The Zig Zag Girl

Publisher Marketing: In the first installment of a compelling new series by Elly Griffiths, a band of magicians who served together in World War II track a killer who s performing their deadly tricks. Brighton, 1950. The body of a girl is found cut into three pieces. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is convinced the killer is mimicking a famous magic trick the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old war friend of Edgar s. They served together in a shadowy unit called the Magic Men, a special ops troop that used stage tricks to confound the enemy. Max is on the traveling show circuit, touring seaside towns with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls. He s reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate but advises him to identify the victim quickly it takes a special sidekick to do the Zig Zag Girl. Those words come back to haunt Max when the dead girl turns out to be Ethel, one of his best assistants to date. He s soon at Edgar s side, hunting for Ethel s killer. Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max are sure the answer to the murders lies in their army days. And when Edgar receives a letter warning of another trick on the way the Wolf Trap he knows they re all in the killer s sights." Review Citations: Library Journal 07/01/2015 pg. 58 (EAN 9780544527942, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 07/13/2015 (EAN 9780544527942, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2015 (EAN 9780544527942, Hardcover) Booklist 08/01/2015 pg. 38 (EAN 9780544527942, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Griffiths, Elly Elly Griffiths is the author of the Ruth Galloway and Magic Men mystery series. She is the recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award and her work has been praised as gripping (Louise Penny), highly atmospheric (New York Times Book Review), and must-reads for fans of crime fiction (Associated Press).