The Masquerading Magician

Another good mystery from Gigi Pandian, full of incredibly interesting, colourful characters set in a richly detailed historical backdrop. The main story takes place in present day Portland but an alternating timeline from the mid-1800's is woven throughout the chapters and an Author's Note at the back clarifies the historical facts vs. the writer's imagination.

The story is nominally about a murder that takes place at the theater hosting a magic act, but truly the focus of the story is on Dorian, the gargoyle and Zoe's frustrating efforts to heal him using a strange book of backward alchemy. This leaves the 'solution' to the murder mystery treated almost as an afterthought and readers looking for a good mystery to solve might end up show more feeling cheated. I'm always more invested in the characters, so I didn't find this problematic.

I only went 3.5 stars because as much as I love the alchemical backdrop of the series, this one's focus on magic shows bored me a bit, making parts of the book move slower. I love watching a good magic show, but I have zero interest in reading about them, or knowing how the illusions work. Still, I enjoyed the story once I was able to finally sink into it and the ongoing arc of Dorian's 'health' will definitely bring me back for the third book.

Oh! and there's a recipe in the back of the book (the MC is a vegan, so they're all vegan) for a chocolate drink that can be made either as a hot chocolate or a smoothie. I immediately put the book down and made it as a smoothie - delicious!! (Although next time I'm scaling back the cinnamon a bit.) show less

Meet Zoe Faust & Dorian Robert-Houdin...

Zoe is a a 400 year old vegan herbalist and alchemist. Dorian is a living French gargoyle chef. Dorian followed Zoe in a packing crate from France all the way to Portland, Oregon to enlist her help. They now live together in a ramshackle house with a hole in the roof, which actually makes it easier for Dorian to come & go at night without being spotted. : ) They are so unique & delightful and are quickly becoming two of my favorite fictional characters!

This series has so much variety- ancient alchemy, magic, mystery, cooking, etc.- that I just love it. In the first book though, I thought the numerous vegan recipes were a bit over done, excuse the pun, but in this second book, they were toned down show more more and they flowed with the story line much more naturally. The first book was good but this one was so much better. It was really fantastic and a lot of fun!

The story opens with Zoe on a date with Max- a local policeman. They are attending a magic show at a local theater. Brixton, Zoe's neighbor, thinks the magician might be an alchemist too and can help Zoe and Dorian unlock the secrets in Dorian's alchemy book that will prevent him from turning to stone. As Dorian and Zoe try to get close to the magician to find out just what secrets he's hiding, they become embroiled with treasure hunters, a murder mystery and a decades old jewelry heist.

Zoe also reconnects with her 150 year old friend Tobias, who comes to visit her for a couple of days. He is also an alchemist and is able to help her a little with Dorian's book and her health, which is failing due to the backward alchemy transformations she performs to help Dorian stay mobile. I really like Tobias, a lot more then I do Max! They have so much more in common. I hope we see a lot more of him in this series.

I listened to the audio book (1.3 playback speed) and it was great! The narrator's French accent for Dorian was so cute. I can't wait to start the next book! If you're a vegan or enjoy cooking, mysteries or alchemy I think you'll really enjoy this series. The quirky characters alone will steal your heart! show less

Oh, *that's* why this reads like the second book in a series ... it IS the second book in a series.

I hate it when that happens.

The fact that this was neither the introduction to the characters within nor quite a standalone book was obvious from the chunks of information that float throughout like icebergs.

I honestly still can't decide whether or not I actually like the main character, Zoe. She wears whole-grain veganism and castoff second-hand clothing like a cloak of specialness, to the point that I wanted to take her clothes in for tailoring and force-feed her Twinkies and hamburgers.

"Soaking raw nuts ahead of time, then blending them with water and a little salt and lemon juice, created a thick cream more decadent than the heavy show more cream Dorian used to cook with" - Really? Forgive me, but I find that inconceivable. I mean … have you met heavy cream?

I was frankly shocked that when the main character mentions chocolate and doesn't specify that it's free trade guaranteed non-slave-labor-using GMO free cocoa.

And the reason for the second-hand ill-fitting clothing is that most of her clothes were destroyed in the events of the first book. Long after I've forgotten the characters' names and the plot, I will remember this, because sheer repetition is a time-honored way to make things stick in one's memory, and boy howdy does this get repeated. And repeated.

And Dorian? The living gargoyle who I suppose was supposed to be the charming and irresistible and adorable sidekick? I have to say it was hard to get past a preposterous-sounding synopsis: immortal alchemist protects gargoyle kind of accidentally brought to life by Robert Houdin. Fantasies are often hard to encapsulate in a way that sounds sane, but for whatever reason this one seemed too far out there. And the adorable sidekick frankly just annoyed me. He could be shockingly stupid at times. Example: he is returning to stone bit by bit, and at one point "Dorian clapped along until the claw of his left pinky finger broke off." I have no patience for that level of common-senselessness, in reality or in fictional characters. (And, seriously, don't be bashing Harry Houdini. Don't.)

I realized after reading this that I had taken advantage of an Audible Daily Deal and purchased the first book in the series. After I finished this I returned that first book. So much of the story was revealed in "The Masquerading Magician" that it didn't feel like it was worth it. And, quite honestly, I just wasn't at all interested in any more of the story.

The inanity of the characters, and the constant repetitions within the writing –using the same phrases over again in the space of a few pages or a few chapters or a few lines, and as I mentioned hammering points like Zoe's veganism and what happened to her clothing and so on into the ground over and over.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. show less

I'm really enjoying this series.

However, I'm tired of Dorian's vegan recipes. I would be tired of it if the recipes weren't vegan. That' isn't my objection. I don't dislike foodie books and I don't eat meat. But, I find the pauses to discuss ingredients to be disruptive to the flow of the narrative.

Tell me AGAIN that you can make a great creamy faux cheese sauce using cashews. I got it the first time that making hot chocolate with coconut milk is delicious. There are recipes in the back of the book and that's wonderful. And sufficient.

I'm really enjoying this series.

However, I'm tired of Dorian's vegan recipes. I would be tired of it if the recipes weren't vegan. That' isn't my objection. I don't dislike foodie books and I don't eat meat. But, I find the pauses to discuss ingredients to be disruptive to the flow of the narrative.

Tell me AGAIN that you can make a great creamy faux cheese sauce using cashews. I got it the first time that making hot chocolate with coconut milk is delicious. There are recipes in the back of the book and that's wonderful. And sufficient.

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Accidental Alchemist series. I borrowed this book from the library.

Story (4/5): This book picks up right where the last book left off. Zoe has found a temporary fix for Dorian that prevents him from turning fully back to stone but it comes at a great cost to her own health. When Zoe takes a rare night off to attend a classic magic show, she is suspicious of the identities of the magicians and desperate to find other alchemists to talk to about Dorian’s condition. Then a murder at the theater the magic show took place at is tied back to a string of robberies and murders from the past, things really get interesting.

This was another wonderful investigative urban fantasy mystery with an show more emphasis on alchemy and its history. I enjoy the mystery, which kept me guessing, and enjoy learning all of the history behind alchemy.

Characters (4/5): The characters are definitely a highlight of this series. Zoe is intriguing, she has a long history and is trying to make a new life for herself. She is surrounded by characters that are interesting, likable, and easy to engage with. Both Dorian and Braxton are very fun sidekicks for Zoe’s investigations. We learn a bit more about Max as well and I look forward to spending more time with him in future books. We are also introduced to one of Zoe’s alchemist friends from long ago and this was intriguing; I look forward to meeting more people from Zoe’s history in future books.

Setting (4/5): This book is set in modern day Portland, Oregon. I enjoy the Portland setting but it isn’t the main driver behind the story; it’s fine but nothing special.

Writing Style (4/5): This is well written and easy to read. The mystery is well done and keeps you guessing right up to the end of the book. The characters are easy to engage with and the subject matter is something I enjoy learning about.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I am continuing to enjoy this series. These are fun mystery reads with a bit of a paranormal element to them (alchemists can do “magic” different from what normal people can). I really enjoy the alchemical subject matter and love the characters. I plan on continuing with the series show less

Zoe continues to struggle to find a cure for Dorian, the gargoyle animated by Alchemy centuries ago. And though she’s an immortal alchemist herself, she continues to struggle to find answers and her treatments for Dorian are costing her her health.

Her research stalled, she looks desperately for an Alchemist who may know more – but Alchemists don’t keep in touch and do keep themselves well hidden.

Zoe’s continued exploration of Alchemy continues to draw me in, along with her life with Dorian the gargoyle and the attempt to try and save him from a fate worse than death. They interact really well over food and caring and jokes and lots of banter. We expand the world building a bit, exploring the different kinds of alchemy, the show more different talents of alchemists and what those talents mean. There’s more look at the cost of the new alchemy Zoe has discovered and some great connections with another Alchemist from Zoe’s past.

There are some flashbacks into the past of the book and Dorian’s family/mentors which are interesting. I liked them, I liked the insight into the past and the history of the book that is the key to so much – but I think I would have liked them a lot more if the rest of the book had been better paced. This is a thing I often come across – interesting interludes which are great in a coherent, fast paced story but become a painful drag in a story which meanders and limps along

But this book is slow. The sad thing is that it doesn’t really come together. The elements that most interested me about this story just don’t appear to be here in large amounts. Zoe spends a lot of time fretting about Dorian, but other than fret, not a lot is done to address it. We don’t get a whole lot of Alchemy. This isn’t for lack of trying it’s because they simply don’t really have a huge amount of leads – but I’m left wondering through most of the middle of the book about what exactly is happening and where we are going.

So we then have this historical jewel theft and treasure hunters and a bizarre murder and this whole not-quite mystery about a guy who may be an alchemist or not which just drags on in circles after circles and more circles and ends up not actually being all that relevant to anything. And it just seems so bizarre that they’re even involved – even after looking at the whole alchemist question they start wondering about this historical crime et al and I’m just bemused as to why? Am I supposed to care? Why does Zoe care? Why is she invested in this?

And I’m not going to spoil the actual murder culprit but really, it’s ridiculous and it contains more than a little ableist tropes about mentally ill people being dangerous. This happens with a lot of murder plot lines when there’s no real investigation or coherent plot – throw in a “crazy” person then actual motivation or development of the plot line becomes unnecessary.

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