The Circles of Odin — Edward Cline

The time of The Circles of Odin is early September, 1929, after Skeen's case of the Daedàlus Society in July and before he discovers in November a Nazi Bund in Palo Alto, south of San Francisco, Skeen's main venue of his adventures. This ninth title in the Skeen detective series pits the formidable sleuth against a group of Nazi-affiliated cultists who wish to bring about the resurrection of an ancient, storied culture for which there is little archeological evidence, but on which is based the material for scholarly volumes of legend and mythology. His chief nemesis is an organization called The Sons and Daughters of Thule. To bring about the reestablishment of Thule, agents of the Sons and Daughters resort to murder, and target the wealthy of Nob Hill for sacrifices to the Norse god, Odin. An attempt to “offer” Skeen, a resident of Nob Hill, on that altar of sacrifice fails. In trying to identify the elusive killers, Skeen wades into the bizarre world of cultists, rituals, Gothic fantasies, and encounters the ruthless, schizophrenic, and mad believers in the legends of Thule.