A chilling novel about a guy determined to claw his way to the top of the heap no matter what. Stanton Carlisle rises from humble sideshow magician to spiritualist reverend who preaches to a gullible, moneyed flock that doesn’t know it’s all really done with mirrors. But his real secret is to find people’s deepest needs and fulfill them, while taking them for everything they’ve got. Of course, this being the classic carny noir novel, an ascent must be followed by a descent and Stanton’s ride down to the bottom is a grim piece of poetic justice with none of that goddamned happy ending stuff they had to stick onto the movie. After all, geeks aren’t born—they’re made.
JM
Publisher: Carroll and Graf
Paperback: 275 pages