The Magician's Lie

The Magician's Lie by Greer MacAllister

Blurb:

"The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her incredible trick of sawing a man in half onstage. One night in Waterloo, Iowa, with young policeman Virgil Holt watching from the audience, she swaps her trademark saw for a fire ax. Is it a new version of the illusion, or an all-too-real murder? When Arden's husband is found lifeless beneath the stage later that night, the answer seems clear. But when Virgil happens upon the fleeing magician and takes her into custody, she has a very different story to tell.  Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless--and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie night, the magician will need to pull off one final act--this time with her life at stake."

My Review:

This book is definitely captivating. It drew me in from the beginning, and I was hooked. It is well written with descriptive language and great character development. I thought Arden, Clyde, Adelaide, and Ray were especially well done. They came to life on the page. You could feel Arden's excitement while on stage, and you could feel her hesitations and fears. For a lot of the book Clyde seems a bit mysterious, and I think that was done purposefully. Can you trust him? What are his intentions and motives? Even though he's a bit mysterious, he is still well developed. Ray is.......well.....I'll let you figure that one out, but let's just say that I don't like him and his character is developed a little too well for me......I loved Adelaide's character even though she isn't in the entire book. I loved how she brought Arden down to earth, and was motherly yet not. She grounded Arden, and I liked that. Virgil was an interesting character. You don't know much about him at the beginning, yet he's a likable character and you can tell that there is something he wants from all of this. His motives become a little more clear as you're reading. The story flows well and is easy to understand. It's intriguing, and I couldn't put it down. It's interesting because the whole time I was reading I was wondering if the entire story was a lie or if it was the truth. That's one of the reasons I had to keep reading; I had to know what really happened!

This book has some profanity in it, although not much. There is a lot of domestic violence and abuse in this book, and it is difficult and uncomfortable to read. There is a murder. There is also a scene where many people die a horrific death, and that scene is actually based on a real event. It's bad. The other thing that this book contains is a lot of "intimacy." There is one scene in particular....I haven't read a scene like that in a long time. It is very detailed and passionate, let's just say that. So be prepared. I thought it was definitely too much. One other silly thing that bugged me was the cover. If you look at it, it doesn't work. The hand that is holding the bird can't be the lady wearing the dress, it doesn't work. Silly, I know. With the exception of a few of those previously mentioned scenes, I really enjoyed the book and the story line. It would have been really good had those things been toned done a bit.

Rating: R (Not appropriate for younger viewers!! Domestic violence, murder, many people die a horrific death, and a lot of detailed "intimacy.")

Recommendation: Adult

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.