Dark Chant in a Crimson Key: A Mongo Mystery - Hardcover

Typical Mongo macho melodrama (torture by strategically applied feather/psychotropic drugs/martial arts mayhem): here, the celebrated dwarf detective is sent to Geneva by Emmet P. Neuberger to oversee Interpol and local agencies as they seek out ace con- man/criminal Chant Sinclair, who's pilfered ten million dollars from Neuberger's Cornucopia Foundation. Met at the airport by the gimpy Carlo, his foundation-assigned chauffeur (or is he?), Mongo barely has time to unpack before the bodies start flying--and before fierce brother Garth, snake-charmer gal pal Harper, and artist-killer friend Veil are en route to save him. The intrepid foursome trace Chant to the castle of a mysterious countess, where both a CIA nabob and Japanese assassins lurk. There'll be torture, lies, and fantastical derring-do before Carlo reveals all about Chant--including his involvement in a Vietnam operation code-named ``Cooked Goose,'' the Black Flame Japanese assassins society, and his penchant for killing only those who truly deserve it. Chesbro, who previously documented Chant's adventures while writing as David Cross, continues to reduce his fiction to bloody pulp. Strictly for tough guys--with bimbo brains. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.