The Zig Zag Girl (Magic Men Series #1)

by Elly Griffiths

Overview

The chilling debut mystery in the Brighton Mysteries series from Edgar Allen Poe Award-winner Elly Griffiths—author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries—about a band of magicians who served together in World War II tracking a killer who’s performing their deadly tricks.
“Captivating.”—Wall Street Journal

“An absorbing read, the debut of another great series.”—San Jose Mercury News

“A labyrinthine plot, a splendid reveal, and superb evocation of the wafer-thin veneer of glamour at the bottom end of showbusiness . . . Thoroughly enjoyable.” —Guardian

Brighton, 1950. A girl is found cut into three sections, and Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is convinced the killer is mimicking a famous magic trick—the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, served with Edgar in a special ops group called the Magic Men that used stage illusions to confound the enemy. Max still performs, touring with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls.

When Edgar asks for his help with the case, Max tells him to identify the victim, for it takes a special sidekick to do the Zig Zag Girl. Those words haunt Max when he learns the victim was a favorite former assistant of his own. And when Edgar receives a letter warning of another “trick” on the way, he realizes that it is the Magic Men themselves who are in the killer’s sights.

“Enormously engaging . . . Griffiths’s plot is satisfyingly serpentine.”—Daily Mail

“Readers will finish looking forward to the next trick up [Griffiths’s] sleeve.”—Mystery Scene

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544527997
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Series:	Magic Men Mystery Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	99,640
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Elly Griffiths is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel; The Postscript Murders; and Bleeding Heart Yard. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England.

Editorial Reviews

07/13/2015
Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Griffiths (The Crossing Places) launches a new series with this engaging mystery set in Brighton, England, in 1950. The Magic Men, a group of stage magicians who performed special missions during WWII, have since gone their separate ways. Only one, Max Mephisto, is still earning top billing on the variety circuit. Others have become a police officer, a wisecracking comedian, a carpenter. The oldest of the group has drifted lower and lower in the profession, performing to bored audiences in sleazy strip clubs. The gruesome murder of a glamorous magician’s stage assistant draws the former team back together. The portrayal of the backstage life and the onstage performances of illusionists forms a fascinating backdrop to the main action. Brief flashbacks to the Magic Men’s wartime missions provide an equally gripping backstory. As the plot deepens, Griffiths’s tone darkens, leading to a series of surprise twists. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of Max and company. Agent: Rebecca Carter, Janklow & Nesbit. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Great Fall Thrillers "Clever, immensely likeable...Captivating...The Zig Zag Girl is old-fashioned in the best ways." —The Wall Street Journal “With a labyrinthine plot, a splendid reveal and superb evocation of the wafer-thin veneer of glamour at the bottom end of showbusiness, this is thoroughly enjoyable.” —The Guardian’s “Best Crime Novels Round-Up” "With her cast of quirky characters, her excellent plotting, and a twist that readers won't see coming, readers will finish looking forward to the next trick up [Griffiths's] sleeve." —Mystery Scene   “An interesting change of direction for the talented Griffiths…Enormously engaging…Post-war Brighton, and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory, and Griffiths’ plot is satisfyingly serpentine…Subtle, charming and very good indeed.” —The Daily Mail   “A colourful crowd of ventriloquists and sword-swallowers, a world lovingly re-created in this original, lively and gripping work.” —The Independent   “Elly Griffiths’ compelling novel The Zig Zag Girl takes readers on a wild ride full of mayhem, magic, and murder… Griffiths expertly weaves together Edgar’s past and present into one fascinating mystery that will have readers hooked from the very start… Capturing both the vibrant qualities of the theater community while also expertly capturing its dark side, Griffiths creates a world where nothing is as it truly appears to be.” —The Absolute   “One to look forward to.” —BookPage "Griffiths weaves a compelling tale rich with historical detail and a cast of eccentric characters."  —Kirkus "Griffiths’s ability to imbue atmosphere and create fascinating characters continues to make her an author every mystery lover should be reading. Lacking the usual forensics and druids of her previous series, this title may especially appeal to cozy and historical mystery fans." —Library Journal "Engaging...The portrayal of the backstage life and the onstage performances of illusionists forms a fascinating backdrop to the main action. Brief flashbacks to the Magic Men’s wartime missions provide an equally gripping backstory. As the plot deepens, Griffiths’s tone darkens, leading to a series of surprise twists. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of Max and company." —Publishers Weekly —

From the Publisher

Enormously engaging…Postwar Brighton and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory…Subtle, charming, and very good.”

Daily Mail (London)

Captivating…The Zig Zag Girl is old-fashioned in the best ways.”

Wall Street Journal

With a labyrinthine plot, a splendid reveal, and superb evocation of the wafer-thin veneer of glamour at the bottom end of show business, this is thoroughly enjoyable.”

Guardian

[A] captivating reimagining.”

BookPage

Some killers get inspiration from the police blotter; others copy … magicians? A troupe of magicians who served in WWII (using trickery to blindside the enemy) must figure out who is performing these fatal imitations—and why.”

Entertainment Weekly

The setting of the shabby, postwar beach town during the 1950s adds a rich dimension to the novel, both in terms of atmosphere and in giving the story a classic mystery feel—crime in a pre-electronic age, before cell phones and DNA, when crimes were solved by face-to-face investigation and inspired deduction. An original plot and appealingly quirky characters round out the appeal of this thoroughly entertaining tale.”

Booklist

07/01/2015
Griffiths, acclaimed for her excellent contemporary mysteries featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway (The Ghost Fields), launches a new series set in 1950 Brighton, England. DI Edgar Stephens joined the police force after serving with a unique special ops troop, the Magic Men, that used props and stage tricks to deceive the enemy during World War II. When the body of a woman, cut into three pieces, is found, Edgar is reminded of the Zig Zag Girl magic trick that one of his fellow Magic Men, magician Max Mephisto, performed on stage. Trying to identify the woman and the killer, Edgar seeks Max's help with the investigation. Mysterious notes and a second killing soon make it clear that all of the former Magic Men are in danger, and Edgar and Max need to find the culprit before they're the next victims. VERDICT Griffiths's ability to imbue atmosphere and create fascinating characters continues to make her an author every mystery lover should be reading. Lacking the usual forensics and druids of her previous series, this title may especially appeal to cozy and historical mystery fans. [See Kristi Chadwick's mystery spotlight feature, "Not Your Usual Suspects," LJ 4/15/15.]—Melissa DeWild, BookOps, NYPL

Library Journal

2015-07-01
A series of bizarre murders in post-World War II England appears to be connected to the Magic Men, magicians who were part of a special ops group during the war, in this whodunit set in the world of tricks and illusion.It's 1950, and Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is settling into his new life with the Brighton police. An Oxford student before the war, Edgar was recruited by MI5 to join the Magic Men because of his aptitude for crosswords and codes. Including magicians Max Mephisto, Stan "The Great Diablo" Parks, Tony Mulholland, and a handful of others who made up the ragtag squad, the men—and one alluring woman—worked to play elaborate tricks on the Germans. Edgar thought his magic days were behind him until two trunks containing a woman's dismembered body turn up in the Brighton train station's left luggage area, the torso conspicuously missing. The next day, another case arrives at the police station, addressed to Edgar, with the missing torso. Edgar is convinced the killer is mimicking an old trick of Max's where the magician pretends to chop his assistant into bits, the titular Zig Zag Girl. Edgar tracks down his old friend, who's still performing, despite the public's waning fascination with variety shows—television is on the horizon, after all. The pair identifies the dead woman as Max's old assistant and, in a somewhat predictable but still engaging game of cat and mouse with the killer, tries to find the rest of the Magic Men before it's too late. Griffiths (The Ghost Fields, 2015, etc.) weaves a compelling tale rich with historical detail and a cast of eccentric characters.

Kirkus Reviews