Brighton, 1950.

When a girl's body is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.

The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar's. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men.

Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind.

Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another 'trick', the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in the killer's sights...

About the Author
Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted five times for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her new series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which was a Richard and Judy book club pick and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.

Reviews
Enormously engaging . . . Post-war Brighton and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory . . . subtle, charming and very good * Daily Mail *
Enormously engaging . . . Post-war Brighton and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory . . . subtle, charming and very good * Daily Mail *
A colourful crowd of ventriloquists and sword-swallowers, a world lovingly re-created in this original, lively and gripping work * Independent *
A colourful crowd of ventriloquists and sword-swallowers, a world lovingly re-created in this original, lively and gripping work * Independent *
The historical detail is very well done . . . The Zig Zag Girl is an extremely well-written and well-researched novel * Literary Review *
The historical detail is very well done . . . The Zig Zag Girl is an extremely well-written and well-researched novel * Literary Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9781784291969
Author Elly Griffiths
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Quercus Publishing
Publisher Quercus Publishing
Weight(grams) 249g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 132mm * 26mm