The magician's lie by Greer Macallister

The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her notorious trick of sawing a man in half on stage. One night in Waterloo, Iowa, with young policeman Virgil Holt watching from the audience, she swaps her trademark saw for a fire ax. Is it a new version of the illusion, or an all-too-real murder? When Arden's husband is found lifeless beneath the stage later that night, the answer seems clear. But when Virgil happens upon the fleeing magician and takes her into custody, she has a very different story to tell. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless-and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie night, Virgil must decide whether to turn Arden in or set her free... and it will take all he has to see through the smoke and mirrors.

Read my review on my blog here: https://theconsultingbookworm.wordpress.com/2015/09/12/the-magicians-lie-greer-macallister/

*4.75 - this was so compelling. I was intrigued by Arden's history as well as hooked to know what truly had happened. The perfect mix of mystery, romance and historical fiction.

Honestly 3.5 stars. I liked the characters and most of the story elements and the overall style, but couldn't bring myself to love them. There were things - like Ada's healing wishes and Ray's death can't touch me appearances - that felt over the top while so much else felt very grounded, extremely grounded. I know a story needs an antagonist, but Ray just fell flat for me. I didn't get his motivations or his obsession. Some of the scenes between Ada and Virgil drifted agonizingly to nowhere in particular. I kept thinking hurry up and get back the flashbacks. I wanted to know more about the journey she took. Adding to that, the ending felt rushed. I'd figured out long before who the victim was and who killed him. And I had a pretty good idea, though not all the pieces - as to why. I don't think the author wanted that to be a big secret anyway. I'm actually good with that. I just wanted more. We'd spent pages building to what happened, how Ada wanted and needed to perform, what the final straw was and why, only to get a “I love you more than anything. Let's start over somewhere else. Without all this. ok, sure. The end.”

Some synopsis and descriptions referred to this book as Water For Elephants meets The Night Circus (both books I enjoyed). While I can understand why that comparison might be made, I don't think that was the case at all. Yes, there's a traveling show. Yes, there's a tortured romance. Yes, there's even a bit of magic involved (both real and illusion). But this just wasn't at the same level. I never felt the need to hug a character like I wanted to in Elephants or quote multiple lines like I have from Night Circus. Still if someone asked, I'd probably encourage him/her to givet his story a chance.