Brighton, 1950.
When
the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar
Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.
The
inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They
served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic
Men.
Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the
company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing
times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to
leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl
turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind.
Another
death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the
answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a
letter warning of another ‘trick’, the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are
all in danger…
The Zig Zag Girl is the first book in the Brighton Mysteries series. The main characters are two men who were WWII army buddies. Edgar Stephens is a Detective Inspector, and Max Mephisto is a famous magician. Edgar searches for Max when he investigates the murder of a woman cut into three pieces, like Max’s Zig Zag Girl illusion. In this illusion, he pushes the middle section of his assistant to the left to cause the Zig Zag.
What I liked:
The characters are a unique pair. DI Stephens is a good detective, but he deals with a lot of resistance from his superiors and co-workers because of his advanced education. Also, he was in an intelligence group during the war, making some of his peers jealous.
Max is one of the best know magicians of the time. He worries about his popularity coming to an end. When Edgar looks for insight into his illusions and the people who worked with him, they become a team reminiscent of their collaborations during the war.
The setting of post-World War II England. People are trying to find their way after the devastation to the country. The atmospheric descriptions add a gloomy level to the story.
What I didn’t like:
It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story. Part of that is because I had to adjust my brain to interpret the British spelling of words. I would get to some words and need to reread the paragraph because my brain registered a typo. This is on me, not the author, but I don’t have this problem with other British writers, so I’m not sure why it slowed me down.
Overall, I liked The Zig Zag Girl, but I didn’t love it. I do love the potential of these characters. I will read a few more books in this series to see where the author will take the characters. Also, I noticed that Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series is top-rated. I’m going to check those out too.
3 1/2 Stars
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