This is my latest pick from an author I recently discovered. Set in the time of the Great Depression in New York/Long Island, this story weaves an interesting web about a con man named Schell who specializes in staging fantastic séances for his wealthy clients. We learn about his adopted son, Diego- the ‘swami’, his ever faithful go-to-guy; Antony Cleopatra, the ‘bugatorium’ where Schell raises butterflies, and a host of other oddball and interesting characters as they make their way in the world. Everything from carnies, kidnappers, booze running during prohibition, and the KKK in Long Island is included in this tale.
Told from the point of view of Diego; Schell decides to do an honest job after he reportedly sees the ghost of a kidnapped young girl in the glass of a window while performing a bogus séance for a rich client. I thought the main focus of the story would be the girl but it was not. So the book was a bit different than what I originally expected. The story is more about Diego’s life and the influences on it that shape him. None the less, it was an interesting tale with unexpected plot twists, and an ending I could predict but still liked anyway. ( )

2006 - Best Paperback original

Superb! Excellent mystery, excellent characterizations, excellent historical perspective. Incidental commentary about the effects of prejudice. I wish every book were this good, I'd finish a lot more of them. A quote from the back cover sums it up: "At once a hypnotically compelling mystery and a stunningly evocative portrait of Depression-era New York, The Girl in the Glass is a masterly literary adventure from a writer of exemplary vision and skill." Couldn't have said it better myself - that's exactly what I found. ( )

A band of con artists, cum spiritual mediums, focus their psychic and sleuthing powers on a murder mystery set in Depression-era Long Island, on the posh North Shore. Diego, a 17-year-old Mexican illegal immigrant, narrates the escapades, as he follows his mentor and surrogate father Thomas Schell. Disguised as a Hindu swami, Diego helps Schell conduct phony sances to bilk wealthy Long Islanders. But when Schell sees the apparition of a young girl during a sance and then hears of the disappearance of Charlotte Barnes, daughter of shipping magnate Harold Barnes, he is determined to solve the case. Schell and Diego, along with henchman Antony and phony psychic Morgan Shaw, find Charlotte's dead body covered by a cloth painted with a Ku Klux Klan symbol. They link her murder, along with those of several other dead children, both to the Klan and to a nefarious Dr. Greaves, aka Fenton Agarias, who headed up grotesque eugenics experiments.

Along with some very funny moments this was an easy book to read and a very hard one to put down. ( )

Pretty good story--read last 90 mins in the middle of an insomnia night.