About The Illusionist’s Apprentice
- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 7, 2017)
Prepare to be amazed by THE ILLUSIONIST’S APPRENTICE. Wren Lockhart, the talented magician at the heart of Kristy Cambron’s spellbinding tale of Jazz Age Boston, is the fierce, brilliant, guarded headliner you’ve been waiting for. This novel will have your pulse pounding and your mind racing to keep up with reversals, betrayals and surprises from the first page to the last. Like her characters, Cambron works magic so compelling and persuasive, she deserves a standing ovation. –Greer Macallister, bestselling author of THE MAGICIAN’S LIE and GIRL IN DISGUISE.
Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.
Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.
In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.
Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.
‘Cambron takes readers on an amazing journey into the world of vaudeville illusionists during the Roaring Twenties. This novel includes an intriguing mystery that adds adventure and suspense to the intricately detailed historical drama . . . The romance is wonderfully portrayed as well, rounding out the story with tenderness.’ (RT Book Reviews – 4 1/2 stars TOP PICK)
“Cambron’s lithe prose pulls together past and present and her attention to historical detail grounds the narrative to the last breathtaking moments.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)
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Review: Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. This story was wonderful and the cover is just stunning. I'm a sucker for good covers.
What I found interesting about this book was that it gives the impression of being a mystery, and it is, but it really is the story of Wren and Elliot and how they fall in love. Its not an obvious love story either, it builds slowly as things progress and there is more danger, as they search for answers into how a man was supposedly raised from the dead and died seconds later.
Wren gets dragged into the FBI investigation and Elliot gets drawn into the vaudeville world. As we learn more about the case we also get Wren's backstory, as her real identity comes into play and is part of the reason Elliot needed her help. Wren was Harry Houdini's assistant before his death, and she helped him prove that people like Horace Stapleton were frauds.
It's Stapleton that has tried to bring a man back from the dead and that man is who gets Wren pulled in.
The best part of this novel are the bits of Wren's life before she came to New York. You get a glimpse at how she became the quirky performer that she is. Its through these parts of the that you finally piece together what was going on, and how she was connected to this.
My heart broke for Wren many times in this story. She lost so much and had so much responsibility
This was such a beautifully written book. Kristy's writing reminds me a bit of Rhys Bowen, especially her Molly Murphy series.
This is a must read for historical fiction lovers.
What I found interesting about this book was that it gives the impression of being a mystery, and it is, but it really is the story of Wren and Elliot and how they fall in love. Its not an obvious love story either, it builds slowly as things progress and there is more danger, as they search for answers into how a man was supposedly raised from the dead and died seconds later.
Wren gets dragged into the FBI investigation and Elliot gets drawn into the vaudeville world. As we learn more about the case we also get Wren's backstory, as her real identity comes into play and is part of the reason Elliot needed her help. Wren was Harry Houdini's assistant before his death, and she helped him prove that people like Horace Stapleton were frauds.
It's Stapleton that has tried to bring a man back from the dead and that man is who gets Wren pulled in.
The best part of this novel are the bits of Wren's life before she came to New York. You get a glimpse at how she became the quirky performer that she is. Its through these parts of the that you finally piece together what was going on, and how she was connected to this.
My heart broke for Wren many times in this story. She lost so much and had so much responsibility
This was such a beautifully written book. Kristy's writing reminds me a bit of Rhys Bowen, especially her Molly Murphy series.
This is a must read for historical fiction lovers.
Rating: 5 flowers
2 comments:
Historical fiction is perhaps my very favorite genre. I rarely find a HistFic novel that I don't enjoy. This sounds like an excellent one to add to my TBR list!
Thanks for being a part of the tour.
Sounds like one I would enjoy. I'm enjoying looking at your blog.
Ann
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