The Dime Museum Murders

  

The Dime Museum Murders: A Harry Houdini Mystery (Book 1 of 3) by Daniel Stashower   256 pages

I loved the way this story opened: It’s Halloween. Every year reporters track down the now forty-nine-year-old Dash Hardeen, younger brother of Erich Weiss, more commonly known as Harry Houdini, to interview him about his brother. Harry is already dead. Dash loves the attention that the night and the new reporters bring. It makes him feel close to Harry again.

The reporter, Jack Matthews, asks his questions; the same ones that all other reporters before him have asked, especially on Halloween. Matthews picks up a heavy gold medallion and asked Dash about it. Dash tells him that it is “a memento from the very first time that Harry Houdini ever died.” Now he really has Matthews’ attention, and Matthews wants to hear more. It’s a long story, Dash tells him, and then real story begins.

It’s 1897 in New York. Harry is still trying to make it. He has small name recognition but isn’t yet the superstar he is to become. To make ends meet, Harry and his beloved wife, Bess, are working the dime museum, or a ten-in-one. The patron pays a dime and gets to see ten acts, each act lasting three minutes.

Across the city, toy tycoon Branford Wintour is murdered in a locked room. The police call on Harry to help them solve the case. At least that’s what Harry believes. What the police really want is or Harry to identify a priceless and, some thought forgotten, automation. Although the police discourage the brothers, they continue to investigate.

The novel is well written. Not the page-turner I was hoping for, but it has a nice steady pace. Author Stashower does an excellent job in showing what an ego-manic, jerk of a personality that Houdini was. Dash is the more, much, much, much more likable character. I enjoyed reading about the magic and how hard Harry worked at becoming Houdini. I was also fascinated by the automations and the toy story that the brothers’ mentors ran.

There is a major flaw with this book: The title indicates that the murders take place where Harry and Bess perform. They don’t.  

I give The Dime Museum Murders: A Harry Houdini Mystery (Book 1 of 3) 3 out of 5 stars.