by James Garner
First published 2011
Rex Koko works as a private investigator in Top Town, a rundown neighborhood where failed circus performers scrape by in the shadow of the big city. Most people avoid the disgraced clown, but his chaotic methods prove surprisingly effective at cracking cases. When a pompous trapeze artist hires Rex to track down his missing wife, the job seems straightforward enough. Rex picks up Addie Carlozo's trail quickly, but every lead brings another dead aerialist. The bodies pile up in increasingly grotesque displays. Rex wonders if Addie kills her lovers or if his own reputation for bad luck has cursed the investigation. Meanwhile, the violent Redd Brothers shadow his every move through Top Town's grimy streets. Rex races to find Addie before the neighborhood's brutal code of justice claims more victims. In this world where desperate performers sell their dignity for pocket change, Rex fights to solve the case and reclaim some piece of his shattered soul.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Top Town
Period: 20th-century
164 pages · Paperback · James Finn Garner, via CreateSpace
Content warnings: violence