The Fear in Yesterday's Rings [Paperback]

George C. Chesbro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1992

In this tenth novel of his adventures, Mongo is in America's heartland, hoping to buy back a circus for an old friend. But when a string of grisly murders follows the traveling show, the dwarf detective finds himself back in center ring--in the Deadliest Show on Earth. "Chesbro generates genuine suspense".-- Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this unsuspenseful 10th adventure of dwarf-PI Mongo Frederickson, a werewolf-like menace is linked to evil circus owners. Chesbro's new Mongo mystery, Dark Chant in a Crimson Key (Fiction Forecasts, Feb. 17), is also due in April.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr (April 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446401021
• ISBN-13: 978-0446401029
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,672,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The 10th Mongo book - bringing back Statler Brothers Circus, June 5, 2005

By 

Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fear in Yesterday's Rings (Paperback)

"After my last divorce, I decided that either my husbands had lied when they told me they didn't mind my snakes, or I just wasn't cut out to be somebody's wife."
- Harper Rhys-Whitney, love of Mongo's life, herein

Phil Statler, Mongo's old boss from the circus, once again brings Mongo a case, but this time he *is* the case, turning up as a destitute patient in a hospital where one of Mongo's friends works. All Statler has left in the world are the posters from the circus, having gone bankrupt through refusing to modernize - which would've meant converting to a format suitable for indoor arena performances, sacking many performers who couldn't find other work.

Mongo really *owes* this man, so he begins scouting around among his old circus cronies in Florida to find out what happened to Statler's Circus after the foreclosure and whether he and his friends can buy it back as an investment. In the process, Mongo renews his relationship with Harper Rhys-Whitney, snake charmer turned herpetologist, legendary crusher of strong men's egos, and she joins the investigation. (Much of the story, as opposed to the mystery, has to do with Mongo's near-phobia about romantic relationships; he has issues with becoming dependent on anyone. Fortunately, Harper is used to men with issues, though mainly to do with lying about not being nervous around her snake collection.)

Instead of finding a run-down outfit bought as a tax writeoff and ready for resale, Mongo and Harper find that World Circus is staffed by first-class performers with a cover story that doesn't make sense. Why are they - particularly Luther, who seems a rival for the best animal trainers in the world - apparently content to travel in obscurity with a second-tier circus instead of achieving fame and fortune with Ringling?

But why would anybody bother with a *circus* as a cover for an illegal operation while keeping up the maintenance on a lot of dangerous and expensive animals? Why buy a circus just for the equipment and the animals while replacing all of the human performers?

Couldn't have anything to do with a mysterious string of serial killings along the circus' old route, could it?

Much better handled long-term relationship issues than AN AFFAIR OF SORCERERS, the only other Mongo book up to this point to set him up in a romantic relationship of any kind.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A total page turner!!From begining to end .., March 7, 2005

By 

"sleeplessreaderalways" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fear in Yesterday's Rings (Paperback)

All of the Mongo books are just spine tingling from beginning to end ....I really wish he'd write more!!This was my favorite Mongo mystery but the Veil books are even better !!!!!!!!!!Buy it!! read it11 now!!!You wouldn't regret it .......but be prepared to read it from statr to finish in one sitting!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Is a Circus Not a Circus?, April 30, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Fear in Yesterday's Rings (Paperback)

Mongo Frederickson, ex-circus performer, ex-college professor, detective and dwarf, answers a call from a hospital acquaintance and finds that Phil Statler, his circus mentor, is now a patient. He has become a homeless alcoholic patient who is close to dying. Mongo comes to the rescue and Phil recovers only to tell a sad story of the circus's financial decay and it's forced sale.

On a mission to rescue Statler, Mongo flies to Palmetto Grove, Florida where many circus players have retired. He talks the residents into funding the repurchase of the circus and putting Phil back in charge as manager. Not quite coincidentally, Mongo also manages to kindle an affair with Harper Rhys-Whitney, the snake trainer. Or maybe Harper does the kindling. In any case, Harper is now a bit on the wealthy side, so she and Mongo fly off in her plane to track down the errant circus.

Little does Mongo realize that, on his quest for the circus, he is about to cross the paths of a violent murderer, a crypto-biologist, the world's greatest lion tamer and an illicit arms dealer. Deadly mysteries seem to surround Phil Statler's old circus. Most of them seem aimed right as Mongo and Harper.

George Chesbro spins a fine tale of Mongo's exploits, mixing a lot of detective fiction with a dash of science fiction and a dollop of just plain weird. It may be hard to imagine a dwarf as a hard-boiled detective, but Chesbro pulls it off with flair. Mongo not only out-thinks, but also out-fights, most of his opponents. Nor is that the sum total of his skills (just ask Harper). "The Fear in Yesterday's Rings" is great fiction read regardless of what genre you decide it's in. First time Mongo readers are in for a pleasant surprise.