Balloons of the Apocalypse

For most of his cases involving marriage, Marlowe finds himself checking up on one unhappy spouse at the behest of another unhappy spouse.

Nothing personal, just an unpleasant job.

But not this time. Now he's the spouse, and if he can't trust Nina, his new wife and old bodyguard, they're both in big trouble.

Because while their honeymoon destination, Beet City, has a reputation as a tourist mecca, it's also the holy seat of a powerful cult that worships the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven.

What was supposed to be a routine undercover sham marriage in order to spy on a powerful cult bent on world domination quickly turns dangerous.

Marlowe and Nina must navigate cult indoctrination, mandatory public transportation, and the constantly blaring symphonies of Beethoven in order to discover the secret that lies in the 10th Circle of Beet City.

Instead of celebrating their fraudulent nuptials, they find themselves dodging goons, baton blasters, and artificially intelligent artillery.

Will they divorce and their union just become another statistic?

Will they discover the secret of the 10th Circle in time?

Will they live to tell the tale?

And what is Marlowe's old enemy, Obedere, up to with all those steam-powered pigs?