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| Final Rating: 3.9/5 |
Like the infamous presence of the Great Houdini, this novel is strangely hypnotic and haunting in many ways. It has mystery, sleight of hand drama, more than a dash of the supernormal and even a disappearing elephant. Of course we have a tumultuous story of devotion and loss that spans from 1894 to a several years beyond 1936 featuring “the Houdini’s” and the ever present mystery of what could be beyond our world as the reader follows Bess Houdini on her obsession of lifting the veil between life and death to contact her husband who vowed he would reach her with a special message that held so much meaning in their shared lives. The novel bobs back and forth between time periods of Bess searching for her ultimate message and the early career of Harry Houdini, illustrating the differences of time changes and growth of confidence of the rising star of illusion and daring escape artist. In the wings of the past, Bess recalls her years on the stage and watching and listening to the applause of small audiences of simple country folk to the later jewel-ringed hands of royalty; Mrs. Houdini is privy to all the master’s secrets or is she? As Bess races to collect snippets of messages in the present that she is adamant will prove her husband has achieved the impossible to come back to her, she may also find that The Man from Beyond still has some tricks up his sleeve and she may not like the finale.
For this reader, I overall enjoyed this energetic meaningful debut. I had my doubts in the beginning though and almost left the audience but as this novel moved from act to act it became hard to put my kindle down and I’m glad I stayed until the end. It had many shining moments but it tended to stray a little too far with facts (especially the Hollywood 1923 chapter), atmosphere (more than once or twice I had to look back and remind myself what time period it was switching to because the details were lacking or at other times overwhelming or forced) and it revealed the great mystery of the novel early in the beginning sadly. I also was a little shocked by one particular cringe-worthy scene in first half of the book that seemed completely unnecessary and I didn’t entirely care for all the presented personalities but something kept me reading and I’m happy it did. All that aside, this was a great distraction from reality and I would recommend Mrs. Houdini to those who are looking for something mischievous with its mystery that has some real showmanship but also holds some powerful messages for anyone who has lost someone special.
*I would like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and enjoy Mrs. Houdini: A Novel
Title Released: March 1, 2016
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