Paradise on the Pike

This intriguing offering from Angleton (White Man’s Graveyard) centers on the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where a group of immigrant workers are met with injustice. Max Eyer, 19, emigrates from Germany to live with his uncle in St. Louis, Mo., where he finds work caring for exotic animals at a fair exhibit called Hagenbeck’s Animal Paradise. He’s drawn to fellow employee and Sinhalese dancer Shehani and feels protective toward her, especially when she attracts unwanted attention from the concession owner’s American business partner. In the novel’s third act, one of the principal characters winds up dead, and what at first looks like a grisly accident in the alligator pool turns into a murder investigation as Max, who distrusts the police, launches his own inquiry. Angleton conveys the magnificence of the fair with well-drawn details, and she stirringly portrays the ill treatment of the immigrants who work the exhibits. This explosive tale will keep readers turning the pages. (Self-published)