cover image FORTUNE'S BASTARD

FORTUNE'S BASTARD

Robert Chalmers, . . Grove, $13 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-8021-4160-6

A much-loathed London tabloid editor and philandering father of one gets his comeuppance in British author Chalmers's (Who's Who in Hell ) devilishly indulgent, surrealistic second novel. Arrogant Edward Miller has employees who decorate his back with airmail stickers and a wife who announces her own infidelity and dumps him at their anniversary dinner. Soothing his bruised ego at a West End club, Edward is offered cocaine, and indulges in a night wild enough to get his photograph plastered in the newspapers the following day; news that his house has burned down comes as the last straw. He shaves his head and runs off to teach English in Barcelona, but is forced to flee again when he's spotted—his wife, Elizabeth, wants to finalize a divorce settlement and there's a warrant for his arrest on arson charges—moving on to Plant City, Fla., a town populated with stock carnival freaks and governed by sadistic, legless boss Vincent ("Half-Man") Makin, who holds him hostage at a trailer park. With inside help, Edward plots Vincent's murder just as his past life resurfaces in a surprise showdown. It's the circus freaks who prove to be the most fun (and who teach Edward some much-needed lessons), though this wacky ride is piloted by a strong central character witty and captivating enough to make for plenty of sinfully rich reading. Agent, Melanie Jackson. (Sept.)