The Vanishing Box

August 20, 2018
At the start of Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Griffiths’s solid fourth Magic Men mystery (after 2017’s The Blood Card), stage magician Max Mephisto and his daughter, Ruby French, are headlining a variety show in Brighton, England, during the 1953 holiday season. Meanwhile, Det. Insp. Edgar Stephens—Max’s friend and former military colleague, and Ruby’s fiancé—investigates the murder of a young woman with ties to a female troupe performing in the same show. As more deaths follow, a ruthless killer threatens Max’s new love interest, Sgt. Emma Holmes, who’s Edgar’s colleague. Series fans will appreciate the developments in the various relationships, but they and new readers might wish for more insight into characters’ personalities and motives. That said, Griffiths nicely evokes the post-WWII zeitgeist in Britain, incorporating details about hypocritical censorship laws and the theatrical lifestyle. Those who favor human intrigues over crime solving should find this a charming holiday read. Agent: Rebecca Carter, Janklow & Nesbit (U.K.).

Narrator James Langton and author Elly Griffiths team up winningly again in the fourth outing of magician Max Mephisto and DI Edgar Stephens in 1950s Brighton, England. Mephisto is an inveterate ladies man and Stephens a sincere, straight-arrow fellow, a difference that complicates their approach to the mystery--the murder of performers in the risqu� "living statues" show at the Hippodrome. The plethora of characters gives Langton ample opportunity to demonstrate his skill with a variety of British accents, which enhance the story's color and strengthen Griffiths's commentary about social class in post-WWII England. In addition, Langton's narrative voice is light, relaxed, and easy on the ear. What a fun listen. A.C.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine