This is my 33rd book this year. It has some terrific writing, but a storyline that does not match up to it.

To be fair, when I started reading this book I was quickly hooked, and felt that it might even become one of my absolute favourites. Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed, was pretty predictable and let down the book.

Still, it was a worthwhile read. The main character - and the narrator - is William Wilson, a down-on-his-luck conjuror from Glasgow. Hoping to make his fortune, he takes a job in Berlin and ends up recruiting a mysterious American girl named Sylvie as his assistant. The story flicks back and forth between Berlin and Glasgow, as it slowly reveals the dark events that took place in Berlin, and how they have brought William to his present state of despair. To say much more would be to give too much of the story away. One minor gripe is that there was a seemingly unnecessary sub-plot regarding a decades old disappearance of a lady, which Wilson ends up becoming embroiled in. The loss of this particular storyline would have not affected the book in any way, although it was in itself not an unenjoyable diversion from the main story.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5. ( )

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/... ( )

A down-at-heels conjurer gets a gig in a seedy Berlin club and takes on an intriguing American woman as his assistant. The story switches back and forth between Berlin and a later time period in Glasgow, where the conjurer is even more down-at-heels. Wonderful writing expended on a plot that doesn't deserve it. ( )

Kedelig, ikke overbevisende personkarakteristikken. ( )

I enjoyed this even more than The Cutting Room. ( )