Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Dime Museum MurdersDaniel Stashower
Titan Books, February 2012
ISBN: 978-0857682840
When toy tycoon Branford Wintour is found murdered in his Fifth Avenue mansion, detectives call upon Harry Houdini to help solve this mysterious crime. When Harry and his brother Dash reach the scene of the murder, they discover that Wintour was killed seemingly by a magic trick...
The first in a series of Harry Houdini Mysteries.
1897 is a momentous year for Harry Houdini. Not only is he perfecting his act, but the New York police call on him for his expert advice concerning the murder of entrepreneur Branford Wintour. The police believe that Wintour was killed by a defective magic trick.
Houdini goes to the scene of the crime and examines the device thought to have caused the death. The police are certain that the man who supplied the device rigged it to cause the murder, but Houdini is not convinced. When the police make an arrest of a man who Houdini considers innocent, he must use all of his powers, real and magical, to bring the real killer to justice.
Combining elements of magic with mystery, Harry Houdini Mysteries: The Dime Museum Murders is a diverting read. Stashower paints an accurate portrait of 1890s New York and gives good descriptions of city and vaudeville life. The mystery is fascinating and many facts about the history of magic are included for readers entertainment and enlightenment.
DANIEL STASHOWER is a novelist and magician. His works include: the Edgar Award-winning Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle, Elephants in the Distance, The Beautiful Cigar Girl, The Ghosts of Baker Street, and the Sherlock Holmes novel, The Seventh Bullet.
ISBN: 978-0857682840; ISBN10: 0857682849; Imprint: Titan Books; On Sale: 2/7/2012; Format: Paperback; Pages: 256; $12.95
