Review: The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron

The Illusionist's Apprentice

by Kristy Cambron

Publisher: HarperCollins Christian

Pages: 356

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.

Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.

In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.

Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. 

Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.

Kritters Thoughts:  In this fictional tale, Harry Houdini took on a young girl as an apprentice after seeing her talent on the street.  He taught her all the things he knew and many in the illusionist circle coveted her close relationship to him.  She has also has secrets from her past that she is trying to keep out of the spotlight and all of these things are going to come to a head in this book.

I loved the deep dive into the world of illusion.  Wren Lockhart was a great character to follow into this world and I like the point at which this book started and stopped.  I would characterize this book as part historical fiction part mystery/thriller.  If you tend to skip out on the historical fiction the angsty mystery/thriller part may thrill you enough to forget that this is a historical fiction book!  To say the twists and turns were great is an understatement, I had a few moments where I may have said "Oh No" OUT LOUD, but they were perfectly timed and not completely from left field which at times can be frustrating.

This was my first Kristy Cambron read and I may have to look into her backlist to add to my TBR.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.