The Black Monday murders

The Black Monday Murders posits a compelling, if outlandish, explanation for how Wall Street has managed to reap limitless rewards without answering for its amoral behavior or the harm it has caused to countless individuals: for centuries, the global financial industry has been ruled by an Illuminati-like cult of black magicians, who maintain their power through blood sacrifice. When a prominent investment banker is murdered in a ritualistic fashion, a reticent police detective with some knowledge of the black arts is assigned to the case, hinting at the possibility that the occult conspiracy may at last be uncovered. Coker's photo-realistic artwork moors the outré happenings in a recognizable world, with enough artistic flair and storytelling chops to make even a five-page scene in a college lecture room visually arresting. In these initial stories in an ongoing series, Hickman has only begun to unveil the curtain on the various members of the cartel and their shadowy history, showing that he's in for the long haul; readers should be eager to join him for the ride.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2017 Booklist

Hickman (East of West) opens the curtain on this tale of a cabal and the trail of bodies they leave behind, all in the service of Mammon. After setting the scene with the crash of 1929, the story moves to various locations in the present, interspersed with "redacted files" that reinforce the atmosphere of conspiracies and cover-ups. Daniel Rothschild, current holder of the Rothschild seat in the banking cartel that controls much of the world's economy, has been found ritually murdered. The crime calls for the unorthodox skills of Det. Theodore Dumas, an officer who keeps his grandfather's finger bones in the same drawer as his handgun. Daniel's death also presents an opportunity for his twin sister, Grigoria, to return from her long banishment and take up the Rothschild seat as well as to seek retribution for both her banishment and her brother's death. Coker's noir art style is a perfect match for this brutal story, with the colors provided by Michael Garland leaning heavily on black and red. This is only the first act of what promises to be a grim, skilled drama. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.