Smoke and Mirrors cover art

Smoke and Mirrors

The Brighton Mysteries, Book 2

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Smoke and Mirrors

By: Elly Griffiths
Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
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About this listen

Brighton, 1951. Pantomime season takes a dark turn when two missing children are found dead under the snow, surrounded by sweets - a macabre, real-life Hansel and Gretel.

DI Edgar Stephens, has plenty of leads to investigate. The missing girl, Annie, used to write plays and perform them with her friends. Does the clue lie in Annie's unfinished - and rather disturbing - last script? Or might it lie with the eccentric actor types who have assembled for the pantomime?

Once again Edgar enlists magician and ex-wartime comrade Max Mephisto's help in penetrating the shadowy theatrical world that seems to hold the key. But is this all just classic misdirection?

©2015 Elly Griffiths (P)2015 WF Howes Ltd Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Mystery Disturbing

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Critic reviews

"Enormously engaging.... Post-war Brighton and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory...subtle, charming and very good." ( Daily Mail on The Zig Zag Girl)
"The historical detail is very well done...an extremely well-written and well-researched novel." ( Literary Review on The Zig Zag Girl)
All stars
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Thrilling series. Good read. A story in the story, Really loved it. I want more.

Great listening

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A horrifying start to this story paves the way for a thrilling, sometimes very dark, but enthralling tale of terrible murders. The main character, Detective Inspector Edgar Stevens is a lovely man who wants to triumph over evil so desperately, and is determined to solve this seemingly unsolvable crime. He does do expertly and with such compassion that I cried with joy at the end of the book. Brilliantly performed, amazing characters, the descriptions of Brighton made me feel like I was there. All together a terrific listening experience. I just couldn't stop listening to it!!! Loved it!!!

An excellent murder mystery!!!

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Good plot. I liked the characters and the period detail. The narrator was poor - especially compared to many other narrators on Audible. You should get the brilliant Richard Armitage to narrate the books in this series.

Poor narrator but good story

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A really good story told well, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and the narrator did a good job, and is a believable Edgar!

Brighton mysteries magic!

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I really enjoyed the Ruth Galloway books by Elly Griffiths and the Stephens and Mephisto are very different. This is the second one and it's much better than the first. The relationship between Edgar Stephens, the detective and Max Mephisto the magician wasn't quiet enough to sustain the first book . In this one though, we have detectives Bob and Emma to help DI Stephens and make the investigators feel more of an emotionally connected and functional team.

Better than the first one

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Ok story but disappointingly read. I’ve previously enjoyed Elly Griffiths but this was rather bland.

Let down by the performer.

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Characters now settled into their roles. Good ending. Complicated, but not predicable as Zigzag Girl.

Better than The Zigzag Girl

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Elly Griffiths has a great imagination, and the setting for this theatrical tale does not disappoint. The plot is worthy of being judged alongside some of the great melodramas of the Victorian era, and even if the motives for murder are predictable, the pace and backdrop are not.

An enjoyable listen very well narrated.

Pantomime and murder, a theatrical combination.

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And there are god ideas in here. But they don’t seem to go anywhere. Disappointing because the author can be very good at her best.

Wanted to love these books…

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Even better than The ZigZag Girl. A grim subject involving the murder of children, but handled expertly so the story becomes heartwarming. I love the development of the other police characters as they become more interesting, and it was great to see Max and Diablo again. Brighton in the snow and the atmosphere of life in post war early 1950s is brilliantly described. Can't wait for the next one.

Enthralling and atmospheric

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