Rex Koko, Private Clown books in order

Q: "How many books are in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series?"

"There are four books in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series, published between 2011 and 2014."

Q: "What is the first book in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series?"

"The first book in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series is Honk Honk, My Darling, published in 2011."

Q: "What is Clown Noir?"

"Clown Noir is a genre invented by James Finn Garner for the Rex Koko series. It combines the conventions of hard-boiled detective fiction with the world of washed-up circus performers. Think Raymond Chandler meets the big top, with a clown as the wisecracking private eye."

Reading order

#	Title	Published	Author	Buy on Amazon
1	Honk Honk, My Darling	2011	James Finn Garner	Buy
2	Have Yourself a Monkey Little Christmas	2012	James Finn Garner	Buy
3	Double Indignity	2014	James Finn Garner	Buy
4	The Wet Nose of Danger	2014	James Finn Garner	Buy

The Rex Koko, Private Clown series takes place in Top Town, a ghetto full of washed-up circus lifers in the shadow of a big city. Audiences come every night for cheap thrills. Fire eaters perform for gin money. Daredevils cheat death over and over, until they don’t. And watching it all is Rex Koko, a clown who somehow ended up working as a private detective.

James Finn Garner calls this genre “Clown Noir,” and it is exactly what it sounds like. The books have the structure and tone of classic detective fiction, complete with tough-guy narration and dangerous dames, but everything is filtered through the absurdity of circus life. The first book, Honk Honk, My Darling, won the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year for Nontraditional Fiction. The series ran to four books between 2011 and 2014, each one piling on more ridiculous circus-world intrigue while staying true to the conventions of the mystery genre.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books are in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series?

There are four books in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series, published between 2011 and 2014.

What is the first book in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series?

The first book in the Rex Koko, Private Clown series is Honk Honk, My Darling, published in 2011.

What is Clown Noir?

Clown Noir is a genre invented by James Finn Garner for the Rex Koko series. It combines the conventions of hard-boiled detective fiction with the world of washed-up circus performers. Think Raymond Chandler meets the big top, with a clown as the wisecracking private eye.

Reading order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading order