Common People: Murder in Sideshow Alley

by A.E. Martin

Dapper Pel Pelham is pulling stunts again, spruiking for Henri Sapolio, World's Champion Starving Man. The circus is in town and the police are on the prowl. After Rena, Queen of the Trapeze, takes a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1862543038
• ISBN13: 9781862543034
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Wakefield Press
• Length: 219 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

This sideshow should be front & center!

This is an excellent hardboiled whodunit with lots of sideshow flavor. I recommend it for fans of either mystery genre. The protagonist, Pel is a carnival "spruiker" (which I guess means promoter) who travels in a semi-shady world that he keeps seperate from his wife and son at home. The cast of characters includes a starving man, sleazy police, a mysterious bookie and a carnival freak show. Dialogue is witty and unlike many mysteries the plot makes sense and follows a logical path. My only complaints are that the plot drags right before the end and that I missed a major plot point having to do with the solution because it was only mentioned once in passing. Maybe you're more attentive. The book's afterword is very informative. Overall, a good read.