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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Bess Houdini was given a code by Harry while he was on his death bed. A code only she knew and kept from the public for many years after his death. It was a code that would show Bess he was trying to communicate to her from the other side, keeping his promise from the night they met that not even death could keep him away. Bess spends many years trying to find this code, only to discover there was a more urgent message he was trying to send her and it wasn't only the fact that he was never going to leave her side. Along the way of her search, Bess is led to a young man who is a photographer and she knows that he is part of the message Harry is trying to send to her, but in the end, was it worth it to find out a secret Harry kept hidden throughout their entire marriage?
What I Liked
-How Harry Houdini was written. As a fan of his work, it was nice to see a different side to him and his life with Bess.
What I Didn't Like
-It was hard to take to Bess, the main character. Seemed that she spent more time remembering her life with Harry than her searching for the code he was to have sent her from beyond the grave.
-Book was confusing with the constant flashbacks. Kelly should've stuck with either era, their marriage or after Harry's death. It was easy to get loss not knowing what time period Bess was in.
Recommended: Anyone who is a fan of magic or of Harry Houdini.
What I Liked
-How Harry Houdini was written. As a fan of his work, it was nice to see a different side to him and his life with Bess.
What I Didn't Like
-It was hard to take to Bess, the main character. Seemed that she spent more time remembering her life with Harry than her searching for the code he was to have sent her from beyond the grave.
-Book was confusing with the constant flashbacks. Kelly should've stuck with either era, their marriage or after Harry's death. It was easy to get loss not knowing what time period Bess was in.
Recommended: Anyone who is a fan of magic or of Harry Houdini.
This is it kids, we've finally got it, our way to bring Houdini back from the spirit world at his next Halloween seance- because he won't be able to help but return to avenge his and Bess's memory from the slander of this tripe.
This novel was an easy read but, definitely not one of those works I devoured.
I've always been interested in Houdini so this book appealed to me.
This is the fictional story of Bess Houdini.
Barely out of high school, she met Harry.
Choices for women at the time usually included becoming a nun or becoming a wife.
When Harry proposes on their first date, Bess takes a big leap of faith and marries him.
They led a very exciting life. Bess became his partner in his magic acts and he became immensely famous.
As he became more of a name, his acts became more solo acts.
Bess started feeling unimportant.
She also worried about some of their acts being an offense to God. She feared they may be cursed.
By the time Harry died he had become obsessed with trying to reach the realm beyond death. He was never able to reach his deceased mother and despite all of his acts faking seances there was a point where he ached for it to be possible.
If connecting from beyond the grave was possible,Harry promised Bess he would reach her.
This was an interesting take on their relationship and Bess' life after Harry passed away.
This is the fictional story of Bess Houdini.
Barely out of high school, she met Harry.
Choices for women at the time usually included becoming a nun or becoming a wife.
When Harry proposes on their first date, Bess takes a big leap of faith and marries him.
They led a very exciting life. Bess became his partner in his magic acts and he became immensely famous.
As he became more of a name, his acts became more solo acts.
Bess started feeling unimportant.
She also worried about some of their acts being an offense to God. She feared they may be cursed.
By the time Harry died he had become obsessed with trying to reach the realm beyond death. He was never able to reach his deceased mother and despite all of his acts faking seances there was a point where he ached for it to be possible.
If connecting from beyond the grave was possible,Harry promised Bess he would reach her.
This was an interesting take on their relationship and Bess' life after Harry passed away.
Clunky writing and an improbable premise mar this workman's version of the Houdini story. Kelly works in many of the standard tropes and events about Houdini, while attempting to flesh out Bess. The added twist doesn't play well and will mislead readers with little background in Houdini. The combination of real events and the purely fanciful didn't work well for me.
Very interesting read about Houdini’s wife, her life after him, waiting and waiting. It was interesting to read about their lives. I would be intrigued to read more about them and it would be interesting to know how he truly did some of his tricks.
This novel was an easy read but, definitely not one of those works I devoured.
Magical and intriguing, "Mrs. Houdini" was a fast read that was both informative and entertaining.
This novel tells the tale of Harry and Bess Houdini -- the married circus and vaudeville team who performed together before Harry became truly famous as an escape artist. While we certainly read about the Houdinis' professional work and death-defying stunts, the real substance of the book is the love story between Harry and Bess, and their quest to determine whether it was actually possible to communicate with those who had passed away. Harry Houdini himself spent his life disproving the so-called spiritualists who claimed to speak with the dead, while at the same time desperately wanting this form of communication to exist. He promised his wife that he would find a way to speak to her beyond the grave.
Ms. Kelly's writing flows easily, although it doesn't necessarily "sing". Still this book was enjoyable.
3.5 stars
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This novel tells the tale of Harry and Bess Houdini -- the married circus and vaudeville team who performed together before Harry became truly famous as an escape artist. While we certainly read about the Houdinis' professional work and death-defying stunts, the real substance of the book is the love story between Harry and Bess, and their quest to determine whether it was actually possible to communicate with those who had passed away. Harry Houdini himself spent his life disproving the so-called spiritualists who claimed to speak with the dead, while at the same time desperately wanting this form of communication to exist. He promised his wife that he would find a way to speak to her beyond the grave.
Ms. Kelly's writing flows easily, although it doesn't necessarily "sing". Still this book was enjoyable.
3.5 stars
Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first. I found the ultra fast romance at the outset to be off-putting and it didn't make me care about the characters or their relationship early on as I had no investment that early in the book.
I didn't mind that the book skipped back and forth between time periods, but an editor would have been very helpful, there were too many flashbacks in the 1929 sections that made it confusing. Why bother having chapters in different time periods if you are going to write in flashbacks?
Overall good concept, but too slow and by the time it was interesting I was nearly done and frustrated it hadn't been that good all along.
I didn't mind that the book skipped back and forth between time periods, but an editor would have been very helpful, there were too many flashbacks in the 1929 sections that made it confusing. Why bother having chapters in different time periods if you are going to write in flashbacks?
Overall good concept, but too slow and by the time it was interesting I was nearly done and frustrated it hadn't been that good all along.