by James Garner
First published 2014
Rex Koko works as a private detective in Top Town, a rundown neighborhood where former circus performers scrape by on the margins of society. Fire eaters hustle for drink money while fortune tellers peddle prophecies and daredevils risk their lives nightly for meager crowds. Rex has built a reputation as a tough investigator with a violent history, but his past haunts his relationships with fellow performers. When a wealthy socialite hires him to solve a string of show dog thefts from an elite kennel club, Rex finds himself torn between two worlds. He must also track down two missing sideshow performers, forcing him to choose between loyalty to the upper class clients who pay his bills and the circus community that still resents him for an old tragedy. His investigation plunges him into a bizarre underworld populated by cross dressing criminals, rogue marine mammals, diminutive police officers, and Nazi fugitives. The case ultimately leads to a violent confrontation on the French waterfront. Rex must navigate these competing allegiances while solving crimes that bridge the gap between high society and the gritty circus underground.
Genres: adventure, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: French Waterfront, Top Town
Period: 20th-Century
252 pages · Paperback · CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform