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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Ninth in the Molly Murphy mystery series set in turn-of-the-century New York. Molly is a recent Irish immigrant who fell into the private detective business.
The Story
An illusion, cutting a woman in half, goes wrong during a magical performance, but fortunately, Daniel and Molly are in attendance and both leap up to the stage. Although ordered home by Daniel, Molly scrapes up an acquaintance with Harry Houdini's wife, Bess who hires her the next day to protect Harry.
A job that quickly involves German spies, cloak-and-dagger action, and the Secret Service.
My Take
At this point in the series, Daniel has asked Molly to marry him and he wants her to give up her private detecting. Naturally, Molly is furious. Not only does Daniel expect her to give up her career but her house and her friends.
I do so enjoy Molly. She's feisty and an early women's libber. Bowen gives us a look into how society views and treats women as well as a peek into the everyday life of ordinary people. Well, okay, not so ordinary, but definitely a lot of fun. I do enjoy how Bowen shows us the excitement of the first motorcars. The introduction of the first telephones and fingerprinting before it's been accepted as a legitimate part of the legal process. Bowen accurately presents the travails of living in the New York City of that time period—you almost want to head out of town yourself to find some coolness from the summer heat and humidity.
My one caveat about most of Bowen's books is the little sum-up she has Molly doing at the end of some chapters. Sometimes it seems as though Molly is just too naïve or that Bowen thinks the reader is stupid and needs some help.
The Cover
I like the cover with Molly in her pretty but serviceable dress and matching hat with a poster advertising Harry Houdini, King of Cards. The title is kind of appropriate although I'm not sure to which illusion it refers. Molly does learn how some of Harry's tricks are worked. It could refer to Molly's discovering the German spies or perhaps that a plot to flood the country with counterfeit money could destabilize the economy. Or even just something as individual as Molly getting tired of the danger and fear that goes along with her career.
The Story
An illusion, cutting a woman in half, goes wrong during a magical performance, but fortunately, Daniel and Molly are in attendance and both leap up to the stage. Although ordered home by Daniel, Molly scrapes up an acquaintance with Harry Houdini's wife, Bess who hires her the next day to protect Harry.
A job that quickly involves German spies, cloak-and-dagger action, and the Secret Service.
My Take
At this point in the series, Daniel has asked Molly to marry him and he wants her to give up her private detecting. Naturally, Molly is furious. Not only does Daniel expect her to give up her career but her house and her friends.
I do so enjoy Molly. She's feisty and an early women's libber. Bowen gives us a look into how society views and treats women as well as a peek into the everyday life of ordinary people. Well, okay, not so ordinary, but definitely a lot of fun. I do enjoy how Bowen shows us the excitement of the first motorcars. The introduction of the first telephones and fingerprinting before it's been accepted as a legitimate part of the legal process. Bowen accurately presents the travails of living in the New York City of that time period—you almost want to head out of town yourself to find some coolness from the summer heat and humidity.
My one caveat about most of Bowen's books is the little sum-up she has Molly doing at the end of some chapters. Sometimes it seems as though Molly is just too naïve or that Bowen thinks the reader is stupid and needs some help.
The Cover
I like the cover with Molly in her pretty but serviceable dress and matching hat with a poster advertising Harry Houdini, King of Cards. The title is kind of appropriate although I'm not sure to which illusion it refers. Molly does learn how some of Harry's tricks are worked. It could refer to Molly's discovering the German spies or perhaps that a plot to flood the country with counterfeit money could destabilize the economy. Or even just something as individual as Molly getting tired of the danger and fear that goes along with her career.
dorkira's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
ktaylor1164's review
4.0
Molly Murphy comes face to face with Houdini in this installment, an improvement over the previous one. But Daniel seems to be here to stay, which is downright depressing.
saraelizabetha's review
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
4.0
Yet another joyful ride with my favorite P.I. Molly Murphy... and Houdini? A perfect match! The book had me hooked, and so I turned early on to the the 'Historical Notes' but there was a stern order not to read it until the end. I was constantly wondering what was based off of actual research and what was created. Unfortunately it was very loosely based off of actual events, but Bowen did her research to portray real characters well.
The plot is a bit loose, with a vague 'mystery' to follow in the first place, and it gets a little loopy. Still we learn a little about a lot! We also are getting closer to wedding bells, and an increasingly possessive Daniel. It was a plot issue that was getting old, and I hope the next book (and I hope there will be one!) we find Molly and Daniel working these issues out.
The plot is a bit loose, with a vague 'mystery' to follow in the first place, and it gets a little loopy. Still we learn a little about a lot! We also are getting closer to wedding bells, and an increasingly possessive Daniel. It was a plot issue that was getting old, and I hope the next book (and I hope there will be one!) we find Molly and Daniel working these issues out.
jenpsz's review against another edition
5.0
When you accidentally read a book in less than 24 hours. 6/5 stars for plot and surprises. 3.5 for the average audible narration but the book made up for it.
thenia's review against another edition
3.0
Molly Murphy gets acquainted with the world of illusionists when she gets a case from the famous Harry Houdini's wife and we get to see behind the scenes of some interesting magic tricks.
There's quite a bit of arguing between Molly and Daniel, who is pressuring her to quit being a detective and stay out of the suspicious accident they both witnessed in one of their outings at an illusionist show, where Houdini was supposed to perform. She seems to be unable to do that, since she's too curious by half and manages to get involved in yet another dangerous situation.
With a bit of luck, a lot of tenacity and some solid detective work, she manages to solve both her case and the mystery of the accident, that.
I found myself getting annoyed with Daniel's high-handedness at times, especially when he was dictating to Molly what she shouldn't do. I realize he is simply concerned because he loves her, but his manner could use some work.
As usual, the author ends the book with every loose end tied up in a neat little bow and now Molly is supposedly ready to finally settle down and become an obedient stay-at-home wife.
Her adventures continue in [b:Bless the Bride|7898607|Bless the Bride (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #10)|Rhys Bowen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301294464s/7898607.jpg|11145983], where we'll see how things turn out.
There's quite a bit of arguing between Molly and Daniel, who is pressuring her to quit being a detective and stay out of the suspicious accident they both witnessed in one of their outings at an illusionist show, where Houdini was supposed to perform. She seems to be unable to do that, since she's too curious by half and manages to get involved in yet another dangerous situation.
With a bit of luck, a lot of tenacity and some solid detective work, she manages to solve both her case and the mystery of the accident, that
Spoiler
turned out to be connected with another of Daniel's big casesI found myself getting annoyed with Daniel's high-handedness at times, especially when he was dictating to Molly what she shouldn't do. I realize he is simply concerned because he loves her, but his manner could use some work.
As usual, the author ends the book with every loose end tied up in a neat little bow and now Molly is supposedly ready to finally settle down and become an obedient stay-at-home wife.
Her adventures continue in [b:Bless the Bride|7898607|Bless the Bride (Molly Murphy Mysteries, #10)|Rhys Bowen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301294464s/7898607.jpg|11145983], where we'll see how things turn out.
erinstjames's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this one very much! There were so many different ways the outcome could have been!
luffy79's review against another edition
1.0
It's almost always the case that I can recognize a book that will score 1/5 right off the bat. The author, Rhys Bowen, should be ashamed of forging ahead with a bad sketchy idea and wrongfully persevering in laying this bad egg. She is totally out of her element. She probably loved bad spy novels and pulp fiction and thought imitation was flattery.
The alarm bells started ringing when the big setup of the Scarpelli guy failed to impress on me. Usually Rhys Bowen's victims hit me hard, but not this one. Every single sentence was a pain to read. I can't account for the spectacular loss of form of the author. Both main characters Daniel and Molly act like muppets in this book, despite the fact that they were on opposite sides. That takes some doing. I had to skip several passages. I usually never do that. Kudos for that must go to Rhys Bowen. There was always something underwhelming in most of the 9 Molly Murphy books I've read. But this particular book takes the cake.
The alarm bells started ringing when the big setup of the Scarpelli guy failed to impress on me. Usually Rhys Bowen's victims hit me hard, but not this one. Every single sentence was a pain to read. I can't account for the spectacular loss of form of the author. Both main characters Daniel and Molly act like muppets in this book, despite the fact that they were on opposite sides. That takes some doing. I had to skip several passages. I usually never do that. Kudos for that must go to Rhys Bowen. There was always something underwhelming in most of the 9 Molly Murphy books I've read. But this particular book takes the cake.
omnibozo22's review against another edition
1.0
Bowen has produced one of the worst magician in trouble mysteries I have ever read. I'm guessing that Bowen is British, though I don't care enough to check. While this story takes place in NYC, and has an Irish immigrant protagonist, Bowen keeps slipping into British language, even when the speaker is American. Irritating. Then, there are the continual absurd things he has Houdini doing. The
"Historical Note" at the end makes it clear that he has only read one book about Houdini, and didn't pay attention to most of it. He also screws up magic history pretty thoroughly.
"Historical Note" at the end makes it clear that he has only read one book about Houdini, and didn't pay attention to most of it. He also screws up magic history pretty thoroughly.