Back in Brighton, its 1951 and the countdown to Christmas. Pantomime season is in full swing and the infamous Max Mephisto is taking to the stage to star in Aladdin. However, the star’s spotlight is somewhat shrouded when two local children go missing and their bodies are found in a shallow grave surrounded by sweets.
Quickly dubbed by the press as the “Hansel and Gretel” murder DI Stephens’ and his team are under pressure to find the killer before he or she strikes again.
For Diablo, the case holds bad memories, echoing a murder he witnessed of a girl on the stage.
Convinced the clues lie within the gruesome play scripts written by murdered schoolgirl Annie or amongst the theatricals themselves, Edgar once again enlists the help of the Magic Men.
Can Edgar and Max put their personal problems aside to get to the bottom of the mystery before it’s too late?
Another brilliant novel from Elly Griffiths!
This instalment sees the investigative team and the Magic Men taking on a very different case. However, Griffiths still manages to weave in the theatrical elements in such a way that it’s obvious and necessary but doesn’t become the main focus of the story.
Not only do we have the return of series favourites, Edgar, Max and Diablo, but we get to see a further insight into other characters’ lives, such as Emma Holmes. Emma is a member of the police task force headed up by Edgar, and she really comes into her own in this book. It was once again well-paced throughout, with the winter setting and the hindrance of snowfall really making me feel a sense of urgency whilst reading.
This time I didn’t manage to guess the culprit, which I must admit doesn’t happen very often, Griffiths skilfully sent me off on the wrong tangent a few times.