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The smell at the Brighton train station led the police to find the head and legs of a woman packed in two cases. Shortly thereafter, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens receives the body’s torso in a package addressed to him, using his recent World War II rank of Captain.
The body reminds Edgar of an old magic trick called the “Zig Zag Girl” perfected by Max Mephisto. The men served together in a special unit called the “Magic Men,” and Mephisto is still performing on the circuit but sees that times are changing.
Stephens gets Mephisto to help him investigate, and the time period is classic mystery era, pre-cell phones, computers or DNA, when murders were solved by face-to-face investigation and brilliant deduction.
Another death attributed to a magic trick amps up the tension, especially as Edgar realizes the Magic Men are being targeted. The setting of the shabby, post-war beach town during the 1950’s adds another layer to the story. This is a clever, original plot and the quirky characters bring it all to life in this well written mystery. Classic mystery fans will find this an enjoyable read.
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9/15 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE ZIG ZAG GIRL by Elly Griffiths. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 15, 2015). ISBN 978-0544527942. 336p.
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