There Was a Little Girl — Ed McBain

There was a little girl who had a little girl who had a little girl.

The only man who can. unravel that riddle is lying in a Florida hospital, battling for his life after being gunned down outside a Calusa bar. Now Matthew Hope's best friends are fanning out into the heat, retracing his footsteps, desperately trying to discover who wanted him dead. They find pieces of a baffling puzzle: a circus teeming with animal trainers, freaks, and carnal knowledge; a curvacious three-foot woman who died a brutal death; a big Florida land deal. How do they fit together? His mind flickering in and out of consciousness, Matthew Hope knows the answer. So does a killer--waiting for him to live, or die.