The Mongo Mysteries Series

A former circus performer and criminology professor becomes a PI in “one of the best detective novels of the year” (TheNew York Times Book Review).   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.   Now a detective in New York City, Mongo is hired by the widow of a famous architect to find out if her husband is really dead—because a new building just went up and it looks like his work. As Mongo begins to uncover the surprising truth, his investigation gives a whole new meaning to an architect’s façade. The intrepid sleuth will need all of his extraordinary skills to find his man without losing his own life, as some very powerful forces want to send him back to the drawing board.   With a freewheeling blend of mystery and science fiction elements, author George C. Chesbro introduces the man called Mongo, “the most engaging detective in decades” (Library Journal).   Shadow of a Broken Man is the 1st book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

“Fans will want their Mongo prescriptions filled” as the circus-performer-turned-private-eye uncaps some pharmaceutical monkey business (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.   On the eve of Thanksgiving, a murderous maniac with an ice pick has gripped New York City, killing at random and leaving terror in his wake. But despite the threat of the “Iceman,” Mongo is more troubled by the sudden appearance of the neighborhood crazy lady on his doorstep.   Normally, “Mama Spit” is as ornery as they come, but the polished and polite woman before him now bears little resemblance to the creature infamous for spewing vulgarity at everyone she meets. Mama claims a strange man gifted her with a bag of pills just before his untimely death—miracle pills that have made her as normal as the day is long.   Soon Mongo blows the lid off a conspiracy involving experimental drugs, escaped mental patients, and a government cover-up. But if he isn’t careful, he could hit his own expiration date . . .   Bleeding in the Eye of a Brainstorm is the 13th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A circus-performer-turned-PI takes on “murder and intrigue from New York to Iran” in this “well done, suspenseful” unconventional mystery (Newsday).   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.   When his former big-top boss asks him to find a missing Iranian strongman, Mongo is plunged into a three-ring circus of murder, espionage, and international intrigue. And when Mongo’s own brother—police officer Garth Frederickson—gets involved, the detective must fly to Iran, a country on the brink of a revolution. Now he’s searching for two missing men, from Tehran to the ancient city of Persepolis, playing a game of a cat-and-mouse with forces far beyond his control. And unlike his days as an acrobat, this time, if he slips up, there’s no net . . .   With a fearless sense of fun, author George C. Chesbro continues the adventures of “one of the most appealing creations in the detective world” (Publishers Weekly).   City of Whispering Stone is the 2nd book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

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 of trouble.   Determined to find his friend, Mongo attempts to rule out any enemies from Veil’s past—details of which Veil has never shared with him. But as he uncovers the shocking truth of Veil’s time in the Vietnam War—participating in dangerous CIA missions under the call sign “Archangel”—Mongo soon finds enemies aplenty, ones that will do anything to make sure the past remains a secret . . .   In addition to creating “the most engaging detective in decades,” author George C. Chesbro introduces the character of Veil Kendry, who would go on to have his own series (Library Journal).   Two Songs This Archangel Sings is the 5th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

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 estranged, and Garth ends up in the center of a cult—an unsuspecting pawn in an international terrorist plot. Up against thousands of believers willing to do anything to protect their “new Messiah,” Mongo will risk his life to save him . . .   The Cold Smell of Sacred Stone is the 6th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a circus-performer-turned-PI is drawn into the occult underworld, the result is “beautifully plotted and assured” (#1 New York Times–bestselling author Peter Straub).   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 needs all his faculties when he’s hired to investigate a fellow professor who’s been experimenting with sensory deprivation. Soon after, a nun asks him to help clear a psychic of murder. And then, weirdest of all, his seven-year-old neighbor, Kathy, begs him to locate her father’s “Book of Shadows.”   When Mongo finds Kathy’s father dead from what seems to be a ritual sacrifice—and the little girl lying comatose nearby—the distressed detective follows a trail of occult clues and discovers that all three of his cases are tied to something wicked. Now, to save Kathy from an unnatural end, Mongo will risk it all to separate the facts from something even stranger than fiction.   An Affair of Sorcerers is the 3rd book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.   “Beautifully plotted and assured . . . The work of a master.” —#1 New York Times–bestselling author Peter Straub

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, Falling Star, Book of Shadows, Tiger in the Snow, and Candala—is the 9th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A circus-performer-turned-PI deals with sinister sleight of hand in a novel that “gleefully subvert[s] most of the rules of mystery fiction” (Publishers Weekly).   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 and his brother, Garth, are experienced private detectives. So when Garth’s wife Mary’s strange ex-boyfriend shows up uninvited, they suspect he, the self-proclaimed magician Sacra Silver, is full of mumbo jumbo. But when a series of annoying pranks disrupts their lives, Mongo and Garth have to deal with Sacra’s attempts at black magic.   Meanwhile, they’re also investigating a death involving a suspicious multinational corporation. Garth’s friend, environmental cop Tom Blaine, was found in the Hudson chopped to pieces by a boat propeller—just like the kind on the tanker the victim had seen dumping oil in the river . . .   The two problems couldn’t be less alike, but soon Mongo learns the dirty dealings have a connection that could put everyone he loves in danger.   An Incident at Bloodtide is the 12th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A detective takes on mad scientists when a D&D fantasy world turns deadly in this “ thrilling combination” of “not-quite-science-fiction and suspense” (Playboy).   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.   When Mongo’s sister asks him to investigate the death of his nephew, Tommy—the victim of an apparent murder-suicide—the private detective soon learns that everything’s tied to the computer game Tommy and his friends created: an elaborate quest based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The clues send Mongo on a cross-country journey, from a painful visit to his former hometown in Nebraska and back to New York, then on to the rugged coastline of California’s Big Sur and, ultimately, the frozen depths of the Arctic Ocean, where a mad genius will stop at nothing to achieve total Armageddon.   Grounded by his completely original private detective Mongo, author George C. Chesbro “writes wonderfully strange mystery novels” (Boston Sunday Herald).   The Beasts of Valhalla is the 4th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A circus-performer-turned-PI matches wits with an international assassin in another of Chesbro’s “wild roller-coaster rides” (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.   Hired to investigate an audacious theft, Mongo travels to Zurich, Switzerland, where rich philanthropist Emmet P. Neuberger claims terrorist and criminal John “Chant” Sinclair has swindled his charitable organization, the Cornucopia Foundation, out of $10 million. Several agencies, including Interpol, are already on the case, but Neuberger wants a private eye to monitor the situation.   It quickly becomes clear it’s much more than a simple case of embezzlement. As the bodies pile up and suspicions turn to Mongo himself, the detective decides to hunt down Chant on his own. But the deeper he digs into this peculiar case, the more he begins to think that Chant may not be the one to blame . . .   This thrilling entry in the Mongo series introduces international assassin Chant, who goes on to star in his own series of adventures from the author who “writes wonderfully strange mystery novels . . . [with] perfectly calculated nail-biting tension” (Boston Sunday Herald).   Dark Chant in a Crimson Key is the 11th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A circus-performer-turned-PI uncovers dark secrets in a Hudson River town in this novel of “bloodcurdling adventure” and “genuine suspense” (Publishers Weekly).   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.   When his friend, FBI agent Michael Burana, suspiciously drowns in the small town of Cairn, New York, Mongo’s pursuit of the truth takes him up the Hudson River to the scene of the crime. Long known as a village populated by artists, intellectuals, and writers, Cairn has recently become home to ultraconservative political commentator Elysius Culhane, whose autobiography title, If You’re Not Right You’re Wrong, is less a pun than a personal manifesto.   Mongo couldn’t care less about politics, but there’s something about Culhane that just isn’t right. And as Mongo and his brother, Garth, attempt to discern the real reason for Agent Burana’s death, they will uncover a conspiracy that could leave them both swimming with the fishes . . .   The Language of Cannibals is the 8th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

“The most engaging detective in decades” returns to his big-top roots to solve some bizarre murders—but this time he’s working without a net (Library Journal).   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 days as a professional acrobat are long over, but when he learns his former boss is down on his luck—and the circus has been sold—he heads to Florida to rally his fellow ex-performers to help buy back the spectacle they once called home.   With seductive snake charmer Harper Rhys-Whitney in tow, Mongo sets out to make a deal with the traveling show’s mysterious new owners. But when they track down the talented troupe in America’s heartland, Mongo and Harper discover something has shifted under the big top: A string of grisly murders has dogged the circus’s route, causing local tabloids to cry “Werewolf!”   Now, if he wants to save his old gig, Mongo will have to get back in the center ring to figure out what’s been going bump in the night . . .   The Fear in Yesterday’s Rings is the 10th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A circus-performer-turned-PI and his ex-cop brother rescue a girl from a doomsday cult in this novel of “terrific suspense” and “unlimited imagination” (Publishers Weekly).   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 and his brother, Garth, have left their day jobs as a professor and a cop, respectively, and formed their own PI firm, Frederickson & Frederickson. It’s a great reason to celebrate this holiday season, but when their annual tradition of picking up a few letters to Santa from the post office to fulfill the Christmas wishes of needy children reveals a sinister secret, their cheer is replaced with a yearning for justice. As the brothers race to save a little girl from a religious doomsday cult, they’ll get up close and personal with a murderous zealot bent on the eradication of all mankind—preferably before the New Year . . .   Second Horseman Out of Eden is the 7th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Circus-performer-turned-PI Mongo takes on “the CIA, neo-Nazis, and Haitian voodoo terrorists” in a grand finale that is “even more fun than usual” (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.   Investigating illegal CIA activities in Haiti leads Mongo and his brother, former NYPD cop Garth Frederickson, to a grisly discovery: five victims of voodoo ritual sacrifice. But that’s just the first surprise. Soon they uncover a wildly ambitious assassination plot that not only puts them in the cross hairs but also has the potential to change the fate of the United States forever . . .   Employing his “unlimited imagination” and talent for creating “terrific suspense” in the Mongo mystery series, author George C. Chesbro delivers a climax that pulls out all the stops (Publishers Weekly).   Dream of a Falling Eagle is the 14th book in the Mongo Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.