The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs ..., Charlie Huston
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs ..., Charlie Huston
2 Rating(s)
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
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The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death
A Novel

Author: Charlie Huston

Narrator: Richard Powers

Unabridged: 9 hr 45 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/13/2009


Synopsis

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.

About Charlie Huston

Charlie Huston is the bestselling author of The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death; The Shotgun Rule; the Henry Thompson trilogy, which includes the Edgar Award–nominated Six Bad Things; and the Joe Pitt Casebooks. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the actress Virginia Louise Smith.

About Richard Powers

Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory, and Bewilderment was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ɗẳɳ 2.☊ on June 20, 2018

2.5ish. RTC? Sorry, but this one was a little too juvenile for my taste. Quick summary: Young asshole protagonist has some growing up to do.......more

Goodreads review by Lawyer on December 08, 2013

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death: Charlie Huston's Method of Picking up the Pieces "The thing about getting beat up twice, spending big chunks of time cleaning up other people's blood, seeing your dad for the first time in two years, getting in a fight with your best friend, and havin......more

Goodreads review by Marvin on August 07, 2011

Charlie Huston is in danger of leading my list as my all-time favorite writer with every book of his I read. I have soared through the Hank Thompson series and the Joe Pitts series. But this is the first stand alone novel of Huston's I've read. And it is freakin' awesome. Yeah, the author doesn't kn......more

Goodreads review by Kemper on March 20, 2009

With a sympathetic but emotionally self-destructive main character, an off-beat plot and lots of very gory humor, this was a wildly original story and my favorite Charlie Huston novel to date. Those with weak stomachs should note that there are very graphic scenes dealing with the clean-up of human......more

Goodreads review by Amy on February 06, 2009

"The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death" is one of those books I would classify as a guilty pleasure. When discussing fiction with other intellectuals, I would probably disclaim all knowledge of this book. But privately, I LOVED IT and will most assuredly be buying more books by Huston. This i......more


Quotes

“There are many things to love about Charlie Huston’s fiction—he’s a brilliant storyteller, and writes the best dialogue since George V. Higgins—but what pushes my personal happy-button is his morbid sense of humor and seemingly effortless ability to create scary/funny bad guys who make Beavis and Butthead look like Rhodes Scholars. [Charlie Huston has] written several very good books, but this is the first authentically great one, a runaway freight that feels like a combination of William Burroughs and James Ellroy. Mystic Arts is, however, fiercely original—very much its own thing.” Stephen King

“Just when you think you’ve caught up with him on the curve, Charlie Huston drives right off the cliff, landing on a road no one else could see…Shockingly original…The outlandish characters are brazen originals, and the dialogue is the roar of a death-defying talent.” New York Times Book Review 

“Smoking-hot…scorchingly good dialogue and banner-worthy chapter headings (like “Till His Neighbors Smelled Him” and “To Keep Him From Crushing My Spine”). And Mr. Huston, whose own brain matter is as much on display as the stuff that gets spattered here, finally delivers a book that anyone can admire. No strong stomach required.” New York Times

“Hilarious, with the comedy getting darker and funnier as Web falls ever deeper into an intricate, overpowering mess that even he may not be able to clean up. Huston’s characters are mostly loons, but his way with characterization and plot are so sure-handed and appealing, you’ll find yourself desperately hoping they survive to live another day and star in a sequel, Clorox at the ready.” Dallas Morning News 

“It’s a pretty neat trick to avert your eyes while you read, but The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston is so fresh, funny and original that I managed…The characters range from the slightly odd to the bizarre-doesn’t-even-begin. You might feel ashamed of yourself for laughing, but I won’t tell. Just take a bath afterward, and remember to scrub out the tub.”  Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Genre writers too often set the hook quickly and hard, glossing over the subtleties of character in their haste to reel in the reader, ultimately using plot as a club. Not so Huston…The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death is as darkly funny as it is graceful, not necessarily what you’d expect given that it's a novel about a guy whose livelihood involves mopping up blood and bone fragments…If one tends to find humor in unlikely places, Huston has created a work that is sly, twisted and surprising—one well worth the investment of time.” Denver Post

“Huston’s novels are among the most imaginative and compelling in the mystery and thriller genres…In The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, Huston finds pathos and the sublime in a story about an occupation for which there is no training or career path.” Pittsburgh Tribune

“Noir master Huston should win himself a whole new audience with this bizarre and utterly grotesque stand-alone, told mostly through dialogue that highlights the author’s uncanny ear for the spoken word…This one should appeal to Chuck Palahniuk fans as well as hard-boiled crime readers.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Reader Paul Michael Garcia manages an astonishing array of vocal pitches—from bass male to alto female. More important, he inhabits this novel’s smart-mouthed, emotionally scarred narrator, Web, a former elementary school teacher who takes a job scrubbing up after messy deaths and, consequently, becomes entangled with various shady entrepreneurs with very short tempers.” AudioFile


Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award
  • Anthony Award
  • Edgar Allan Poe Award