The Magician

Pupa doesn’t break new ground in this serial-killer thriller, but does make effective use of flashbacks and alternating perspectives to create suspense. FBI agent Frank Sorello was devastated by the loss of his wife to the serial killer known as the Magician. The murderer was so named because he began killing in Harry Houdini’s hometown, on the date of the legendary escape artist’s death. Now retired from the Bureau, Frank becomes convinced that the Magician is bestselling author Gary Jones, whose latest book is a thinly veiled version of his actual crimes. Frank manages to persuade the FBI director, a friend, to take him seriously, and to allow him to participate in the search for Jones. Though Pupa fills in the tragic history that led to the creation of the Magician, who witnessed the murder of his parents in Los Angeles in 1998 while only eight years old, he provides little psychological depth in this plot-driven novel. [em](BookLife) [/em]