Amazon Dana Mentink Category:  Mystery/Suspense Publisher: The Wild Rose Press ISBN-10:  1601540191 Pages: 204 Copyright: 2006 A zany peek into the life of circus manager Pi Steely and her efforts to solve a crime and save her family. Pi Steely’s life is a circus. Literally. As business manager for the Steely Family Circus, sensible Pi steers her madcap troupe through the perils of life on a daily basis. Things progress from muddled to madness when her soul mate accidentally turns up married and a body is discovered on circus grounds.   Aided and abetted by a zany young man with a tarantula tattooed on his forehead, and her pet chicken, Rhonda Sue, the smart and sassy Pi must fight the odds to save her circus family, reunite with Reuben, the slightly married love of her life, and manage to mollify an international cast of flamboyant, one-of-a-kind characters, one of whom could be a murderer. It’s going to take a brilliant performance and a whole lot of heavenly intervention to keep the show on the road.   Excerpt My name is Pi, like pineapple. I wasn’t named after the tropical fruit or any of the Boston crème-filled varieties, but rather for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. My mother was a math professor sprinkled in and amongst her other career as a cocaine addict. It’s a good thing she never had the son she wanted. Hypotenuse would be a hard name to live with.

Long and Short Reviews, August 23, 2007

We’ve all heard the expression, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, I admit that I judged this book on title alone. One glance at the title and I knew I had to read it! I needed to find out the story between the pages.

I flipped to chapter one and read, “God lives at the circus.” And burst out laughing. I love it when a book has a great first line followed by a captivating paragraph. This book does not disappoint. It goes on to lift the mystical veil that shrouds the enchanted, magical world of the circus. It hands you a back stage pass and gives you an in-depth, up-close-and-personal, behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the performers.

I loved this story with its unusual setting, plot and cast of characters. Each character was unique and Dana Mentink wrote them with a consistency that is refreshing and believable.

This story is packed with action, emotion and humor. It had me laughing, holding my breath and aching with the characters as they struggled to solve the mysterious events while protecting the unity of their “family.” Mentink has crafted a tale that takes the reader on a journey where jealousy, deceit, murder, lust, love, danger and mystery crowd the pages. And that’s all behind the scenes.

Pi learns patience, trust and forgiveness when she is betrayed by a friend and left with a broken heart. She’s thrown into the spotlight when she discovers a body in the surf and finds herself questioning the people who have been her family since the death of her mother. She’s keeping a secret from the police, but will it come back to haunt her?

This cast of quirky characters will draw you into their lives and stay with you long after the last page is read. This story is unique in its setting surrounding the circus and its mysteries. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fresh read that is guaranteed to make you laugh and keeps you guessing until the very end.