The blood card

British science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke's third law dictates that Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Television? What's a master magician to do? Adapt? In 1953 London, Max Mephisto is about to make his TV debut on a variety show being planned to follow Queen Elizabeth's coronation. The small screen has come to represent the wonder of the new Elizabethan age. While threats of violence loom over the royal event, DI Edgar Stephens is in Brighton investigating the death of a local fortune teller. He then flies to New York after the murder of the commanding officer of Max and Edgar's WWII unit, called the Magic Men. The author skillfully connects these incongruous elements, and both men end up racing the clock together to prevent a national catastrophe. This third Magic Men mystery from the award-winning Griffiths (after Smoke and Mirrors, 2016) is amusing, atmospheric, and thoroughly engaging, providing an insightful look at vaudeville and the art of legerdemain. Perfect for fans of the eccentric (and often endearing) characters created by Simon Brett and Christopher Fowler.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2017 Booklist

In Mary Higgins Clark Award-winner Griffiths's uneven third Magic Men mystery (after 2016's Smoke and Mirrors), magician Max Mephisto and Det. Insp. Edgar Stephens, who collaborated to misdirect German troops during WWII, reunite in 1953 London when their former colonel is murdered. Clues, including a newspaper clipping, an old playbill, and the ace of hearts (the titular "blood card"), point to a theater element and an anarchist cell plotting to disrupt Elizabeth II's upcoming coronation. With Mephisto preparing to headline a postcoronation TV show, Stephens flies alone to Albany, N.Y., to pursue a lead. Meanwhile, his astute sergeant, Emma Holmes, investigates a link to the recent death of a fortune-teller. The shaky plot relies heavily on coincidence and a gratuitously helpful criminal, but Griffiths excels at depicting the post-WWII transition from variety shows to television. A love triangle involving Holmes, Stephens, and aspiring magician Ruby French, the detective's fiancée and Mephisto's daughter, adds a human-interest angle likely to engage both series fans and new readers. Agent: Rebecca Carter, Janklow & Nesbit (U.K.). (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

In 1953, as Elizabeth II's coronation is imminent, DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto are distracted by the murder of Colonel Cartwright, commander of the Magic Men unit during World War II. Cartwright is found with the ace of hearts (the ostensible blood card) and a playbill featuring a colleague from their war years. Stephens is also probing the death of fortune-teller Madame Zabini while -Mephisto and his daughter Ruby are preparing for a televised variety show to air on coronation day. Clues lead Stephens and Mephisto to an anarchist scheme to disrupt the coronation and send Stephens to New York in pursuit of a mesmerist tied to their cases. Mephisto must perform his greatest illusion on live TV to thwart the conspiracy. VERDICT In this third series entry (The Zig Zag Girl and Smoke and Mirrors), multiple plotlines and instances of coincidence may become tiresome, but evocative postwar settings and appealing characters should draw in new and old readers alike. Fans wanting to know more about the real special ops Magic Gang team should check out David Fisher's book The War Magician currently under development as a film starring -Benedict -Cumberbatch.-ACT © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A policeman, a magician, and a fortuneteller all take a hand in solving several murders in 1953 London.DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto served together in the Magic Men, a World War II special ops group. When Max gets a note from Gen. D.N. Petre asking to meet him, Edgar joins him, and both learn that Col. Cartwright, their former commanding officer, has been found stabbed to death. Certain objects in his roomnewspaper clippings, a theatrical fly sheet, an upstate New York phone number, and the ace of hearts, which Max calls "the blood card"have led Petre to fear that this was no simple robbery/murder. Suspecting a plot to disrupt the impending coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, he instructs Edgar to fly to America. While he's waiting for the paperwork to come through, Edgar gets swept back into another case he and his team had already been investigating: the death of Madame Zabini, a Romany woman who took a header off Brighton Pier. When he and DS Emma Holmeswho's in love with himvisit the dead woman's son, Tol, a knife thrower-turned-chef, they're shown a note linking Madame Zabini's death to the Magic Men and discover a connection to Cartwright's death, too. Arriving in Albany a few days later, Edgar discovers that the man he planned to interview has just been killed in a hit-and-run accident. Narrowly escaping the same fate, Edgar picks up a few clues to a mysterious anarchist group. Max, meantime, tries to hunt down former Magic Men members mentioned in the fly sheet and discovers that many are dead. Edgar's fiancee, Max's daughter Ruby, an aspiring magician, is thrilled when she's hired along with the more ambivalent Max for a post-coronation TV show that will be seen by millions. As Coronation Day approaches, the sleuths wonder whether all these mysteries are tied to the Magic Men's past. In the third case for the Magic Men (Smoke and Mirrors, 2016, etc.), half the fun is the journey through postwar England to the surprising denouement. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.