The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone

A circus-performer-turned-PI who's also "the most engaging criminologist to appear in decades" must save his brother from a cult and a terrorist plot (Booklist). 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. After a series of traumas and an accidental poisoning, Mongo's brother, Garth Fredrickson, is lying unresponsive in an off-limits government psychiatric facility. But that won't stop New York City's most resourceful private eye—because if there's one person in the world Mongo would do anything for, it's Garth. With a little unorthodox therapy, Mongo manages to bring his brother back to the real world. But it quickly becomes clear that Garth isn't himself. Soon the siblings are...