Nightmares For Sale, or Akuma no Omise: Shadow & Maria, is about a pawn shop that specializes in buying items that are evil. I thought I would like this manga for just that reason, but the devil-like pawn shop owner and his sassy doll assistant trick people into scams that they can’t possibly win, often costing them friendship or life.

I found this to be a depressing book with sad stories. One story is about a beautiful woman who wants to be a model, but doesn’t photograph well. She is told that for a price she can photograph well, but that it is draining. She is soon in every magazine around the world, getting jobs left and right, but every camera that takes her picture drains life from her.  Only weeks later she is an old haggard lady and some paparazzi try to take her photo, which causes her death.

There are tales of friendship rings causing friends to be hateful to one another and an aborted son torturing his mother from the grave. Nightmares for sale is right! But don’t dare go near that pawn shop. You may come out wanting to off yourself without even buying anything!

The cover is deceivingly innocent. The art in this book is modern and the printing quality is clean and easy to read. For such a tame manga, it has a surprising use of bad language.

If you’re into tales where people taunt people to death or cause their lives to become utterly miserable just for the hell of it, this book is for you.

• You can find Nightmares For Sale at Amazon.com.