Synopses & Reviews
In the first installment of a compelling new series by Elly Griffiths, a band of magicians who served together in World War II track a killer who’s performing their deadly tricks. Brighton, 1950. The body of a girl is found cut into three pieces. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is convinced the killer is mimicking a famous magic trick—the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old war friend of Edgar’s. They served together in a shadowy unit called the Magic Men, a special ops troop that used stage tricks to confound the enemy. Max is on the traveling show circuit, touring seaside towns with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. He’s reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate, but advises him to identify the victim quickly — it takes a special sidekick to do the Zig Zag Girl. Those words come back to haunt Max when the dead girl turns out to be Ethel, one of his best assistants to date. He’s soon at Edgar’s side, hunting for Ethel’s killer. Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max are sure the answer to the murders lies in their army days. And when Edgar receives a letter warning of another “trick” on the way — the Wolf Trap — he knows they’re all in the killer’s sights.
Review
“…Deborah Crombie never falters. Her novels are a delight, and with The Sound of Broken Glass, she keeps her impressive creative streak intact.” Miami Herald
Review
“An intriguing, atmospheric London murder mystery set in both the past and the present.” People
Review
"The unearthing in Norfolk of a WWII-era U.S. plane, with its pilot in his seat and a bullet hole in his temple, propels British author Griffiths's well-crafted seventh mystery featuring forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway (after 2014's The Outcast Dead). The pilot is identified as Frederick J. Blackstock, a scion of a prominent Norfolk family, who served in the American air force, though Fred was supposedly lost at sea in a different plane and presumed dead. The decision of an American TV company to do a program about Norfolk's abandoned airfields brings Frank Barker, an academic Ruth was attracted to while working together on an earlier case, back into her life. The arrival of the film company and Fred's American daughter, Nell Blackstock Goodheart, sets the stage for a series of deaths and personal revelations that culminates in Ruth's being trapped in massive Blackstock Hall during a terrible storm. Griffiths nicely blends history and romance with gothic elements."--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Griffiths, acclaimed for her excellent contemporary mysteries featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway (The Ghost Fields), launches a new series set in 1950 Brighton, England. DI Edgar Stephens joined the police force after serving with a unique special ops troop, the Magic Men, that used props and stage tricks to deceive the enemy during World War II. When the body of a woman, cut into three pieces, is found, Edgar is reminded of the Zig Zag Girl magic trick that one of his fellow Magic Men, magician Max Mephisto, performed on stage. Trying to identify the woman and the killer, Edgar seeks Max’s help with the investigation. Mysterious notes and a second killing soon make it clear that all of the former Magic Men are in danger, and Edgar and Max need to find the culprit before they’re the next victims. VERDICT Griffiths’s ability to imbue atmosphere and create fascinating characters continues to make her an author every mystery lover should be reading. Lacking the usual forensics and druids of her previous series, this title may especially appeal to cozy and historical mystery fans."--Library Journal
Review
"A series of bizarre murders in post–World War II England appears to be connected to the Magic Men, magicians who were part of a special ops group during the war, in this whodunit set in the world of tricks and illusion. It’s 1950, and Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is settling into his new life with the Brighton police. An Oxford student before the war, Edgar was recruited by MI5 to join the Magic Men because of his aptitude for crosswords and codes. Including magicians Max Mephisto, Stan “The Great Diablo” Parks, Tony Mulholland, and a handful of others who made up the ragtag squad, the men—and one alluring woman—worked to play elaborate tricks on the Germans. Edgar thought his magic days were behind him until two trunks containing a woman’s dismembered body turn up in the Brighton train station’s left luggage area, the torso conspicuously missing. The next day, another case arrives at the police station, addressed to Edgar, with the missing torso. Edgar is convinced the killer is mimicking an old trick of Max’s where the magician pretends to chop his assistant into bits, the titular Zig Zag Girl. Edgar tracks down his old friend, who’s still performing, despite the public’s waning fascination with variety shows—television is on the horizon, after all. The pair identifies the dead woman as Max’s old assistant and, in a somewhat predictable but still engaging game of cat and mouse with the killer, tries to find the rest of the Magic Men before it’s too late. Griffiths (
The Ghost Fields, 2015, etc.) weaves a compelling tale rich with historical detail and a cast of eccentric characters."--Kirkus
"Griffiths, acclaimed for her excellent contemporary mysteries featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway (The Ghost Fields), launches a new series set in 1950 Brighton, England. DI Edgar Stephens joined the police force after serving with a unique special ops troop, the Magic Men, that used props and stage tricks to deceive the enemy during World War II. When the body of a woman, cut into three pieces, is found, Edgar is reminded of the Zig Zag Girl magic trick that one of his fellow Magic Men, magician Max Mephisto, performed on stage. Trying to identify the woman and the killer, Edgar seeks Max’s help with the investigation. Mysterious notes and a second killing soon make it clear that all of the former Magic Men are in danger, and Edgar and Max need to find the culprit before they’re the next victims. VERDICT Griffiths’s ability to imbue atmosphere and create fascinating characters continues to make her an author every mystery lover should be reading. Lacking the usual forensics and druids of her previous series, this title may especially appeal to cozy and historical
mystery fans."--Library Journal
"Mary Higgins Clark Award–winner Griffiths (The Crossing Places) launches a new series with this engaging mystery set in Brighton, England, in 1950. The Magic Men, a group of stage magicians who performed special missions during WWII, have since gone their separate ways. Only one, Max Mephisto, is still earning top billing on the variety circuit. Others have become a police officer, a wisecracking comedian, a carpenter. The oldest of the group has drifted lower and lower in the profession, performing to bored audiences in sleazy strip clubs. The gruesome murder of a glamorous magician’s stage assistant draws the former team back together. The portrayal of the backstage life and the onstage performances of illusionists forms a fascinating backdrop to the main action. Brief flashbacks to the Magic Men’s wartime missions provide an equally gripping backstory. As the plot deepens, Griffiths’s tone darkens, leading to a series of surprise twists. Readers will look forward to seeing a lot more of Max and company."--Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are on the case in Deborah Crombies
The Sound of Broken Glass, a captivating mystery that blends a murder from the past with a powerful danger in the present.
When Detective Inspector James joins forces with Detective Inspector Melody Talbot to solve the murder of an esteemed barrister, their investigation leads them to realize that nothing is what it seems—with the crime theyre investigating and their own lives.
With an abundance of twists and turns and intertwining subplots, The Sound of Broken Glass by New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie is an elaborate and engaging page-turner.
Synopsis
In the past . . .
On a blisteringly hot August afternoon in Crystal Palace, once home to the tragically destroyed Great Exhibition, a solitary thirteen-year-old boy meets his next-door neighbor, a recently widowed young teacher hoping to make a new start in the tight-knit South London community. Drawn together by loneliness, the unlikely pair forms a deep connection that ends in a shattering act of betrayal.
In the present . . .
On a cold January morning in London, Detective Inspector Gemma James is back on the job now that her husband, Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, is at home to care for their three-year-old foster daughter. Assigned to lead a Murder Investigation Team in South London, she's assisted by her trusted colleague, newly promoted Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot. Their first case: a crime scene at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace. The victim: a well-respected barrister, found naked, trussed, and apparently strangled. Is it an unsavory accident or murder? In either case, he was not alone, and Gemma's team must find his companion—a search that takes them into unexpected corners and forces them to contemplate unsettling truths about the weaknesses and passions that lead to murder. Ultimately, they will begin to question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.
Synopsis
The macabre discovery of a downed WWII plane with the pilot's skeleton still inside leads Ruth and DCI Nelson to uncover a wealthy family's secrets in the seventh Ruth Galloway mystery.
Synopsis
The chilling discovery of a downed World War II plane with a body inside leads Ruth and DCI Nelson to uncover a wealthy family’s secrets in the seventh Ruth Galloway mystery. Norfolk is suffering from record summer heat when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery—a downed World War II plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realizes that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.
Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking on the outskirts of Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?
Laced with dry humor and anchored by perennial fan favorite Ruth, The Ghost Fields will delight fans new and old.
Synopsis
In the first in a compelling new series from Elly Griffiths, a band of magicians who served together in WWII track a killer who’s performing deadly tricks
About the Author
A native Texan who has lived in both England and Scotland, Deborah Crombie is a three-time Macavity Award winner, an Edgar Award nominee, and a New York Times Notable author. She is the author of more than a dozen novels, including the recent Necessary as Blood and Dreaming of the Bones, which was selected as one of the 100 Best Crime Novels of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. She lives in McKinney, Texas, sharing a house that is more than one hundred years old with her husband, three cats, and two German shepherds.