Mars Attacks Chicago

by Roger Marsh

Mars Attacks Chicago is the first in the Tremont Avenue Series - and centers on Donna Steele and her husband, Al, from their second floor apartment in the Peterson Woods neighborhood on Chicago’s north side. Donna is home alone Saturday night and hears voices coming from inside her wall. Neighbor Doris Wilde quickly convinces Donna that the voice she hears must be the notorious Peterson Woods Strangler and they concoct an escape plan. Landlord Daryl Space comes to Donna’s rescue and the three discover the real reason behind the voices in the wall. Since the truth is dull and boring - and if the Strangler had actually been there Daryl could raise his rents on the three flat - they convince Chicago police that the Strangler had indeed made a visit, and poor Donna’s life was spared. In their effort to continue the illusion, now with Al helping, the four create a fictional neighbor who resides in the third floor apartment - Dominick Jewel - who has now disappeared, seemingly at the hands of the Strangler. The story takes on its own life with the Chicago media. Clues left behind become exaggerated. While no footprints were found outside the building, a secret investigating source reveals further odd evidence which leads him to believe they are actually dealing with aliens and that Dominick Jewel has time-warped from the late 1940s. In an effort to end the saga, Donna reveals the fiction behind their story to Roland Bennett, a wealthy neighbor with a history of getting things done. With his limitless funds, Roland plans and executes a full scale invasion from Mars. The rest is history.

92 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2013