The Barbary Dogs

Fans of overt symbolism, lightweight supernatural escapades, and dogs will enjoy Robinson’s second mystery featuring bisexual bass baritone opera singer Max Bravo (after 2010’s The Dog Park Club), a rollicking, thesaurus-fueled romp through the caverns of Max’s roller-coaster mind. When Max’s longtime friend, writer wannabe Frank Kelly, takes a header off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Frank leaves behind a suicide note directing Max to dispose of all his earthly possessions, including a quite literally haunted journal, whose secrets Max feels duty bound to decipher. His dedication to interpreting the journal is incited by the ghost of Duffield Waverly Fallon, a long-dead Barbary Coast ruffian with a serious score to settle. From the moment Max opens Frank’s journal, Fallon is running the show, driving Max to amusing extremes. Those seeking a conventional whodunit should look elsewhere. (Nov.)