The Zig Zag Girl

The premise is certainly different: a world-renowned magician helping the police solve crimes. This could either be incredibly fun or incredibly bad - and luckily for me, this one was definitely fun =)

It's hard to give a good synopsis of a murder mystery without spoiling all of the twists, but suffice to say this is basically one big found family story. Edgar Stephens is drifting along in his career as a policeman after the war. He's always been slightly insecure and is basically just depressed at the current direction of his life - he *has* no life, outside of work (boy, can I relate). The book opens with him examining the body of the girl who's been cut into three pieces - the problem is, they only have two of the pieces at the show more moment, and have little way of identifying her. It's only when the third piece is sent to his attention at the police station that he has a flash of something, oddly familiar - the way the body was cut up reminds him of the Zig Zag girl magic trick, invented by his old pal Max Mephisto.

Edgar and Max served together in the "Magic Men" shadow unit during the latter half of the war, along with Tony Mulholland (also a magician, of the mind-reading persuasion), Bill Cosgrove (a carpenter), Stan Parks (aka the Great Diablo, an ancient vaudevillian magician), and Major Gormley (a RAF major), simply referred to by one and all as "Major." Edgar had a knack for cryptic crosswords which he parlayed into code-breaking. This was a pretty ragtag group, spread out over a 50-year age range, who had been charged with creating distracting charades to throw the Germans off course. This shared past is discussed in great detail, and it's really fascinating! It's also based on an actual military unit called the Magic Gang. The Gang performed their feats in Egypt, when the Men of this story called Inverness, in the highlands of Scotland, their home.

Edgar gets in touch with Max to ask him about the trick, and they soon form something of a team, especially when the Conjurer Killer starts aping Max's magic tricks with each successive murder. It soon becomes apparent that the Magic Men are being targeted, and picked off, one by one - first Tony is killed, then Bill's wife, and then Max himself is cast in the killer's sights. It becomes a race against time for Edgar and Max as they sort through their clues and their pasts to try to figure out who - or what - is after them.

The characters are wonderfully written, with a surprising amount of depth. Each new character is introduced in a sketchy way, one that led me to believe they were the killer - until they themselves were killed. I certainly didn't see the ending coming, and there were more twists and turns unravelling as the plot neared its conclusion. The final chapters, as Max is targeted and Edgar desperately rushes to save him - only to inadvertently fall into the very trap he was trying to foil - had me on the edge of my seat.

Max and Edgar are both saved by surprising people, one of whom I had suspected for most of the book to be the killer - but who turned out to be someone else, indeed! To say more would be to give it all away, but suffice to say this was a wonderful read.

It's an easy to read book, although the British slang may be a bit jarring. The plot moves at a fast pace, the descriptions of postwar England are wonderful, and the cast of characters that are "the theatricals" are very interesting. It was really fun to get a peek inside the world of magic, and how illusions were used during the war. The Magic Men themselves were also quite a bit of fun, for the most part - their relationships are well drawn, and almost all of them have depth. You alternate between wanting to protect them and suspecting them of being the murderer, so there's that undercurrent of delicious uncertainty, especially as the killer draws the noose tighter around the group.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Edgar, who feels adrift not only in his present world, but also in his past, and with what remains of his family. I liked Max, too, but give me the beta hero every day of the week, LOL. show less

Brighton, 1950: When a woman's body is found chopped into three pieces, DI Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick created by one of his old war buddies, Max Mephisto. During WWII, they were part of a top-secret unit who specialized in confusion and misdirection: the Magic Men. Now, Max and Edgar must team up, because there's someone out there who may want both of them -- and the rest of the Magic Men -- dead.

This is the first book in a series by an author I have enjoyed. I found this one pretty good, enough so that I'll seek out the next book in the series. I did guess "whodunit" about halfway through the book. If you're a mystery reader who's intrigued by the era or the magic/variety show ties, it's worth a look.

"The Zig Zag Girl" is a period, very English, serial killer piece set mostly in post-war Brighton.

It successfully draws upon the restless nature of a generation of men trying to adjust to civilian life after serving in World War II and on the then-dying sub-culture of Variety show performers who peddled their songs and magic tricks in shabby theatres and at the end of piers for a week at a time in towns across the UK.

The people targeted by the killer all seem to have links to a wartime unit of the British Secret Service, nicknamed "The Magic Men", which was tasked with using illusion to convince the Germans that Norway rather than Normandy might be the focus of the Allied invasion of Europe.

Stephens, the policeman investigating the show more killings was a young but senior member of The Magic Men, although he was not a magician. The Great Mephisto, Stephens' best friend in The Magic Men, is still a Top-of-The-Bill performer who combines charisma and craft to deliver illusions to two audiences daily.

Both men are well drawn and their relationship is easy to believe in. Learning more about them gives pleasing insights into Post-war England's class structure, social expectations and the changing face of entertainment.

The Magic Men are larger than life characters that add interest to the puzzle of who is trying to kill them and why. Stephens' and Mephisto's memories of their war service are skillfully handled and add an emotional depth to the hunt for the killer. The killer's flamboyant methods of killing also keep things fresh.

I enjoyed the slightly introverted, mildly regretful tone of the book.tone of the book. I liked that, although this was all firmly rooted in the middle of the last century, the characters felt modern and vital. There was no faux "olden days" flavour to the people or the text. The spirit of Brighton as a slightly tatty town that gave a home to the eccentric and the seedy, making it a place of freedom in an often drab England was well captured.

This is very different from the other Elly Griffiths books I've read. It seemed to me that the writing was more confident and accomplished than her Dr Ruth Galloway series.

Although I enjoyed "The Zig Zag Girl", it didn't leave me eager to read the next two books in the series. I'll probably get around to them but I'm left with the impression that I need to be in the right mood for this series.

"The Zig Zag Girl" worked well as an audiobook. Click on the SoundCloud link below to hear a sample
https://soundcloud.com/audibleuk/the-zig-zag-girl-by-elly-griffiths-narrated-by-... show less

Griffiths' new series features Edgar Stephens and Max Mephisto. Set in 1950 Brighton when variety shows on the pier were still popular, a group who were together in special ops during the war are now three magicians and a policeman, still friends. When a woman's body in three pieces turns up, suggesting the famous zig-zag girl trick gone wrong, the group are warned that they are the target. This is an excellent mystery that portrays the theatre business of the 1950s with authenticity: the seedy grandeur of the theatres, the performers who have a different landlady each week, the acts themselves that are now long gone. Entertaining enough to be classed as a cozy yet the nature of the crime gave it more gravity, the plot was complex, the show more characters well-drawn, and the conclusion satisfyingly exciting. Griffiths did her research well and deserves the place on my favourite mystery writers list. show less

THE ZIG ZAG GIRL was an entertaining historical mystery. DI Edgar Stephens is taken back to his army days when he is called to investigate a murder in which a woman is cut into three pieces and nicely boxed. It reminds him of a magic trick often performed by his old friend Max Mephisto.

Edgar and Max were both part of a special unit during World War II called the Magic Men. They were based in Scotland with the goal of using magic tricks to convince the Germans that invading was a bad idea. Edgar wasn't a magician himself but rather a brilliant scholar pulled from Oxford for his skills at puzzle solving. Max Mephisto, the Great Diablo, and Tony Mulholland were the magicians. They served with a woman named Charis whom Edgar loved but who show more died in an accident.

This story takes place in 1950 and the members of the Magic Men have long since dispersed back to their regular lives. Edgar joined the police. Max continues to travel the circuit doing his magic act. Tony has become a comedian and insists that he will soon be famous in America. Diablo is an aging magician down on his luck and alcoholic.

Max happens to be in Brighton when the boxes of woman are discovered, and Edgar goes to him for insight in solving the crime. Max becomes more closely involved when it is learned that the woman was once his favorite assistant. He helps Edgar investigate when Tony is found dead in yet another version of a magic trick and a letter comes threatening the rest of the Magic Men.

I enjoyed this historical mystery and liked both Edgar and Max who, finally, years after their service are ready to plan for their futures. I'm eager to see where this series goes next. show less

I somewhat resented this book before I even started it, because it meant Griffiths was taking time away from the Ruth Galloway series, but I should not have worried! Although so far I still like the Galloway series more, this book did not disappoint.

The book is set in post-World War II England and features Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens of the Brighton police. As the story begins, a young woman’s body has been found that had been sawed in three pieces, reminiscent of “the Zig Zag Girl trick” used by magicians. In fact, one of Edgar’s friends, Max Mephisto, also known as “The Master of Illusion,” was thought to have invented the trick. Edgar and Max met while serving in Inverness as part of an MI5 group - “The Magic show more Men” - assigned with creating false trails for the Germans.

Edgar seeks out Max for advice, and Max is able to identify the dead woman as one of his former assistants. Furthermore, when they go to query another member of the Magic Men, he too is found dead by a murder resembling a magic trick. It begins to look like the Magic Men themselves as well as those associated with them are being targeted. Edgar and Max set out to find the other members of their crew and warn them, never knowing if they will be too late, or will themselves be the next victims.

Discussion: Griffiths did her research well as usual, and did a great job of bringing the post-War world to life, as well as the world of magicians and what it was like to perform on the road at that time. Also, as with her other series, she limns characters with complex psyches showing a mix of self-awareness, self-delusion, and self-deprecation that make them seem like actual people we all can recognize. For me, the characterizations are so good, they make the plot almost irrelevant.

Evaluation: This clever story employing the “misdirection” of magic as a criminal tactic as well as a plot device (in the sense of red herrings and other false trails) introduces some great characters as well. I look forward to more stories in this series. show less

This first book in author Elly Griffiths, Magic Men mystery series, was a great start to this police procedural series. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is on scene of a murdered woman and the form of death is reminiscent of a magic trick devised by his friend, Max Mephisto. Edgar seeks Max's assistance in identifying the killer. Max is hesitant until he recognizes the woman murdered after which, Max is all in to help nail the culprit. After a bit, patterns surface and connections are made. The suspense is even throughout much of the book. It really picks up pace in the last 60 pages, driving to a satisfying conclusion.

I had previously enjoyed Ms. Griffiths' Ruth Galloway mystery series and thought that I'd try this new series. I was show more delighted to find that it did not disappoint and am now looking forward to subsequent installments. show less