Only Pretty Damned

April 1, 2019
Rowland's World Class Circus is a grandiose shitshow that was core-of-the-Earth deep in debt, where Toby?aka Freddy Folly, aka a clown?scrapes out a living and maintains a steady level of intoxication. It's the latter that has grounded the former aerialist, after a hiccup in timing led to his partner Genevieve's tragic fall. Mind you, the only death was of Toby's career, and now he seethes as Genevieve, who was Toby's partner in life as well as on the trapeze, headlines with her new partner, Andrew. When Toby's new girlfriend, Gloria, drunkenly jokes that he should kill Genevieve and Andrew, the idea takes root. In chapters that alternate between events a few years earlier and the present (1950s), shady dealings within Rowland's circus come to light, along with details of Toby's relationship with Genevieve. Toby's first-person narration skirts noir pastiche but ultimately settles on the right side of that divide. Howell has penned a slow-burning piece of crime fiction, where Rowland's grimy circus serves as a microcosm of the world at large?a place where unlikable characters are groomed to make a killing, whether inside the tent or out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)