Sideshow

Nick Forte Book 8

Chicago private investigator Nick Forte doesn’t want to meet with Johnny Osgood, a televangelist who preaches “prosperity gospel,” but Forte’s once-thriving agency now consists of only himself, and he has promised his daughter a 4,000-mile road trip next summer. Osgood’s request seems simple enough: find a valued employee of the church who has gone missing.

Locating Elena Morales is not a problem. Talking to her is, as she is terrified of anything to do with Osgood’s Lakeview Church. Forte has no idea why until a frantic phone call provides insight into Elena’s fear: someone may be trying to kill her.

Or maybe not. Elena withholds as much as she tells, which compels Forte to decide how much to believe until a shocking revelation opens his eyes to possibilities not thought of before. Along the way he crosses paths with the police, US Marshals, a man who is not who he claims to be, and elements of the LGBTQIA+ community, one of which he never knew existed.

Many of the usual Nick Forte repertory company are here: daughter Caroline; sidekick and confidant Goose Satterwhite; and Forte’s police friend Jan Rusiewicz, now a detective lieutenant. There’s a potential love interest, as well as a psychologist trying to help Forte discover how he feels—or doesn’t—about the men he’s killed. And if he’s going to have to kill one more.

Sideshow opens windows into aspects of Forte’s character not seen before, not least of which is how he feels about killing, even when it may be his most viable option.