The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

 

Magicians on stage know how to make their viewers imagine that magic is taking place. In Elly Griffiths’ novel The Zig Zag Girl, the backstage real life of the magicians is a bit sordid, which affects one’s view of how they mystify their audience. I enjoyed reading this portrayal of the illusion and reality and of the egotism that goes into performance. 

Against this exotic theatrical background, there’s also an exciting plot — violent at times. The main action takes place a few years after World War II, but the characters are constantly harking back a few years to a time when they participated in a deception to support the war effort. The author’s summary:

Magic, murder and a mystery rooted in a murky wartime past. Meet DI Stephens and Max Mephisto

Brighton, 1950. When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men. Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind. Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another ‘trick’, the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in the killer’s sights.

This is a very entertaining spy novel!

Review © 2026 mae sander