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.

The Master Magician

The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg
216 Pages

"Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she's kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She's discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own--an ability long thought impossible. While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician's exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony's past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined. "

This is final book ( I think) of what was a nice little trilogy that ran its course.  There isn't much more the author could do in developing the relationship between the two main characters and in fact the author seemed hard pressed to develop any new plot twists or plot lines from the previous two books.  It seems as if originally the three books were one and the publisher broke them apart to get more of run. 

The Glass Magician

The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, 211 pages

I thought this was a good, solid sequel to The Paper Magician.  Ceony and Emery have pretty much recovered from their encounter with Lira but now Ceony is being pursued by two other magicians believed to be Excisioners, who want to release Lira from the spell Ceony cast on her.  Of course, Ceony has no intention of releasing her, but when her family is threatened she feels desperate.  She isn’t sure exactly how the piece of magic she did actually worked so isn’t sure how to undo it anyway.  Further complicating the matter, Ceony has fallen in love with Emery, which is frowned upon, since she is his apprentice.  She isn’t sure how Emery feels, which makes the whole matter worse for her.  This is a good fantasy series and I’ll be excited for the next book to come out.

Born Of Illusion

Born Of Illusion by Teri Brown, 373 pages

Anna Van Housen has been helping her mother with her show for nearly all of her life.  Anna’s mother is a medium and performs both publicly and privately.  At the public show, Anna acts as a magician and she is very good.  She also covers for her mother during her mother’s part of the show, because Anna’s mother is a fake.  She has no real psychic ability.  But Anna does, and she is determined to hide it from her mother.  Anna hates doing the séances and hates feeling what other people feel but doesn’t know how to control it.  Recently, Anna has begun having visions of danger for herself and her mother and several ne people have come into their lives.  Notably, two young men who seem to be vying for Anna’s attention, Cole and Owen.  Anna isn’t sure if she trusts either one of them but both are handsome and seem kind.  Anna is also worried that Harry Houdini may appear to expose her mother.  Anna’s mother has always claimed that Houdini was her father and now he could ruin their lives.  This is a great supernatural mystery thriller set in the 1920s that many teens may enjoy.

Disappearance Boy

Disappearance Boy by Neil Bartlett
282 Pages

"Reggie Rainbow has found the perfect profession for someone who likes to keep himself to himself: it's his job to make sure that some things stay out of sight and out of mind.  Childhood polio has left him with a limp, but his strong arms and nimble fingers are put to perfect use behind the scenes, helping the illusionist Mr Brookes to 'disappear' a series of glamorous assistants twice nightly. But in 1953, bookings for magic acts are scarce, even in London. So when Mr Brookes is unexpectedly offered a slot at the Brighton Grand, Reggie finds himself back out on the road and living in a strange new town. The sea air begins to work its own peculiar kind of magic, and, as the bunting goes up in the streets outside the theatre for the Grand's forthcoming Coronation spectacular, Reggie begins to wonder just how much of his own life is an act - and what might have happened to somebody who disappeared from that life long ago."


Reggie and Pamela find comfort in each other as they search for meaning in their lives.  A nicely written, short novel with a interesting narrative style. 

Hawley Book of the Dead

The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan
332 Pages

Revelation Maskelyn is part of a long line of women who possess special, magical skills.  Revelation's skill is the ability to disappear.  When she kills her husband, in a Las Vegas magic production she flees with her three daughters to the old family compound, an abandoned town where all the people disappeared in the 1930s. But Revelation is being tracked by an ancient foe and she will have to awaken all of her power and learn her family's background to defeat him and save her daughters from being killed as well.

I enjoyed this book and hope that there might be a sequel later also it also works as a stand-alone book. 

The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg, 214 pages

Ceony Twill is a brand new magician's apprentice, training to become a Folder, a magician who uses origami (though that word is never used in the book) to channel her magic. She has just started her apprenticeship with Magician Emery Thane when Thane is attacked, his still-beating heart stolen from his body by a dark magic practitioner, leaving Ceony to use her wits, and what little Folding she has learned, to try to save her mentor.

The premise of this book is promising, and it seems that there could be a lot to this world Holmberg has created, in which different magicians use different materials (glass, rubber, plastic, metal, etc.) to create magic. However, The Paper Magician is as flimsy as its namesake material. The world, so rich with potential, is never really developed by Holmberg, nor are the characters, which are littered with glimpses of rich back-stories that are never fully fleshed out. There are also a lot of technical issues that are never really sorted out (much like it's no use taking a knife to a gunfight, taking paper to a fight against someone using liquid and cutting implements seems foolhardy at best), which make suspending disbelief somewhat problematic.

Despite that, the world is ripe for development, and I'm tempted to pick up the sequel to this, just to see if a second volume allows Holmberg to sort out some of the issues presented here. Those who enjoy origami and magic might give it a shot, if they're so inclined.

The Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg, 214 Pages

Due to the shortage Folders newly graduated Magician Ceony Twill doesn't get to choose what magic she studies, she is stuck with paper magic. Apprenticed under the strange but kind Magician Emery Thane she discovers that paper magic isn't as dreadful as she thought. Her training is disrupted though when a practitioner of the forbidden blood magic shows up and tears the heart out of he teacher. To save his life Ceony must track down and face the evil magician, and return Thane's heart. This was an enjoyable story which I'm hoping is leading us into an enjoyable fantasy series.

Academic Exercises

Academic Exercises by K. J. Parker, 529 pages


This book was recommended by one of our librarians here at Central. It is a collection of short stories intermixed with three short humorous treaties. Most of the stories revolve around a place called the Studium and happen in what are imperial lands. The Studium is a place where the greatest scientific minds come together to teach magic. Though the people in the stories say they are not wizards and can't do magic. They claim they are just unlocking abilities of their minds. But for all practical purposes they are wizards.

I found "Black and Purple" and "Sun and I" to be the best of the bunch. "Black and Purple is an epistolary, meaning it is written just through letters sent back and forth. This was my first encounter with this writing style and I found it to be fascinating. The use of letters breaks the story down into its more basic parts. While this can lead to skimping on details it was used rather well here.

"Sun and I" is about a group of upper middle class friends that decided to invent a religion so they can con people out of money. What actually happens is a deeply philosophical and humorous story about what happens when the scheme goes to far.

I really enjoyed reading this collection and would recommend it to the borderline science fiction fans.

Paper Magician

The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg
214 Pages

This little book is charming and has the potential of spawning a greater series.  When newly graduated magician's apprentice Ceony Twill goes to pick her specialty, she is told that she no longer has a choice, she will apprentice in paper magic because of a lack of magicians in this field.  She is less than thrilled with this news because everyone knows that this field has the least power of all of the fields of magic.  However, she quickly becomes intrigued with her teacher and his past and when his life is put in danger, travels to find a way of saving his life.

Dorko the Magnificent

Dorko The Magnificent by Andrea Beaty, 213 pages

Robbie Darko is a fifth grade magician. Unfortunately, although his tricks usually work, something often seems to go wrong during his performance. Like his principal being deathly afraid of salamanders, or his rabbit escaping, or fires. But Robbie won’t give up. He’s planning a great performance for the fifth grade talent show. He needs to do something to make up for the fact that times are rough at home. His dad lost his job and only recently found a new one so his family doesn’t have much money. His mom had to go to work to help out and his dad’s new job means he has to travel a lot so they aren’t home as much. Now, his Grandma Melvyn has to move in because she needs a knee operation and can’t stay by herself until it’s done and the insurance company hasn’t decided if it will pay for the operation. Grandma Mervyn is a scary, short woman who looks at people with her Wicked Wobble Eye. Never laughs, and calls everybody Trixie. Not only is she staying with Robbie’s family but she’s taken over his room How is Robbie supposed to plan a great act for the talent show with all of the disruption in his home? This was a really great true life story for later elementary kids.