The Magician's Lie.

☆☆☆☆☆

the magician's  lie.

greer macallister.

Publisher Sourcebooks Landmark

Publication Date:January 13,2015

Genre:Historical | Mystery Thriller.

Format|Pages:Hardcover| 320

 Source: Library | Goodreads.

 

Water for Elephants meets The Night Circus in The Magician’s Lie, a debut novel in which the country’s most notorious female illusionist stands accused of her husband's murder --and she has only one night to convince a small-town policeman of her innocence.



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. 

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Amazing, Beautiful. Those are the words that would describe The Magician’s Lie . To me, it was one of those stories that you can’t help but love, how can you not? From a moment that you pick up the novel, you’ll be hooked to story, the characters and you want know what happens next. Every time that I put the novel down, I found myself thinking about it, eager to pick it up again so can see what happens next. The Magician’s Lie was the type of novel that I had force to put down. What was most interesting is how it kept going back and forth between present and past. It was fascinating to learn how her life was before she became The Amazing Arden, how she came to that point. It was not what I had expected, there were parts of novel, especially the beginning that had me wincing. What she went through, honestly I don’t know how she managed to make out of it alive. How can anyone make out of what she had go through alive? She’s strong and despite what happened, she kept on going. I believe that’s why she made it as far as she did. However there were times when I wondered if she was telling the truth, considering how the book ended.



The Magician’s Lie was a powerful, intense book. The descriptions were amazing in this book, images so vivid. I could see everything that was happening in book, in my mind. Both the good parts and the bad parts. Though most of the book was slightly depressing, Arden did not have a happy life. If anything, it was filled with nothing but misery. Ray, now that’s a character that is impossible to love, I hated him from start till the end. He made Arden’s life nothing but misery, reason she was always afraid most of time. I would be too. Just because he wanted to fix something, doesn’t mean that he had to break it. From moment that he broke her leg, I knew that he was dangerous and that she needed to get away from him and fast. I was glad when she finally got away from him and after a while, I was sure that won’t be able to find her. From moment that she escaped, I was afraid for her, afraid that he would find her. I knew that once he did, it would mean nothing but trouble. It was a novel that will totally keep you on edge of seat, it’s filled with a lot of suspense.



I loved scenes between her and Virgil, in the present time. I felt like the two of them had some sort of connection, that’s why at the end he let her go. I did wonder what would happen once he found out that her ex fiancée was one who was the murderer, what he would do? Ending had me thinking: What If? The Magician’s Lie is a novel that will have you thinking, once you finish it and wonder what happens next, or what could possibly happen next to the characters. It’s not an easy read, because it’s pretty graphic novel or at least to me it felt like it. It was hard for me to believe that it was Greer’s debut novel. I can tell that it will be a writer that will go a long way, an author that I am going grow to love. One of the best historic novels out there. It’s filled with suspense, mystery, a lot of drama but also a book that will have you thinking and feel with a lot of emotion. A must read book.