A Stephens and Mephisto Mystery by Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths' Smoke and Mirrors drew me in because of the theatrical aspects and because I thought I should read one of her 'Stephens and Mephisto Mysteries'. I was curious as to what her four books with the unusual pairing of the two of them would reveal to me. I was not to be disappointed as I was easily able to relate to Edgar Stephens and later on to Max Mephisto, a magician. It may seem to be a rather odd combination, but it works adding another dimension. I read this one because she is the chair of The Theakston's Crime Writing Festival this coming July and that is why I had also read the first book in the Ruth Galloway series. We will look forward to meeting her in Harrogate.

Now back to this story. Two children go missing on a cold winter's evening with snow falling. The Devil's Dyke will soon be all white and that sets the scene and time.

But it opens with a murder in a theatre in 1912, and then the main event is set in Brighton, in the winter of 1951, as the backdrop. The murder of a child actor then and the connection between this story years later adds more to the mystery. The images created with the falling snow and the worry over where the kids are allows the tension to mount; time moves on slowly and of course the technology of that post war period is not so instantaneous as now. The children, the ability of Annie - a character thar this story revolves around - to create her own drama and her relationship with her younger friends and her teacher draw the reader into another world. A world of fairly tales and make believe. Of course there are other characters that our interest is drawn to because there has to be some smoke with the mirrors. I compliment the author in setting this story in 1951 and dealing with life as it once was.

Then there is the magic of Max Mephisto and the knowledge that he must fit into this story somewhere. It is a very enjoyable read with enough intrigue to keep the interest. I always want to rail against the inference that a police officer has to look 'gormless' and that the lowly 'plods' always need intelligent help, but for the period it fits well. Other characters, of course, have to be enhanced because the main players have to at least sound good.