The Illusionist's Apprentice
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Set during one of the richest, most vibrant eras in American history, this Jazz Age novel tracks Houdini's assistant in a world of misdirection, suspense, and forgotten pasts to remind us that not all illusions happen on the stage.
Wren Lockhart, apprentice to master illusionist Harry Houdini, uses life on a vaudeville stage to escape the pain of her past. She continues her career of illusion after her mentor's death, intent on burying her true identity.
But when a rival performer's act goes tragically wrong, the newly formed FBI calls on Wren to speak the truth--and reveal her real name to the world. She transfers her skills for misdirection from the stage to the back halls of vaudeville, as she finds herself the unlikely partner in the FBI's investigation. All the while Houdini's words echo in her mind: Whatever occurs, the crowd must believe it's what you meant to happen. She knows that if anyone digs too deep, secrets long kept hidden may find their way to the surface--and shatter her carefully controlled world.
Historical fiction with a dash of suspenseStand-alone novelBook length: 99,000 wordsIncludes discussion questions for book clubs
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cambron (Butterfly and the Violin) brilliantly weaves a tale of intrigue and history, using Houdini's disdain for debates about magic vs. illusion as her premise. Stapleton, a vaudeville performer, debunked by Houdini as a fraud several years earlier, decides to restore his reputation by publicly bringing a man back to life 20 years after the man's death. The performance, which takes place in the months after Houdini's own death, is attended by Jenny "Wren" Lockhart, Houdini's trusted apprentice and prot g . Stapleton summons the man to rise from the coffin, but shortly after he rises, before he is able to speak, the man promptly keels over dead again. In the background watching this incident stand FBI agent Elliott Matthews and the wealthy widow Amber Dover, a colorful character who married into society but comes from a vaudeville background. Suspicious of both Wren and Amber, Elliott's instincts lead him to investigate their potential involvement in the bizarre resurrection and potential murder. Wren unwittingly becomes entwined with FBI agent Elliot, initially to solve the case of what exactly happened to the "dead" man but eventually to pursue her budding affection for Elliot. Cambron's lithe prose pulls together past and present and her attention to historical detail grounds the narrative to the last breathtaking moments.
