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During the first half of 1966 you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing a great tune by The Bobby Fuller Four titled "I Fought the Law." Written by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets, it was a straight ahead rocker, featuring killer power chords and an instantly memorable melody. Most unforgettable of all, however, was the way that the music stopped, with Fuller singing, "A-robbin' people with a..." While the drummer interrupted the line with four quick hits to the snare, so suddenly that it's still a surprise to hear it, even after hearing the record thousands of times. A follow-up release, "You Know Love's Made a Fool of You," was just entering the charts that summer when the news hit that Fuller was dead. Initial reports were to the effect that he had been found in a car with a bullet wound to the head. Later reports indicated that his bruised and battered body had been found in a pool of gasoline in his mother's garage. The LA Coroner improbably ruled Fuller's death a suicide secondary to gasoline ingestion, though this theory was believed by few, if any.
I first heard the alternative theory of Fuller's death, proposed by John Kaye in THE DEAD CIRCUS, during a telephone conversation a few years ago with an elderly gentleman who, dying of cancer, relayed in a pained long distance whisper a story of anger, jealousy, and revenge. The teller of this tale, a man who had hovered around the flame of fame and fortune but who had never felt its warmth, was insistent that Fuller's death was a mob hit, performed at the behest of a well-known entertainer. The tale, however, as relayed that night, did not quite make sense. Leave it to Kaye, and THE DEAD CIRCUS, to connect the dots and fill in some additional blanks.
THE DEAD CIRCUS is the second of what will be at least a trilogy of novels dealing with Los Angeles in the last half of the 20th Century. The first book in the trilogy, STARS SCREAMING, introduced the Burk Family: Norm, owner of what is repeatedly described as the best newsstand in Los Angeles; his sons Gene, an ex-cop who quit the LA Police department the day after attending the Monterey Pop Festival and who is now a private investigator and avid record collector, and Ray, a screenwriter; and Ray's son Louie, an aspiring actor. STARS SCREAMING primarily concerned Ray; THE DEAD CIRCUS is primarily concerned with Gene. Although it is not necessary to read STARS SCREAMING before THE DEAD CIRCUS, it wouldn't be a bad idea, simply to fully appreciate the kismet that follows these principals like some restless spirit throughout their lives.
Gene was assigned to investigate the Fuller death while he was still with the LA Police Department. He was never satisfied with the official conclusion regarding Fuller's death; in 1986, his simmering obsession boils over, heated by an a personal tragedy of his own, and he begins calling in chits to follow the cold trail of Fuller's death. His obsession causes him to cross paths with a member of Charles Manson's family, who leads him down another path to a second mystery. There have been rumors for years that Manson had videotapes of Hollywood celebrities engaging in sexual acts with members of his family. Gene discovers that these rumors are true --- and that the tapes still exist. Along the way, Gene discovers what appears to be the penultimate truth behind Fuller's death, a truth that will never be revealed to the public at large.
Kaye has a knack for weaving rumor and innuendo into the fabric of history --- hard as it may be to believe, 1985 is, indeed, history --- and utilizing the theory of six degrees of separation to create a compelling story out of the stuff of happenstance and coincidence. One additional element never mentioned in THE DEAD CIRCUS is that Kaye, ironically, bears the same name as the lead singer of one of LA's premiere rock bands, that being John Kay of Steppenwolf. Neither the singer, nor the band, is mentioned in THE DEAD CIRCUS; the temptation to include him, and them, must have been a difficult one to overcome. THE DEAD CIRCUS, in any event, is a fictional walk through a history that ultimately may not be true, but is most certainly accurate. Hopefully, we will not have to wait another five years for its sequel, though any wait, no matter how long, will almost certainly be worth it.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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