Grover Wilcox Goes to the Circus

GROVER WILCOX GOES TO THE CIRCUS is Martin Lastrapes’s fifth novel (he also has a collection of short stories). Grover, an English professor, has a kitchen accident and discovers he is fireproof. At the same time, his father, a firefighter, falls into a coma, and the doctors can’t figure out why. A chance meeting and a trip to a traveling circus in town convince Grover to join said circus to help pay his father’s medical bills. Grover gets to know and befriend the eccentric, talented, and unique group of performers, especially the beautiful fortuneteller Xyla, who first invited him to join them. The longer he travels with them, however, the more of the darker side of their lives and the circus itself are revealed. The book is beautifully written and multi-layered with elements of mystery, fantasy, romance, and even a little horror and a speculative, fantastic, and sometimes dark delight.