The Fear in Yesterday's Rings

Mongo #10

by George C. Chesbro

Mongo is forced to confront the ghosts of his past. In an attempt to regain control of a traveling circus for his former boss, Mongo becomes embroiled in the hunt for something deadly that many people believe is a werewolf loose on the Great Plains in the heartland of America.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Adventure

232 pages, Paperback

About the author

George C. Chesbro was an American author of detective fiction. His most notable works feature Dr. Robert "Mongo the Magnificent" Fredrickson, a private detective with dwarfism. He also wrote the novelization of The Golden Child, a movie of the same name starring Eddie Murphy.

Chesbro was born in Washington, D.C. He worked as a special education teacher at Pearl River and later at rockland Psychiatric Center, where he worked with trouble teens. Chebro was married and had one daughter and two step-daughters.

Reviews

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was trying to remember, as I was finishing this last night, whether I found this book in the library's free box or a used book store. Usually there is a reason why I don't begin a series with the first book, and one of those would be the most likely scenario. While knowing some of Robert Fredrickson's past might have been good, it is far from necessary with how Chesbro crafted his tale.

Chesbro wrote in a time when it was possible for each adventure in a series to pretty much stand on its own merits. I find the concept of Fredrickson, aka Mongo, a really good one. The problem for me is that Mongo remained very much a two-dimensional character, and this is despite the little bit of character development that does take place here.

Mongo, like Cassandra Kresnov and Sherlock Holmes is too perfect. Yes, he is a dwarf. He is also a karate black belt, a PhD, private investigator, and university professor in addition to being a former circus star (including being an aerialist).

It is his circus background that leads him into his current adventure. Mongo finds the former owner of the circus Mongo performed in in a drunk ward of a New York City hospital. Mongo sets out to restore life to a man whom Mongo feels he owes a debt to, and Mongo proceeds to to track down the older man's circus and go about seeing what it would take to purchase said circus.

During his tracking of the circus Mongo meets some of his old circus friends, includes former beautiful snake charmer who is now a PhD herself and is an expert in snake venoms, and that murders being attributed to werewolves are trailing the circus (sound like a Preston & Child book in a way).

I was disappointed that I didn't find Mongo more engaging. The book is a solid mystery/adventure story without much in the way of character development.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book in the Mongo the Magnificent series takes Mongo back to his beginnings as a conflicted dwarf living in the Midwest, given a chance to escape a world in which he did not quite fit by joining a traveling circus. Even though he is now known as Dr Robert Frederickson, world-renowned criminal investigator, he has never forgotten his debt to the man who gave his life a purpose and a path to success. An opportunity to repay that debt arises when his mentor Phil Statler is found as a homeless, sick bum on the streets of New York, bereft of hope because his beloved circus had been stolen from him. What begins for Mongo as a quest to discover the shadowy personages behind the purchase of the circus quickly becomes a rekindled romance and an investigation into a series of “werewolf” murders in the Midwest. Author George Chesbro walks a fine line between mystery and science fiction in this tale of an ancient beast brought back to life, but manages to pull it off nicely, mostly due to the presence of Mongo, both as character and narrator of his own story.

[R Fontaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing to know about George chesbro’s very addictive novels is that he freely intersects plot with science fiction, magic and even the occult.
Mongo the magnificent is back ( this is the 10th Mongo adventure)and joined with a herpetologist who has been bitten by a poisonous snakes over 40 times making her as dangerous as the vipers.The goal in this installment is to buy back a circus for Mongo’s friend who once ran second to “ The greatest show on earth”, but now is a desperate derelict. Midway into the plot a prehistoric trained killer cat (a lobox) has been re-created as a trained killer and the pace picks up quickly.
Before you pass up one of the Mongol series-give it a try, it may surprise you.

[Claudia A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very different from his other books

I'm glad that he gave us more of his background story.It flushes out his history and makes his directions more understandable

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

I smiled all the way through this one. Vintage Mongo, full of vintage Mongo moments. I can't wait for the next one to come in at the library.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whats starts off as a pedestrian mystery - who is the guy with the weird stuff? - quickly turns into something more - werewolves of the Heartland - with satisfying results.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the circus aspects and the werewolf tie in, glad the religious cult aspect was left out for a change. Tolerable new character in Mongols romantic interest, the snake charmer

[Lapetitesteph]

Excellent.