"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.
