This
historical novel deals with the issue of perception. Do we believe
what we see?
The
story takes places in four different time periods. The narrative is
mostly in 1927 when Wren is a successful illusionist and one time aid
to Houdini. We do jump back from time to time to three earlier
periods in Wren's life. While the dates are clearly identified at the
chapter beginning, I felt the narrative was disjointed and would have
preferred one long prologue about the earlier times. Also, a chapter
would begin with a previous scene then jump to a later time in
mid-chapter.
Wren
helps the FBI try to uncover the truth about a magician's stunt gone
deadly wrong. The plot was very complex and just did not work well
for me. The motives behind the nefarious actions were all tied to
events decades ago that did not become clear until near the end of
the novel. That mean readers who like to try to solve the mystery
were precluded from doing so until the final revelations. The
suspenseful end I felt was pretty much the result of the weak action
of an FBI agent and was not satisfying.
All
that being said, I did enjoy the historical nature of the novel.
Cambron did a good job of combining historical fact with fiction, as
identified by an Author's Note at the end of the novel. I would
recommend this novel to those who like an historical novel with a complex
mystery and a little romance.
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Kristy
Cambron holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University and
has fifteen years of training and communications experience for a
Fortune 100 corporation. Her novels have been named to Library
Journal Reviews' list of Best Books of 2014 and 2015 and have
received nominations for RT Reviewers' Choice Awards Best
Inspirational Book of 2014 and 2015. She lives in Indiana with her
husband and their three sons. You can find out more at
www.kristycambron.com.
Thomas
Nelson, 368 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
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