A TALE OF MAGIC AND SUSPENSE

THE HOUDINI GIRL

By Martyn Bedford

Pantheon, 320 pages, $24

British magician Peter Prestige (“Red” to friends) considers snaring his elusive Irish girlfriend, Rosa, to have been one of his greatest feats. But when Rosa is killed in a bizarre train accident, Red begins to investigate her death and learns some devastating facts about his former girlfriend’s life. In the process, he also reveals a few less-than-savory things about himself. This fast-paced novel combines suspense and international politics without sacrificing the quality of language or development of characters.