The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery (The Brighton Mysteries, #1)

by Elly Griffiths

"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" --

• ISBN10: 0544527992
• ISBN13: 9780544527997
• Publish Date: 15 September 2015 (first published 6 November 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Mariner Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

I don't know what took me so long to get around to this book. Elly Griffiths is one of my favorite writers (I admit to be fully addicted to Ruth and Nelson and Cathbad) so this was on my list. I saw it on Overdrive and decided now was the time, and it didn't disappoint! I loved the characters, from Max the magician to Edgar's pragmatic cop to Diablo's "My dear boy!" they really made for an engaging bunch.

Set in post-war England, it made for a fascinating backdrop. Edgar's war experiences still affect him, no matter how much he tries to push it away and it all comes back to haunt him. The story is laid out step by step, clue to clue until the exciting conclusion. I admit, I had a gut feeling about the murderer. Sherlock once famously said “...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” rang in my head while I was reading. Still, it was engrossing and entertaining and I loved every minute of it