Fletcher Brandon is a professional magician who learns of the death of his girlfriend Rosa on a train between Oxford and London. He has no idea why she was there and pursues the puzzle himself. The trail leads to Amsterdam and the realization that her death was neither an accident nor suicide.
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Amazon Review
Fletcher Brandon, known onstage as Peter Prestige the Prodigious Prestidigitator (and offstage simply as Red), has never met anyone as alive as Rosa Kelly. Yet a year after their mutual seduction one night in an Oxford pub, this beautiful, foul-mouthed, flinty Irishwoman is dead--either a suicide or a murder victim. The magician, summoned from a show in the north of England, finds himself hoping that she has perpetrated an elaborate ruse: "I would've given anything for the coroner's officer to whisk away the sheet with a theatrical flourish to reveal a bare table and for Rosa, in a sequined costume, to emerge, stage left, with beaming radiance."
Though Red had seen Rosa on the morning of her death, as long-haired and flamboyant as ever, the body's head is shaved and makeup-free. What's more, further investigation reveals that she had taken her passport and withdrawn a large sum from two accounts. As Red discovers, his lover had deceived him--a master illusionist--about almost everything: her past, her family, her job. When he realises that she had done so not out of malice but self-protection, he is determined to find her killer.
The Houdini Girl defies genres. It is a murder mystery in which the victim is offed in the initial pages. It is a tragic love story. It is a tale of double lives and identities--even Rosa's cat has two names. Martyn Bedford's third novel is also a physical and metaphysical exploration of the lure of magic, and of its abuses: one of Rosa's friends wonders, "Why are magicians so obsessed with bondage and penetration?" As the immensely talented Bedford powers through his tale of guilt and innocence (things that he knows are far from mutually exclusive), his flawed hero describes the tricks he and his assistant, the Lovely Kim, work on their audience.
>From the Zigzag Girl to the Lost Princess, these exploits are breathtakingly woven into the action and themes of the novel, which careens from Oxford to Amsterdam--where his heroine's irreparable past springs into full and sordid life. In the end, The Houdini Girl offers provocative proof of Auden's much-criticised line, "We must love one another or die."--Kerry Fried, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"A fast-paced story...surprisingly poignant." -"Chicago Tribune"
"Absorbing and well-paced." -"The New York Times" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"Absorbing and well-paced." -"The New York Times" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This must be one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. Bedford combines his amazing capacity for observation and his talent for story-telling into a sexy gripping tale. He is also one of the best dialogue writers in Britain, in my opinion. If you have to buy a book, make this your choice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
An amazing book, replete with all plot twists, action, romance, sex, and drugs that you could ever wish to see. Gritty, realistic and impossible to put down. The best thriller I've read for ages - the quality of the writing is superb. One of the few books where I've managed to really get into the mind of the characters.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Apart from a bit of the Amsterdam scenes being a bit woolly, it held my attention throughout. I will recommend this book to all my friends, and look forward to his new work.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Page turning thriller with soul
Beautifully written thriller with themes of deception, distraction and despair at its core. As the clues materialise the story of Rosa and Red unravels. Read more
Published on 3 Sep 2008 by Danielle West
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bedford lives up to his early promise
Martyn Bedford proves he wasn't a one-book wonder with this assured and absorbing novel. Fletcher Brandon is shocked by the sudden death of his girlfriend in a train accident, but... Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent read from a new writter
This is a great , easy but thought provoking read . The plot mixes a romance , thriller , and murder mystery together up with the feelings of an illutionist / magician and his... Read more
Published on 6 Sep 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book of the year
The Houdini Girl is my definite book of the Year. It is a thriller with a murder, or at least an assisted involuntary death, it is also a love story in the Shakespearean mould... Read more
Published on 19 Feb 1999
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