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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
3.0
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First off, Magician’s have secrets. That’s sort of their deal. So The Magician’s Secret is an accurate title. Drake Lonestar has more secrets than how to do his amazing tricks. In fact, there’s another guy, the bodyguard, Hugo, who is also a magician, and he’s got a few secrets himself. There’s also twin daughters of a fashion designer who are assistants to Lonestar, and they’ve got secrets, too.
Carson Drew represents a man wrongly accused of jewelry theft. Papers and documents along with the jewelry shop’s security tapes were put into crates and sealed and put into the courthouse’s basement. Drake Lonestar’s big illusion is to make the courthouse disappear. He does, the crowd goes wild, and helicopters come flying in to the air space where the courthouse once stood (Seriously, helicopters). When the helicopters go away, Lonestar makes the building reappear. But surprise, surprise, the one thing that’s missing is the evidence that Carson Drew needs.
What’s up with Nancy not wanting to figure out how certain magic tricks are performed? She just agrees to suspend her disbelief when the magician asks her to and she just goes with it. That’s very out of character. Besides, doesn’t everyone try to figure out the magic trick? That’s the whole point of doing magic tricks: to get people to wonder how they are done.
Bess and George, especially George, do as much, if not more of the sleuthing than Nancy. What on earth? Bess even corrects Nancy at one point. What? Nancy Drew is never wrong! Didn’t the ghostwriter get the memo?
Props to “Carolyn Keene” for explaining the different types of magic: illusions and escapism. And a nice little history lesson on Harry Houdini, who was actually born about 30 miles from where I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There’s a great display at The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin, about 20 miles away. I used to take the kids there every other summer. That’s one of the things I loved about the Nancy Drew mysteries: a little travelogue or history thrown in. Educating kids surreptitiously in a mystery book, I like!
And speaking of getting the “Nancy Drew Bible” memo, in the Diaries series, Ned is supposedly working at his dad’s newspaper, but in this book, he’s working for Carson Drew in his law office as an intern. That makes it more convenient to help out for this mystery, but the continuity is off.
Despite the author’s best attempts at throwing useless clues in to confuse the reader, I had the culprit figured out rather early on because the plot is so similar to a number of TV show murder mystery stories that I’ve seen. I don’t know if a child would be able to figure it out, though, so maybe they’d love the book.
The Magician’s Secret wasn’t a bad book; I enjoyed peeking into the world of illusion and escapism, but it just could have been so much better.
First off, Magician’s have secrets. That’s sort of their deal. So The Magician’s Secret is an accurate title. Drake Lonestar has more secrets than how to do his amazing tricks. In fact, there’s another guy, the bodyguard, Hugo, who is also a magician, and he’s got a few secrets himself. There’s also twin daughters of a fashion designer who are assistants to Lonestar, and they’ve got secrets, too.
Carson Drew represents a man wrongly accused of jewelry theft. Papers and documents along with the jewelry shop’s security tapes were put into crates and sealed and put into the courthouse’s basement. Drake Lonestar’s big illusion is to make the courthouse disappear. He does, the crowd goes wild, and helicopters come flying in to the air space where the courthouse once stood (Seriously, helicopters). When the helicopters go away, Lonestar makes the building reappear. But surprise, surprise, the one thing that’s missing is the evidence that Carson Drew needs.
What’s up with Nancy not wanting to figure out how certain magic tricks are performed? She just agrees to suspend her disbelief when the magician asks her to and she just goes with it. That’s very out of character. Besides, doesn’t everyone try to figure out the magic trick? That’s the whole point of doing magic tricks: to get people to wonder how they are done.
Bess and George, especially George, do as much, if not more of the sleuthing than Nancy. What on earth? Bess even corrects Nancy at one point. What? Nancy Drew is never wrong! Didn’t the ghostwriter get the memo?
Props to “Carolyn Keene” for explaining the different types of magic: illusions and escapism. And a nice little history lesson on Harry Houdini, who was actually born about 30 miles from where I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There’s a great display at The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin, about 20 miles away. I used to take the kids there every other summer. That’s one of the things I loved about the Nancy Drew mysteries: a little travelogue or history thrown in. Educating kids surreptitiously in a mystery book, I like!
And speaking of getting the “Nancy Drew Bible” memo, in the Diaries series, Ned is supposedly working at his dad’s newspaper, but in this book, he’s working for Carson Drew in his law office as an intern. That makes it more convenient to help out for this mystery, but the continuity is off.
Despite the author’s best attempts at throwing useless clues in to confuse the reader, I had the culprit figured out rather early on because the plot is so similar to a number of TV show murder mystery stories that I’ve seen. I don’t know if a child would be able to figure it out, though, so maybe they’d love the book.
The Magician’s Secret wasn’t a bad book; I enjoyed peeking into the world of illusion and escapism, but it just could have been so much better.
dinnureads's review against another edition
4.0
It was quite enjoyable with all the magic tricks and their secrets revealed, although halfway through I knew who the culprit was :)
aimmyarrowshigh's review against another edition
4.0
I liked George so much more in this book -- she was given agency and an expertise that mattered a lot to the story, and that made it much more fun to read the sheer amount of pagespace that's dedicated to Bess and George. I liked the callback to Houdini as well, and the author's leaving the big catalyst illusion's mechanisms a mystery for the reader to solve. This wasn't as strong as the last book or the first two, but it was much better than the camping one.
meekumoh's review against another edition
2.0
I don't understand this series' need to humble Nancy Drew as part of a coming-of-age characterisation. From the get-go, Nancy is befuddled by magic, and her skepticism is written to look silly.
sweetchocolatez's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Stalking
bertturtel's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun listen. Perfect for family trips.
I listened to this on chirpbooks.com.
I listened to this on chirpbooks.com.
mtravis6's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
jennshelfishlife's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
River Heights is hosting the magician/illusionist Drake Lonestar, who he will make the town courthouse disappear. Unfortunately, at the same time that this is occurring, valuable evidence is stolen from the courthouse. Nancy, Bess, and George work together using their considerable skills to solve the mystery. I loved that this book features all the sleuth's abilities, Nancy's deduction skills, George's tech skills, and Bess' knowledge of pop culture and gemstones. Will their skills play to their advantage? Will Nancy and her friends be able to solve the crime before the criminal disappears? One will have to read to find out.
Overall, an exciting mystery that will interest Nancy Drew fans of all ages.
Overall, an exciting mystery that will interest Nancy Drew fans of all ages.