AFTER ASSASSINATING A BAD GUY IN BEIRUT at the turn of this century, the sniper completely vanishes. He becomes Bingo the Elf, eventually headlining his own show in Vegas. A full-time elf, the diminutive Bingo is never without the clothes, shoes, hat, even the ears of his new identity. An odd little elf doing an even odder magic act, he manages to sell enough tickets to his shows to keep the lights on.
Magenta, once a homeless street magician, has become a tech billionaire. She still loves magic, is the owner of a Magic Castle–type joint, and cares deeply about magic’s image in the world. Alister is a magician and a pedophile, and Magenta knows it’s only a matter of time before he makes magic look very, very bad. With all the tech at her fingertips, and enough money to get what she wants, she discovers just who Bingo once was.
Magenta approaches Bingo for one more hit, this time for magic’s good name (and a chance to make his glued-on elf ears permanent). It’s not easy, but with sex, money, and threats, Magenta contracts Bingo to whack Alister. As cover for the deed, Bingo goes on the road for the Bingo Bongo Bango Tour, along with Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller. While playing comedy clubs in Florida, things go very wrong, and many more people than Alister lose their lives.
The cast of characters are all real Vegas magicians and real friends of Penn, but some of the murders might be made up.
PENN JILLETTE is a cultural phenomenon as a solo personality and as half of the world-famous Emmy Award–winning magic duo Penn & Teller, whose live show spent years on Broadway and is now the longest-running headlining show in Las Vegas. The pair have their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jillette cohosted the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit! which was nominated for thirteen Emmy Awards and won him a Writers Guild Award. He currently cohosts the CW Network competition series Penn & Teller: Fool Us! He recently delighted audiences with a memorable supporting role in the celebrated film Marty Supreme. His weekly podcast, Penn’s Sunday School, was the number one downloaded podcast on iTunes during its debut week and was named by iTunes as Best New Comedy Podcast. Jillette is the author of numerous books, including, most recently, the novels Felony Juggler and Random, and the nonfiction New York Times best-selling books Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales and God No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales; the novel Sock; and the essay collection Every Day Is an Atheist Holiday!