Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore sees a return to post WW2 San Francisco and Sammy Two-Toes Tiffin, Eddie Moo Shoes, The Cheese, and the rest of the gang from Noir, the first book in this series. The laughs continue and we also get to learn about a little discussed time in the history of America when the Chinese were not treated as human beings. The story is out there and hilarious, the characters continue to grow, and when I read the final page, I was already hoping that there would be a third installment. Also, please don't skip the author's note at the end. It's very much worth reading.

Thank you to William Morrow, author Christopher Moore, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

Christopher Moore is one of my favorite writers. I was so excited to get a chance to read this book. And he didn't let me down. It's funny and exciting and goes places I didn't expect. He makes a strange world seem realistic and reasonable. I was sorry to see the book end.

Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore continues the story of Sammy and the Cheese and their friends from Noir. This time there's a lot going on. Sammy has been asked to look into the murders of drag kings by one notorious one named Jimmy. His friend Moo Shoes and his girlfriend are trying to open a driving school. Moo Shoes' Uncle Ho is trying to get Eddy and Sammy to retrieve a powerful relic he had stolen years before. Stilton (the Cheese) is using her welding skills to build something in secret at the moon man's request. And this group of Sammy and friends is trying to get a local Madame and her girls to a Christmas party at a state hospital. Like I said there's a lot going on including a bit of the old razzmatazz, but Christopher Moore manages to pull it off clearly, cleverly, and tie things together.
I really liked the characters in the book generally speaking, especially Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin. The characters are definitely original. I liked and rooted for the good guys. And I grudgingly tolerated the bad guys since they're needed to advance the story.

The book moves along at a fast clip. There's always something going on, even if it's just a bit of the razzmatazz.

I really enjoyed the book. I loved the originality of the characters and plot. I found it hard to put down. It could possibly be read as a standalone, but it's so much better if you've read Noir first. And Christopher Moore even managed to sneak in bits of history and period appropriate language.

All in all, I gave Razzmatazz 5 stars. If you enjoyed the first book, you've got to read this one. It's full of original characters and humor.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This didn't influence my opinion.

I'd been long anticipating a sequel to Noir, and most of the time when I look forward to a new book in the series I find that my expectations get too high and are quickly dashed when the book comes out. So I tried to temper my expectations for Razzmatazz.

How happy I am to be wrong. I laughed even harder at the wit and nonsense this time around. The plot is deliciously silly in that sly tongue-in-cheek way that Christopher Moore does so well. It was like a good long catch up with old friends.

Christopher Moore is a delight. For as absolutely goofy his books are, they feel real and full of love.

There is no one quite like Christopher Moore.
Long before I finished Noir I knew that I needed more Sammy and Stilton and Eddie and whatever and whoever else Christopher Moore decides to throw into the mix. As soon as a sequel was announced, I added it to my wishlist. As soon as it was available to pre-sale, I pre-bought. As soon as it hit NetGalley, I hit the request button.

I’ve been a Christopher Moore fan since Lamb came out twenty years ago, and I’ve sampled quite a few of his series. I love that he doesn’t pigeonhole himself, but plays with the supernatural along with literary and historical themes in a variety of ways, keeping things fresh. When I listened to the audiobook of Noir, I really enjoyed the strong hard-boiled-detective noir voice mixed with a fucking weird little alien dude, and was glad to know a sequel was coming out soon.

I think I enjoyed this one even more than the original, if only because the spunky female characters were even more numerous and enjoyable than before. I often struggle with how men write women, and have had issues with some of Moore’s female characters in the past, but this cast is well-fleshed-out with enough variety to keep me engaged. I also like that Sammy, the male main character, is able to make fun of himself without being overly self-deprecating.

Where Noir felt like it was left open to a sequel intentionally, this book feels more resolved at the end. Good for feeling a sense of completion, bad for wanting more Stilton stories. I especially loved the chapters written from her point of view.

All in all, a fun addition to Moore’s bibliography, sufficiently different from the rest of his work.

Not as funny as Moore's other books but I still couldn't put it down. I am actually sad that I had to finish it, but it makes me want to reread it.

Full disclosure: I’m in the bag for Christopher Moore.

From the first time I read one of his books – my entry point was, as it was for so many others, the exquisite 2002 novel “Lamb” – I knew that this was an author who would resonate with me. Wildly funny, incredibly smart and unapologetically crass, Moore’s work clicked with me in a way that few authors ever had or ever would.

Seriously – think about how rare it is for a book to make you genuinely laugh out loud multiple times in the course of reading it. Moore does that for me EVERY TIME. His work is funny and weird with an at-times shockingly sharp satiric edge.

The tradition continues with “Razzmatazz,” a sequel to 2018’s “Noir.” These books both celebrate and deconstruct the trope of the hard-boiled detective, starring a gentleman who consistently finds himself stumbling into situations that are both far beyond his ken and yet somehow suited to his particular set of skills.

It’s a madcap romp through post-WWII San Francisco, a comedic adventure wherein Moore explores the fundamental absurdities of the human condition. The real(ish) and surreal are practically interchangeable here, with ridiculous characters dealing with both the actions of their fellow man and influences that are far beyond mere humanity.

It gets weird, is what I’m saying.

Oh, and mixed in with all the lunacy is a surprising depth of detail regarding that particular time and place. Moore takes plenty of liberties, but the fundamental truth is there. They say you have to learn the rules to break them; well, Moore learned the landscape so he could alter it.

Sammy Teffin is living his typically chaotic life. He’s still tending bar at Sal’s and he’s still madly in love with his girlfriend Stilton, whom he calls “the Cheese” to everyone except her. He’s still hanging out with his motley crew of buddies at the local all-night diner – soft-hearted bouncer Thelonius “Lone” Jones, cabbie who won’t drive Milo, second-generation Chinese-American hustler Jimmy “Moo Shoes” Shu – and generally trying to improve his lot.

But it’s never easy for Sammy.

Before long, our hero is swept up into multiple scenarios where he, for reasons even he doesn’t fully understand, is expected to solve some problems. Milo and Doris from the diner are in love, even though she’s married to an ill-tempered stevedore. Jimmy’s Uncle Ho wants Sammy to recover some sort of ancient dragon statue in order to regain control of his various illegal rackets. A high-powered lawyer thinks Sammy can track down the guy’s daughter. Brothel owner Mabel believes Sammy can help her avoid the law in order to throw a Christmas party at a surprising location. And there’s someone out there murdering people for the “crime” of dressing like the opposite sex and the SFPD doesn’t seem to care.

Oh, and Stilton is putting her wartime Rosie Riveter skills to work on a secret project that might wind up being the weirdest part of all – particularly when we find out just who all is involved.

All Sammy wants to do is tend bar, hang out with his pals and engage in some of the old razzmatazz with his stunning ladyfriend. Instead, he is being pulled in a dozen different directions, drawn into situations whose stakes are far too high to be entrusted to a lug like him. But here’s the thing – Sammy might be a lug, but he’s a lug who has proven surprisingly adept at helping those closest to him … no matter how bizarre the help required might be.

“Razzmatazz” is marked with the same sort of coarse charm that permeates all of Moore’s books. Sammy and his cohort are colorfully foul-mouthed and cheerfully unsavory; the circles they run in are the ones that your mother warned you about (or at least, she would’ve if you had been born yet). Reluctant heroism doesn’t always click, but when said hero is someone like Sammy Two-Toes, well … it clicks.

Now, I’ve made multiple mentions of how funny this book is, but it bears repeating. I don’t know that I’ve ever read anyone who is equally capable of crafting situational humor and dialogue-driven humor as Christopher Moore. Writing a good comic novel is incredibly difficult, and here’s Moore doing it over and over again, maintaining a consistent spirit of irreverence even as his subjects and settings careen all over the map.

(Those wild shifts take place even within the pages of “Razzmatazz” itself, with an internally-relayed story about Uncle Ho’s arrival in America in the early 20th century – one that is both hilarious and rather insightful about the context of the Chinese immigrant experience at that time.)

It should be noted here that this book is a sequel, and as such, the reader will definitely benefit from reading “Noir” first. I don’t believe it is strictly necessary – “Razzmatazz” largely stands alone, in my opinion – but there are some references and allusions and assumed familiarities that will make more sense within the context of the first book.

“Razzmatazz” is typical Moore, packed with humor and heart, all of it reflected through genre deconstruction and a fierce affection for its setting. There’s a chaos at play throughout – there’s a LOT going on – yet Moore handles it deftly, resulting in a book whose myriad fractured storylines ultimately come together in a delightfully droll denouement.

Razzmatazz is the sequel to Noir – continuing with Sammy Two-Toes, the Cheese, Lone Jones and Eddie Moo Shoes Shu. Set in San Fran in 1947, someone is offing the city’s famed drag kings and our friend Jimmy Vasco is high on the hit list. At the same time, and seemingly unrelated, Moo Shoes is searching for a priceless heirloom – the Rain Dragon stolen from a sighting tong. Can Sammy help them both?

This book is very classic Christopher Moore with a off-beat humor, a new fresh take on an old school trope and a seemingly outlandish story. Add in some very solid laugh out loud moments and this book reminded me why I enjoy Christopher Moore’s writing so much.

This is definitely on the recommended reading list!

Christopher Moore's latest, Razzmatazz has us back in late 1940s San Frisco with the crew from Noir. Their still not the worst people, but share a lot of snappy dialogue to try to locate a dragon statue so Uncle Ho can come out of hiding from the new gangster in town the "Squid Kid." Oh and someone is going around killing women who choose to dress in drag. These two mysteries may not be related, or maybe they are. Across the book we learn Uncle Ho's back story while a little green man is building something mysterious in an abandoned warehouse.

As with any Christopher Moore book, there is lots of ridiculously snarky language both conversationally and with internal monologues. There are jokes that enter with humor but overstay their welcome through repetition, even with variations (such as one of the characters nicknames being the catf**ker). Or alien butt probing jokes. Long time readers might notice jokes that have appeared in many other works (such as "in perfect f**king French...").

Moore also makes efforts to have a diverse cast of characters, here alien aside, we see many of the denizens of the underbelly or nightlife. Madams, prostitutes, drag club owners, nightclub singers, gang members, bouncers, cooks and waitresses and in one sequence residents of an assisted living facility.

Those who are familiar with Moore's prior works and have enjoyed them, will find a consistent reading experience here. It could serve as a gateway work for exposing readers about the Asian immigration experience in California, as was an influence on Moore's writing. If nothing else its nice to have a brief escape into something that resolves in a stupendously ridiculous climax.

Fantastic book, readers of Moore will feel right at home. Funny, irreverent, has its touching moments, and as always excellent storytelling.

This Razzmatazz is brought to you by the incomparable Christopher Moore. Which means Sammy Two Toes and his girl Stilton aka The Cheese are back, joined by Eddie Moo Shoes and his Uncle Ho, Lone Jones, Milo the driving-phobic cab driver, and the rest of the Noir gang, with some new characters in tow, roaming the late night scene in post-WWII San Francisco.

They are tasked with solving the murders of two "drag kings", finding the Rain Dragon who caused the great earthquake of 1909, and building a ship to help Scooter the Moon Man get home, in addition to a few other hi-jinks like teaching old Chinese men how to drive, fending off a vice cop nicknamed Mother Superior, holding organized gangs at bay, shanghai-ing abusive boyfriends, and throwing a big cross-dressing Christmas party at a psychiatric hospital.

And if it's Christopher Moore mixing this potent drink, you know there's going to be a chuckleworthy mix of film noir lingo with present day slang, plus occasional bits of Shakespearian tomfoolery, and at least a few bon mots in effing French. The trick is for it all to come together in a satisfying way, and I'm pleased to report that that is indeed the case in Razzmatazz.

My favorite parts are Uncle Ho's backstory back in 1909 when he first immigrated from China -- to be honest, I would not have minded an entire book about that, it's that good. And having based much of that on his research into Chinese immigration and the history of San Francisco's Chinatown, it's not just fun and games Moore is after, there is a weighty side to the tale.

You don't need to have read Noir to fully enjoy this book, but of course it's always better to already be familiar with familiar characters, and you don't have to take the presence of a Moon Man on faith already knowing where he came from.

Christopher Moore’s Razzmatazz is a fantasy-lite, nominally noir novel that will thrill Moore’s dedicated readership.
I’ve read Moore’s work before, and I enjoyed it. Razzmatazz is definitely a Christopher Moore book. It’s got the breakneck pace, the razor sharp (but unrelenting) humor, and a bevy of strange characters. It’s a ton of fun. It’s also (I’m starting to realize) exhausting. I wanted a little normalcy, a little slower pace, more characters I could relate to. I still think Moore is an exceptionally talented writer, but maybe my stamina for all the antics is running low.
Recommended for Moore’s readership and for someone look for zany, 1940s madcap adventures.

This review is courtesy of an advanced copy provided by Net Galley.

Christopher Moore’s sequel to Noir is Razzmatazz, a return to post-war San Francisco with returning characters Sammy Two-Toes, the Cheese, Lone Jones, and Eddie Moo Shoes.

The book is hilarious and seems completely random until Moore cleverly pulls all threads together for a satisfying conclusion. The characters are iconic and their dialogue is infectious. Don’t be surprised if you start using 40s slang in your everyday life as you read.

For all its zaniness, the fact that many elements of the story are based in some historical fact or long-standing myth is equally outrageous and recognizable.

Altogether another fun Christopher Moore book that will have you laughing out loud while desperately flipping the pages to see what happens next.

Once again, Christopher Moore has written a hilarious, action-packed page-turner!
Filled with many genuine laugh out loud moments and an enthralling story, I cannot recommend Mr. Moore's books enough.