Via Goodreads Title: A Deadly Game of Magic
Author: Joan Lowery Nixon
Genre: Young adult mystery
How I got the book: I bought it
Summary (from Goodreads):
Caught in a violent storm, Lisa and her three friends take refuge in an old deserted house. Inside are strewn odd tricks and gadgets-the props of a practiced magician. Doors slam shut. The phones go dead. A ghostly hand creeps across the mantel. But the group’s fascination at these effects quickly turns to horror.
Lisa has always dreamed of being a magician. Now her life and the lives of her friends-depend on her skill. Because one by one the tricks are becoming more sinister, luring the group closer and closer to the terrible secret at the end of the corridor…
My Review:
Joan Lowery Nixon was my favorite author when I was a kid and I haven’t read any of her books in a long time. So when I picked this one up from my shelf, nostalgia hit me as I smelled the book.
This book is written well through the first-person narration of Lisa. She gets caught in a storm with three of her “friends” and they all end up trapped in an old magician’s house. They believe they’re alone as they wait for a tow truck for their broken down car, but it turns out someone is in the house with this.
This is a classic ghost story, except the culprit isn’t a ghost. Supernatural things don’t happen, it only looks like it because they’re all magic tricks.
This is a quick read, but even if it wasn’t I still think I would read it in one sitting.
The characters were each likable and unique with their own voices. Their relationship with one another was a bit cliche as they all don’t know each other well, but by they end of this experience they’re all great friends and realize they have a lot in common.
My only problem about this novel was that I still have some questions. I won’t specifically say what due to spoilers, but there was something that didn’t get answered even though the mystery as a whole was wrapped up neatly.
And, this is a nit-pick of mine, while the ending was satisfying, I wish there was an epilogue of some sort to let us know what happened to the characters after they got out of the house.
A Deadly Game of Magic by Joan Lowery Nixon gets 4 out of 5 stars.
Favorite Quote:
“She laughed, but the tone was as dry as ancient dust.” –Joan Lowery Nixon, A Deadly Game of Magic
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