I found a little gem of a book this week at the library called The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister.
The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her time. And right now she’s sawing a man in half, blood spurting everywhere, the crowd wondering how she’s doing this, her power of illusions daunting the audience. As the trick is completed and the man is revealed to be in one healthy piece, the crowd goes wild with excitement. The show is a success.
But it’s what happens after the show that begins this story. A man is found dead with an axe buried in him right in the box where Arden sawed a man in half during the show. He’s not just any man. This man is Ardens’s husband…or is it?
The search for Arden begins. But one lone cop, Virgil Holt, finds her at a diner and takes her with him to the station where only he and she will battle out if she’s innocent or guilty.
Arden begins to tell her story of a terrible cousin who inflicts pain because he believes he can heal, of a magical ability she possesses, of a true and rapturous love that grows beyond time and distance, of fate playing nasty games with her life. The story captures Virgil and the reader, and we are left to wonder if it’s all real or a lie. Who is the man dead beneath the stage of Arden’s last performance? Who is Arden really? And can we trust her?
This book is lovely in its scope. Greer Macallister’s words are spellbinding and enraptured me from the start. She knows how to tell a story. If you want to be enchanted, read this magical novel.
Cozy Corner 