Illusion and intrigue -- The Illusionist's Apprentice

Kristy Cambron's The Illusionist's Apprentice is a story filled with illusion and intrigue.

The main story takes place in 1926/27, but flashbacks to various other periods of time are essential elements to putting all the pieces together.  The mix of history and fictions makes for an intriguing story with a feel of authenticity.  The characters are complex, particularly the main character, Wren Lockhart.  Illusion is her vocation, but it is also a large part of who she is personally.  
The plot of the story is filled with twists and turns.  Some of the mystery is fairly easy to put together, but other pieces kind of hit you over the head from out of nowhere. 

Fans of great historical fiction who are interested in a unique setting should really appreciate The Illusionist's Apprentice.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers for providing a copy of this book.  I was delighted to share my thoughts in the review. 

About the Book:

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.

About the Author:

Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2014 and nominated for RT Book Reviews’ Choice Awards Best Inspirational Novel of 2014 and for the 2015 INSPY Awards for Best Debut Novel. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal’s Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction) for February 2015 and a Top Pick for RT Book Reviews. Kristy holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three young sons. Website: www.kristycambron.com Twitter: @KCambronAuthor Facebook: Kristy-Cambron-Author.