Showing The Paper Grail by James P. Blaylock

A strange man (named Howard) on a strange quest (for a Paper Grail) in a strange land (California)... A lot of fuss for a folded scrap of paper. But considering all the odd people searching for the Grail, it must be something special. Something magical...

Howard Barton comes to the remote northern coast of California in search of a folded scrap of paper rumoured to bear a sketch by the legendary Japanese artist Hokusai. Unfortunately, there are plenty of others in search of the Paper Grail....

Mrs Lamey, who waters her garden with blood, among other strange and noxious substances; the enigmatic Mr Jimmers, whose garden shed conceals a bizarre invention designed to raise the dead; Uncle Roy, founder of The Museum of Modern Mysteries and builder of haunted houses.

In Mendocino, nothing is what it first appears...but everything is connected, and Howard will have to work out whose side he's on, as he is led into a vicious battle between mysterious underground societies....