When the Circus Comes to Town...

Set during the sweltering summer of 1936, The Muleskinner and the King by J. D. Porter is a historical novel that places spectacle alongside suspicion. Framed by the arrival of a travelling circus, the story engages with themes of fear, prejudice, and the search for scapegoats during a period of social and economic strain. This post explores the historical context of the novel and the role the circus plays within it.

✔️ Historical fiction set in 1930s America

✔️ A travelling circus backdrop

✔️ Mystery woven into a period setting

✔️ Themes of prejudice and injustice

✔️ A story told from the margins of society

Check out the blurb:

In the blistering summer of 1936, the traveling circus rolls into Atlanta, dazzling the city with brilliant lights, exotic animals, and the promise of escape. But beneath the spectacle, something sinister stalks the shadows. A string of brutal murders has shaken the city, and the authorities-hungry for quick answers-fix their sights on an innocent young man.

Buddy Griffith, the circus's horse wrangler and elephant man, prefers the steady company of animals to the chaos of people. Yet when fear threatens to shutter the circus and injustice looms, he's drawn into the mystery against his will. Navigating the uneasy divide between circus life and a city simmering with tension, Buddy must confront both the real killer and the dangerous prejudice rising around them.

As the crowds thin, the threats mount, and the noose tightens, Buddy races to uncover the truth-before the circus loses its future, and an innocent man loses his life.

Step into a gripping historical mystery set beneath the lights of a travelling circus. The Muleskinner and the King is available now in ebook and paperback, offering a compelling blend of suspense, atmosphere, and period detail. If you enjoy historical fiction with dark undertones and high stakes, you won’t want to miss this one. Pick up your copy HERE.

J. D. (Doug) Porter developed his love of nature growing up in the piney woods and mangrove swamps of Florida’s gulf coast. He nurtured that passion for more than forty years as he managed parks, zoos, and museums while traveling to such places as the Amazon rain-forest, the Galapagos Islands, the African savanna, and the Arctic tundra. He retired at the end of 2015 to pursue his passion as a writer. He is a zoologist and educator who has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s in adult education. Doug blogs on a range of subjects related to animals, nature, and the environment and has been a regular guest columnist for the Albany Herald newspaper. Doug’s wife, Karen, is an artist and a professional librarian who works as a library media specialist for an elementary school.

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