City of Whispering Stone

Mongo #2

by George C. Chesbro

Estranged from his brother because of what has been perceived as a betrayal, Mongo must travel to pre-revolutionary Iran to heal the damage. There he must survive a deadly cat-and-mouse game with the dreaded Iranian secret police, the Savak, while incidentally negotiating with the Shah and trying to save his brother from a death trap.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Horror

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

George C. Chesbro was an American author of detective fiction. His most notable works feature Dr. Robert "Mongo the Magnificent" Fredrickson, a private detective with dwarfism. He also wrote the novelization of The Golden Child, a movie of the same name starring Eddie Murphy.

Chesbro was born in Washington, D.C. He worked as a special education teacher at Pearl River and later at rockland Psychiatric Center, where he worked with trouble teens. Chebro was married and had one daughter and two step-daughters.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, the second adventure of "Mongo the Magnificent"--private eye, doctor of criminology, karate black belt, former circus acrobat, and dwarf extraordinaire--is better than the first in the series.

In this novel, written in 1977, Mongo tangles with the SAVAK, Iran's secret police, who are trying to suppress the coming revolution. The plot is exciting, but the problem is that the revolution Chesbro assumes is coming is of the democratic socialist variety, and he makes very few mentions of Islam and says nothing whatever of Islamic fundamentalism. I'm sure that back in '77, many people made the same mistake he does, but still it makes this otherwise enjoyable detective/spy novel appear slightly quaint and wrongheaded.

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'd think the "hook" to this detective series would be the dwarf detective but, at least in the two I've read so far, it's that this detective takes on seemingly small cases that quickly become international twisty puzzles. Mongo is asked by his former circus boss to locate an Iranian performer who disappeared and ends up in the middle of deadly Iranian politics. The characters are interesting and the mystery is complex. This feels a little dated, though, if only because it's weird, and a bit eerie, to read about an Iran pre-theocracy government.

[Josef Komensky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather nice spy mystery. Lots of cloak and dagger stuff. Sometimes like it like spy versus spy. Many time I lost count who is spying on who dublle agents, triple agents. However reader will learn many interesting details about politics and history of back day Iraq and Teheran. Sometimes the book resembled Frederic Forsythe with his fist of the god or the Afghan. But because of quite many action the book itself was red rather quickly.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Robert Frederickson, aka Mongo the Magnificent, finds himself caught up in international espionage when he is hired to find a missing circus performer.
It's set in the mid 1970s and is centred around Iran. It might be a bit confusing for some but I was around at the time and read a lot about it then - some of it must have stuck!
When his brother goes missing Mongo travels to Iran and finds himself in deadly danger of the nastiest kind.
It comes to an end rather suddenly but I have no real complaints about "City of Whispering Stone."
3 Stars.

[Orangereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read "Broken Man"a few years ago, liked it very much. Purchased all the other in the Mongo series, then forgot about them, but now re-discover them and just finish this, very happy with the twists and turns and writing, love it too.

[Regine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excessive.

[Quanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Mongo takes on the case of a missing circus strongman he ends in the beginnings of a civil war, a civil war in Iran. There is never any down time in this story.

[Ronald Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dwarven private investigator Dr. Robert Frederickson, aka Mongo the Magnificent, is involved in a case surrounding the Shah of Iran and Iranians living in the US in his second mystery. This time he is hired by his ex-boss when he worked for the circus to find their strong-man who has disappeared. The strongman was from Iran originally and supposedly had a contact at the college Mongo teaches at so he begins the investigation. Nice suspense thriller that ends up taking him to Iran in the 1970's. Sufficiently atmospheric to make the reader care what happens next in the book.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Robert Frederickson is hired by his former boss, circus owner Phil Statler to investigate the disappearance of the circus/ strong man. The dwarf circus performer turned professor/private detective also known as Mongo proceeds on the case, thinking it rather simple.

Simple it is not and he's plunged into a world of assassins, spies, betrayals, and international intrigue. In the time of the Shah, this story is told against the backdrop of oil, Iranian politics, and personal betrayal.

Another page turner. Mongo is smart, wry, observant, and honest.

[JR Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second of the Mongo Mysteries. A unique look at Iranian politics, and the middle east before the fall of the Shaw. The book was published in 1978. I enjoyed the book, but as is often the case with this genre, the number of convenient coincidences that put our hero on the right track, and drag him out of harm's way at the last moment is staggering. All set against the beautifully painted backdrop of a desert, best visited in fiction.

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a kick out of it. The cover has a blurb from Playboy calling Chesbro's work Raymond Chandler meets Stephen King, and while I definitely picked up on the Chandler vibes, it felt less King and more Playboy. But not so much that it was sleazy or uncomfortable.
I enjoyed the writing style, the characters and the pacing, and I'll definitely be checking my local used bookstore for more in the series.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

mongo the dwarf is back and still packs a mean kick. This time there are no supernatural or paranormal elements, just international intrigue set in Iran, which was very timely back in 76,77 when this was published and remains so today. Entertaining.

[Violette Malan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite of the Mongo series, probably because it hasn't any cross genre stuff happening. For my take on the series as a whole, check out my post at Black Gate Magazine. https://www.blackgate.com/2016/06/17/...

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mongo returns, in a prescient novel set in and around an impending Iranian revolution - two years before it actually happened.

[Brett]

My copy is actually a paperback but it has this cover, not the one shown for paperbacks.