Magic Murder. Review on Vanished Man, The - Jeffery Deaver

Its been a long time since I actually felt a burning urge to find out what happened next in a whodunnit novel. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr.Jeffery Deaver, the author - who, by the way, I've never heard of- manages to do exactly that. I am, of course, excluding Christie - she rocks! This novel is not exactly Agatha Christie - there are no flamboyant moustachioed omniscient detectives-only a run of the mill NYPD gang, headed by a quadriplegic former detective, Lincoln Rhyme, and his partner and lover, the extremely sharp Amelia Sachs.

The book is based on a very intriguing premise - the murderer is a an extremely gifted illusionist magician, who has, apparently, no motive at all to commit his various dramatic murders. Each murder is a sort of magic-trick-but-not-a-trick. That is, the first murder was based on the famous Houdini Darby Escape, where he handcuffed himself behind his back, with a rope tied around his neck; if he didnt manage to get out in four minutes, he would die of strangulation by his own hands.

The murderer positions the murderee in exactly the same manner, and surprise surprise! -she dies. in another one, he saws a victim neatly in half, like the sawing trick we see all the time. Its not very interesting, put this way, but I found it absolutely gripping. The murderer is an extremely adept 'quick changer', as in he can change from a tattooed biker boy to a grandma in a frilly dress in less than thirty seconds.

So, unnecessary to say, the cops are having a real problem finding out who he is, as all his victims have seen him, but none of them has actually seen HIM! To one, he was an introvert equestrian, to another he was a policeman, to the third he was un upstate businessman. I haven't finished the book myself; I daresay they will catch him, but as of now, its really interesting finding out how he gets away each time.

The policemen hire a pretty young trainee magician to help them, so she gives them some really interesting insider information on the magician trade, and the real deal on lots of common magic tricks. Those are really nice to read too. Its a nice book and worth a read. If anyone has read anything else by Mr.Deaver, tell me how you liked them too. One particular con, I'd say is that book is a little too long. The other parts are nice.

I especially like the way each Chapter or each murder is prefaced with a solicitous note to the Revered Audience, giving them short notes on the murder that is about to be 'performed' for their entertainment!

Good one:)