City Gone Askew (Brooklyn 8 Ballo Mystery 2) by Matt Cost-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 31, 2024

8 discovers that a priceless Aquila—an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago—was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan.

As 8 peels back layers of the underbelly of 1920s Brooklyn, the more complicated and dangerous it becomes for him and those who are important to him. What is happening at Cold Spring Harbor with Herman Wall and the eugenics movement? Who are the mysterious Germans threatening 8? And what is the identity of the charismatic Grand Cyclops? 8 must race against time to uncover the truth and put a stop to the most chilling triumvirate ever conceived.

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REVIEW:CITY GONE ASKEW is the second instalment in Matt Cost’s historical, adult BROOKLYN 8 BALLO noir mystery, crime series set in the roaring 20s, focusing on Brooklyn PI 8 Ballo.

Told from limited omniscient third person perspective, using both historical fact and fiction, CITY GONE ASKEW is set in 1924. PI 8 Ballo has been hired by Theda Vogel, the widow of Dr. Karl Vogel, a man she claims was killed on the hunt for the elusive Aquila-the Standard of the Roman Legion. The Great War has ended: the power of the Irish and Italian mobsters is fast accelerating, and Hitler’s rise to power is claiming supporters in America in the name of Eugenics and Anti-Immigration. As 8 Ballo, and his friends including partner Asta Holm, and African American businessman Pearle Hill search for the people responsible for the murder of Theda Vogel’s husband, 8 finds himself facing down the KKK, and the ongoing practice of sterilization, eugenics and the rise of Nazism in America. 8 Ballo will be thankful for the support of Arnold Rothstein, Bugsy Siegal, Myer Lansky, and Dorothy Parker, friends in both low and high places. As racism and discrimination run rampant including Brooklyn’s law enforcement, the corruption goes higher, possibly to the top of power in the USA.

Once again, there is another large ensemble cast of who’s who of the famous and infamous: sports stars and writers, gangsters and speakeasies, prohibition and gambling; racism and discrimination, murder and corruption. The cast of characters is animated, and imaginative; the premise is dramatic and edgy.

CLICK HERE for Sandy’s review of book one VELMA GONE AWRY

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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Over the years, Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable.

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.