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    Smoke And Mirrors: A Mystery
    The Blood Card: A Mystery
    The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery
    Ebook series5 titles

    Brighton Mysteries Series

    By Elly Griffiths

    4/5

    ()

    About this series

    The Brighton police force is on the hunt for another killer, but this time they have some competition—a newly formed all-women’s private eye firm, led by none other than the police chief’s wife.

    Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens.

    Soon Emma realizes that Verity’s life intersects closely with her own—most notably in their mutual connection, Max Mephisto, who has returned to England from America with his children and famous wife, Hollywood star Lydia Lamont. Lydia, desperately bored in the countryside, catches wind of what Emma and Sam are up to and offers her services. What secret does Lydia know about Verity’s past?

    The team of female PIs circle closer to the killer, with the Brighton police hot on their tail. The clues suggest they’re looking for a criminal targeting the old music-hall crew. How long will it be before that trail leads straight back to Max?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 5, 2008
    Smoke And Mirrors: A Mystery
    The Blood Card: A Mystery
    The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery

    Titles in the series (5)

    • 1

      The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery
      The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery

      The Zig Zag Girl: The First Brighton Mystery

      Elly Griffiths
      4/5 - 1 rating
      4/5 - 1 rating

      The chilling debut mystery in the Brighton Mysteries series from Edgar Allen Poe Award-winner Elly Griffiths—author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries—about a band of magicians who served together in World War II tracking a killer who’s performing their deadly tricks. “Captivating.”—Wall Street Journal “An absorbing read, the debut of another great series.”—San Jose Mercury News “A labyrinthine plot, a splendid reveal, and superb evocation of the wafer-thin veneer of glamour at the bottom end of showbusiness . . . Thoroughly enjoyable.” —Guardian Brighton, 1950. A girl is found cut into three sections, and 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, served with Edgar in a special ops group called the Magic Men that used stage illusions to confound the enemy. Max still performs, touring with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls. When Edgar asks for his help with the case, Max tells him to identify the victim, for it takes a special sidekick to do the Zig Zag Girl. Those words haunt Max when he learns the victim was a favorite former assistant of his own. And when Edgar receives a letter warning of another “trick” on the way, he realizes that it is the Magic Men themselves who are in the killer’s sights. “Enormously engaging . . . Griffiths’s plot is satisfyingly serpentine.”—Daily Mail “Readers will finish looking forward to the next trick up [Griffiths’s] sleeve.”—Mystery Scene

      The chilling debut mystery in the Brighton Mysteries series from Edgar Allen Poe Award-winner Elly Griffiths—author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries—about a band of magicians who served together in World War II tracking a killer who’s performing their deadly tricks. “Captivating.”—Wall Street Journal “An absorbing read, the debut of another great series.”—San Jose Mercury News “A labyrinthine plot, a splendid reveal, and superb evocation of the wafer-thin veneer of glamour at the bottom end of showbusiness . . . Thoroughly enjoyable.” —Guardian Brighton, 1950. A girl is found cut into three sections, and 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, served with Edgar in a special ops group called the Magic Men that used stage illusions to confound the enemy. Max still performs, touring with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls. When Edgar asks for his help with the case, Max tells him to identify the victim, for it takes a special sidekick to do the Zig Zag Girl. Those words haunt Max when he learns the victim was a favorite former assistant of his own. And when Edgar receives a letter warning of another “trick” on the way, he realizes that it is the Magic Men themselves who are in the killer’s sights. “Enormously engaging . . . Griffiths’s plot is satisfyingly serpentine.”—Daily Mail “Readers will finish looking forward to the next trick up [Griffiths’s] sleeve.”—Mystery Scene

    • 2

      Smoke And Mirrors: A Mystery
      Smoke And Mirrors: A Mystery

      Smoke And Mirrors: A Mystery

      Elly Griffiths
      4/5 - 82 ratings
      4/5 - 82 ratings

      “Another great series.” — San Jose Mercury News “A dazzlingly tricky mystery.” — Kirkus Reviews   “A tremendous skein of red herrings, sharp and thorough police work, [and] mysterious connections.” — Bookgasm   It’s Christmastime in Brighton, and the city is abuzz about magician Max Mephisto’s star turn in Aladdin. But the holiday cheer is lost on DI Edgar Stephens. He’s investigating the murder of two children, Annie and Mark, who were found in the woods alongside a trail of candy—a horrifying scene eerily reminiscent of “Hansel and Gretel.” Edgar has plenty of leads. Annie, a dark child, wrote gruesome plays based on the Grimms’ fairy tales. Does the key to the case lie in her final script? Or does the macabre staging of the bodies point to the theater and the capricious cast of Aladdin? Edgar enlists Max’s help in penetrating the shadowy world of the theater. But is this all just classic misdirection?   “Excellent . . . Evoking both the St. Mary Mead of Agatha Christie and the theater world of Ngaio Marsh.” — Booklist  

      “Another great series.” — San Jose Mercury News “A dazzlingly tricky mystery.” — Kirkus Reviews   “A tremendous skein of red herrings, sharp and thorough police work, [and] mysterious connections.” — Bookgasm   It’s Christmastime in Brighton, and the city is abuzz about magician Max Mephisto’s star turn in Aladdin. But the holiday cheer is lost on DI Edgar Stephens. He’s investigating the murder of two children, Annie and Mark, who were found in the woods alongside a trail of candy—a horrifying scene eerily reminiscent of “Hansel and Gretel.” Edgar has plenty of leads. Annie, a dark child, wrote gruesome plays based on the Grimms’ fairy tales. Does the key to the case lie in her final script? Or does the macabre staging of the bodies point to the theater and the capricious cast of Aladdin? Edgar enlists Max’s help in penetrating the shadowy world of the theater. But is this all just classic misdirection?   “Excellent . . . Evoking both the St. Mary Mead of Agatha Christie and the theater world of Ngaio Marsh.” — Booklist  

    • 3

      The Blood Card: A Mystery
      The Blood Card: A Mystery

      The Blood Card: A Mystery

      Elly Griffiths
      4/5 - 8 ratings
      4/5 - 8 ratings

      Elizabeth II’s coronation is looming, but DI Edgar Stephens is busy investigating the death of a local fortune-teller. Meanwhile, his old pal, the magician Max Mephisto, is rehearsing for his television debut, a coronation day variety show. But upon hearing that their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, has been found dead in his flat, the two men join forces to find out what happened.             While Max is stuck in rehearsals, Edgar finds himself heading to New York, hot on the trail of a mesmerist he’s sure has valuable information for them—and his trusty sergeant, Emma, investigates some important leads at home. As the clock ticks down to coronation day, the team must scramble to keep Max’s small-screen debut from ending in a dangerously explosive finale.  

      Elizabeth II’s coronation is looming, but DI Edgar Stephens is busy investigating the death of a local fortune-teller. Meanwhile, his old pal, the magician Max Mephisto, is rehearsing for his television debut, a coronation day variety show. But upon hearing that their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, has been found dead in his flat, the two men join forces to find out what happened.             While Max is stuck in rehearsals, Edgar finds himself heading to New York, hot on the trail of a mesmerist he’s sure has valuable information for them—and his trusty sergeant, Emma, investigates some important leads at home. As the clock ticks down to coronation day, the team must scramble to keep Max’s small-screen debut from ending in a dangerously explosive finale.  

    • 5

      Now You See Them: A Mystery
      Now You See Them: A Mystery

      Now You See Them: A Mystery

      Elly Griffiths
      4/5 - 4 ratings
      4/5 - 4 ratings

      The fifth book in the Magic Men series, Now You See Them is a wild mystery with detective Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto, as they investigate a string of presumed kidnappings in the swinging 1960s. The new decade is going well for Edgar Stephens and his good friend the magician Max Mephisto. Edgar is happily married, with children, and promoted to Superintendent. Max has found fame and stardom in America, though is now back in England for a funeral, and a prospective movie job. Edgar’s new wife, though—former detective Emma—is restless and frustrated at home, knowing she was the best detective on the team. But when an investigation into a string of disappearing girls begins, Emma sees her chance to get back in the action. She begins her own hunt, determined to prove, once and for all that she’s better than the boys. Though she’s not the only one working toward that goal—there’s a new woman on the force, and she’s determined to make detective. When two more girls go missing, both with ties to the group, the stakes climb ever higher, and Max finds himself drawn into his own search.   Who will find the girls first? And will they get there in time?

      The fifth book in the Magic Men series, Now You See Them is a wild mystery with detective Edgar Stephens and the magician Max Mephisto, as they investigate a string of presumed kidnappings in the swinging 1960s. The new decade is going well for Edgar Stephens and his good friend the magician Max Mephisto. Edgar is happily married, with children, and promoted to Superintendent. Max has found fame and stardom in America, though is now back in England for a funeral, and a prospective movie job. Edgar’s new wife, though—former detective Emma—is restless and frustrated at home, knowing she was the best detective on the team. But when an investigation into a string of disappearing girls begins, Emma sees her chance to get back in the action. She begins her own hunt, determined to prove, once and for all that she’s better than the boys. Though she’s not the only one working toward that goal—there’s a new woman on the force, and she’s determined to make detective. When two more girls go missing, both with ties to the group, the stakes climb ever higher, and Max finds himself drawn into his own search.   Who will find the girls first? And will they get there in time?

    • 6

      The Midnight Hour: A British Detective Mystery
      The Midnight Hour: A British Detective Mystery

      The Midnight Hour: A British Detective Mystery

      Elly Griffiths
      4/5 - 10 ratings
      4/5 - 10 ratings

      The Brighton police force is on the hunt for another killer, but this time they have some competition—a newly formed all-women’s private eye firm, led by none other than the police chief’s wife. Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens. Soon Emma realizes that Verity’s life intersects closely with her own—most notably in their mutual connection, Max Mephisto, who has returned to England from America with his children and famous wife, Hollywood star Lydia Lamont. Lydia, desperately bored in the countryside, catches wind of what Emma and Sam are up to and offers her services. What secret does Lydia know about Verity’s past? The team of female PIs circle closer to the killer, with the Brighton police hot on their tail. The clues suggest they’re looking for a criminal targeting the old music-hall crew. How long will it be before that trail leads straight back to Max?

      The Brighton police force is on the hunt for another killer, but this time they have some competition—a newly formed all-women’s private eye firm, led by none other than the police chief’s wife. Newly minted PI Emma Holmes and her partner Sam Collins are just settling into their business when they’re chosen for a high-profile case: retired music-hall star Verity Malone hires them to find out who poisoned her husband, a theater impresario. Verity herself has been accused of the crime. The only hitch—the Brighton police are already on the case, putting Emma in direct competition with her husband, police superintendent Edgar Stephens. Soon Emma realizes that Verity’s life intersects closely with her own—most notably in their mutual connection, Max Mephisto, who has returned to England from America with his children and famous wife, Hollywood star Lydia Lamont. Lydia, desperately bored in the countryside, catches wind of what Emma and Sam are up to and offers her services. What secret does Lydia know about Verity’s past? The team of female PIs circle closer to the killer, with the Brighton police hot on their tail. The clues suggest they’re looking for a criminal targeting the old music-hall crew. How long will it be before that trail leads straight back to Max?

    Author

    Elly Griffiths

    Elly Griffiths is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway and Brighton mystery series, as well as the standalone novels The Stranger Diaries, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel; The Postscript Murders; and Bleeding Heart Yard. She is the recipient of the CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in Brighton, England.

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