From Publishers WeeklyGleefully subverting most of the rules of mystery fiction, Chesbro ( Dark Chant in a Crimson Key ) once again produces an extraordinary adventure for his singularly implausible (albeit surpassingly entertaining) dwarf detective, former circus star turned criminologist/sleuth and media darling, Mongo Frederickson. Mongo is visiting his brother Garth and his famous folksinger wife, Mary, when Sacra, Mary's former lover, arrives to claim Mary as his own. Mary is plainly terrified and believes Sacra is a witch. Because Mongo's former loves also include a practitioner of the black arts, he takes Mary's fears seriously. Meanwhile, out on the Hudson River, not far from Garth's house, a shipping company is dumping oil into the water and loading mysterious cargo for export overseas. When an environmentalist friend tries to obtain evidence, his body is ripped apart by propeller blades. With only one real suspect, the author is forced to weld Garth's domestic woes to the wider environmental concerns of the Hudson River. This kind of minimalist plot gambit could easily misfire, but Mongo and his cohorts form such a ruthlessly cunning, delightfully oddball crew that the reader remains engrossed. The action heats up, bodies are battered and the plucky Mongo gets to pilot a tanker through murky waters. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsThe 11th adventure in which Mongo Frederickson (Dark Chant in a Crimson Key, etc.) uses superior intellect, circus tricks, karate, magic, and pretentious metaphysical folderol to foil various scourges of Western Civilization--here, the loathsome Sacra Silver, who's intent on breaking up the marriage of Mongo's brother and sister-in-law, illegally polluting the Hudson by dumping chemicals from his daddy's fleet of tankers, and making a few zillion on the side by selling parched Kuwaitis shiploads of the (contaminated) Hudson. When both the Coast Guard and the police skirt responsibility for the filth--as well as the propeller- chopped body recently found in the river--Mongo sallies forth to waylay a tanker headed for the Tappan Zee. Despite a concussion, he succeeds--only to find his brother wired up to a homemade electric chair and his sister-in-law forced to commit mayhem to save him. Mongo, a comic-book hero sans pictures, again blathers on about witches, the supernatural, and his personal philosophy (Love, my friend, is the greatest mystery of all'')--all done in a manner destined to please the converted. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Two former CIA agents reunite for a dangerous mission in which nothing is as it seems in this seductive thriller from the author of the Mongo Mysteries. Rick Peters was one of the CIA's best operatives until the day the dragons—the company's elite covert team—were disbanded. Forced into unwanted retirement, Peters struck out on his own, becoming an assassin. Now, a two-million-dollar payday is on the table if he can take out San Sierran dictator Manuel Salva. Peters intends to make it look like a CIA operation . . . and he has the perfect patsy in mind. Retired for fifteen years, Alexandra Finway has left covert ops behind to raise a family. But when her former partner—and lover—storms back into her life, she finds herself contemplating getting back in the field. Peters claims the CIA wants two of their former dragons to stop a hit on Salva and remove the contract killer from play, all in the interest of international...

A detective's search for a missing friend "careens ahead with the speed and promise of danger of the Indy 500" (The Washington Post Book World). With a genius IQ, a past career as a circus acrobat, and a black belt in karate, criminology professor Dr. Robert Frederickson—better known as "Mongo the Magnificent"—has a decidedly unusual background for a private investigator. He also just so happens to be a dwarf. Mongo's friend and sensei, Veil Kendry, is pretty magnificent himself. A devoted martial arts instructor and extremely successful abstract artist, Veil single-handedly transformed his shady neighborhood in New York City's Lower East Side into a safe haven from crime and corruption. But when Mongo enters Veil's abandoned apartment and finds a bullet hole, a cryptic oil painting, and an envelope addressed to him containing $10,000, he starts to worry that Veil's reputation as a vigilante has gotten him into the worst sort...

Ten novellas featuring circus-performer-turned-private-eye Mongo—"one of the greatest characters of recent mystery fiction" (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine). With a genius IQ, a past career as a circus acrobat, and a black belt in karate, criminology professor Dr. Robert Frederickson—better known as "Mongo the Magnificent"—has a decidedly unusual background for a private investigator. He also just so happens to be a dwarf. Originally published in leading mystery magazines in the 1970s, these ten novellas—each introduced with notes from the author—offer new readers and diehard fans alike a tantalizing taste of the unique blend of hardboiled mystery, science fiction, and explosive action of this acclaimed series. In the House of Secret Enemies—which includes The Drop, High Wire, Rage, Country for Sale, Dark Hole on a Silent Planet, The Healer,...