The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure - Hardcover

Axelrod, Amy; Axelrod, David

3.92

48 ratings by Goodreads

9780823428588: The Bullet Catch: Murder by Misadventure

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823428583 ISBN 13: 9780823428588

Publisher: Holiday House, 2015

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When the orphanage he called home burns to the ground, 14-year-old Leo and his three friends turn to larceny, using as their textbook Harry Houdini's The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Expos� of Successful Criminals for survival. Leo proves to be a most gifted pickpocket, but when he is cruelly betrayed by his gang, he abandons the life of crime to become the apprentice of a has-been magician named Barzini. With Houdini’s help, Barzini is staging a comeback, complete with an improved variation on the bullet catch trick made famous by his arch enemy, Chung Ling Soo. He wants more than to outshine his old rival; he is out for revenge. As Leo struggles to escape his dangerous past, he must confront the possibility that his new mentor may be even more dangerous. This spellbinding mystery chronicles the coming-of-age of a resourceful young man who must refashion his destiny amid murder and misadventure in the golden age of mystery.

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About the Author:

Amy Axelrod is the author of the best-selling math series, Pigs Will Be Pigs. She lives in New York State.

Review:

The Axelrods take readers to World War I-era New York City for a tale of magic, mystery and crime. Orphan Leo lives in Hell's Kitchen, getting by with his small gang by picking pockets, a skill he learned from reading Harry Houdini's The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Expos� of Successful Criminals. When the gang's leader kicks him out, Leo doesn't want to return to a life of crime. He finds an ad for a magician's assistant in a lifted wallet and follows up, landing a job as assistant to Signor Barzini, an established professional magician and friend of Houdini's. Leo spends countless hours learning sleight of hand, how to manipulate cards and, finally, how to help Barzini perform his extraordinary new trick: the bullet catch. Leo will palm the real bullet and load a blank, pretend to shoot Barzini, then resurrect him on stage. Things go wrong when, just as they begin their performances, a famous magician dies as a result of a similar trick, attracting a police detective to investigate Barzini. The mother-and-son writing team brings the setting to life, including such luminaries of the time as Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as minor characters for verisimilitude. The inside knowledge of magic adds an exotic touch. An absorbing mystery enhanced by its intriguing backdrop. (Historical mystery. 10-14) --Kirkus Reviews

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