Magician's Lie (Macallister)

Book Reviews
Smart and intricately plotted... a richly imagined thriller.
People


More bewitching than a crackling fire.
Oprah.com


The ride MacAllister takes us on is a grand one. She describes what it’s like to call a boxcar home for 11 months of the year as part of a traveling show. Her descriptions of the Biltmore Estate (vast and elegant) and old New York (stinky, noisy and crowded) are lush and evocative. At the end, you might find yourself rooting for the story so much, you’ll make your own disbelief disappear
Dallas Morning News


Macallister is as much of a magician as her subject, misdirecting and enchanting while ultimately leaving her audience satisfied with a grand finale.
Columbus Dispatch


And for its next trick, the novel The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister just might become a hit.
Christian Science Monitor


Readers may well compare Greer's novel to The Night Circus, as it revolves around the mysterious world of magic and illusions... the story is spun like a bard's hypnotic tale. By the end, the reader is left wondering what is real and what is illusion.
Romantic Times


(Starred review.) This well-paced, evocative, and adventurous historical novel from Macallister, a poet and short story writer, chronicles the career of America’s preeminent female stage illusionist at the turn of the 20th century, who, as the Amazing Arden, created the lurid, controversial stage act known as the Halved Man. ... [R]ollicking...top-notch novel.
Publishers Weekly


What happens when a magician's illusion becomes real?... Macallister...has created a captivating world of enchantment and mystery that readers will be loath to leave.... [E]xotic settings (circus, magic show) are more of a backdrop for a larger story in both cases than an integral part of the plot. —Elisabeth Clark, West Florida P.L., Pensacola
Library Journal


Combined, the two points of view reveal magic and illusion, romance and lost loves, murder and intrigue, and Macallister captures the whimsy and wonder of the traveling magic shows of the 20th century with stunning detail.
Shelf Awareness


Greer Macallister's haunting first novel is a compelling mystery.... [her] painstaking descriptions of the costumes, technique and trickery involved in Ada’s work as an illusionist are unparalleled.
BookPage


A female illusionist is questioned about a murder in Macallister's debut, set at the turn of the 20th century.... Macallister makes a concerted effort to ensure historical accuracy, but her prose is labored and lacks intensity.Nevertheless, devotees of illusion may enjoy the story based on the author's detailed focus on early costumes, movement and techniques.
Kirkus Reviews