Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Houdini Specter
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Will Harry Houdini’s penchant for exposing the trickery of mediums get him into a deeper mystery than he can handle?
Still struggling to make a name for himself in turn-of-the-century New York, Harry Houdini sees an opportunity for glory in exposing the tricks of the medium Lucius Craig. But to do so, he must work out how the medium managed to conjure a “spirit” while tied to a chair by Houdini himself—and how the apparition was able to stab an audience member to death and then disappear.
The Houdini Specter is the third thrilling adventure in a Sherlock Holmes-inspired series starring the legendary magician.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stashower's work as a magician pays big dividends in his third devilishly clever period whodunit featuring the legendary escape artist as Sherlock Holmes stand-in, after 2012's The Floating Lady Murder. Houdini is not yet the international sensation he would eventually become; for now, he and his brother, who goes by the name of Dash Hardeen, must hustle to make ends meet. Houdini becomes fascinated with a reputed medium, Lucius Craig, after learning of his ostensibly supernatural abilities from a friendly journalist. Curious, the brothers wangle their way into a Manhattan s ance, where things take a violent turn. With the participants linked by each other's hands, and Craig tied to a chair, somehow a luminous "spirit" appears and stabs one of the attendees to death. The impossible crime setup is enhanced by humor, as Houdini often falls a bit short of the Baker Street sleuth he so desperately tries to emulate. The resolution isn't as clever as in certain other magician-detective novels, such as those featuring the Great Merlini, but engaging characters and a fun story line make further exploits welcome.
