J. B. Rivard

Illusions of Magic is written in old fashioned, gumshoe style which is appropriate given the time it takes place and the plot. This does take a little getting used to for the reader. The main story is about a man who is trying to make a go of it as a magician but the Great Depression is really starting to take hold and there isn’t much free money around for entertainment. His marriage is falling apart and his landlady is getting a little aggravated with him.

Just as things seem to be at their worst our intrepid magician is offered a job. It’s not exactly an on the level type of employment but given the times and the state of his finances he really doesn’t hesitate too much in accepting the position. He gets it thanks to his brother in law who is somewhat connected to city hall which leads to the secondary plot line which just really never made any sense to me at all. It involves the real life attempted assassination of Franklin Roosevelt. The shooter ended up wounding and ultimately killing the mayor of Chicago. Other than providing a bit of distraction from the main story I really didn’t understand why it was part of the book. Maybe I missed something?

The book was different, it was out of my usual reading box. It does have a bit of romance, a touch of intrigue yet surprisingly very little magic.… (plus d'informations)

Nick Zetner is "The Amazing Mr. Z," a magician in 1933 Chicago; however with the depression and prohibition, not many venues are booking a magic act. So, when Nick's brother-in-law offers him a different kind a job, Nick takes his chances and agrees to find and return stolen merchandise to a wealthy client. A bank has been broken into and all of the contents of the safety deposit boxes stolen, Nick will be paid a generous sum if he can return a specific envelope with scandalous pictures. When Nick is hot on the trail of the photos, he finds that he may be in over his head in the world of thieves and gangsters especially when he discovers that his long-lost love, Iris may be mixed up in the whole mess.

A quick historical fiction read about 1930's mayhem that brings the time period alive. There was a great feel for the time period from jazz clubs, to bank robberies and strange guys in back offices cooking the books. I loved the inclusion of the illustrations, they did a great job of helping me to envision the dress, atmosphere and people in the story, I wish there were more! I was very interested in the historical backdrop where all of the events took place and was covertly influencing some of the characters- the attempted assassination of President-elect Roosevelt that ended up actually killing Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak. This event ended up causing a lot of strife for Nick's character. There wasn't a lot of characterization here, but it was more about the action. From the title, I had envisioned Nick using ingenious sleight of hand to retrieve what he needed from the robbers, while it was attempted, it was not quite what I had thought. Overall, an exciting adventure with robbers, cops, good vs. evil and a touch of romance in 1933 Chicago.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)