot is predictable, the characters poorly drawn at best (irritating at worst), and the pace is tedious.

I came across this as "also liked" on the page of a Christopher Moore book, and can't figure out how that could be. Huston is not half the writer Moore is.