The Vanishing Box
Stephens and Mephisto Mystery 4
Published on 2. November 2017
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-1-78429-700-8 (ISBN)
Description
'Vivid description, masterful sleight of hand and a lightness of touch add up to a terrific read for aficionados and newcomers alike' Guardian
Winter, 1953. A young flower seller is found dead in her room at a Brighton boarding-house, posed with chilling perfection into a recreation of the death of Lady Jane Grey. This is a killer unlike any DI Edgar Stephens has encountered before.
Across the city at the Hippodrome theatre, Max Mephisto is top of the bill in a double act with his daughter Ruby. Tarnishing the experience, though, is one of the other acts: a seedy 'living tableaux' show where barely-dressed women strike poses from famous historical scenes. Is the resemblance to the murder scene pure coincidence, or is life imitating art?
When another death occurs - this time within the troupe itself - Max once again finds himself involved in one of Edgar's cases, and a threat that will come closer to home than anything before. What should be just a job is about to become personal.
Winter, 1953. A young flower seller is found dead in her room at a Brighton boarding-house, posed with chilling perfection into a recreation of the death of Lady Jane Grey. This is a killer unlike any DI Edgar Stephens has encountered before.
Across the city at the Hippodrome theatre, Max Mephisto is top of the bill in a double act with his daughter Ruby. Tarnishing the experience, though, is one of the other acts: a seedy 'living tableaux' show where barely-dressed women strike poses from famous historical scenes. Is the resemblance to the murder scene pure coincidence, or is life imitating art?
When another death occurs - this time within the troupe itself - Max once again finds himself involved in one of Edgar's cases, and a threat that will come closer to home than anything before. What should be just a job is about to become personal.
Reviews / Votes
Vivid description, masterful sleight of hand and a lightness of touch add up to a terrific read for aficionados and newcomers alike * Guardian * A piquant mixture of humour, period detail . . . and truly beguiling characterisation * Financial Times * Griffiths manages to juggle humour, homicide and nostalgia in a delightful read * The Times * This series is without fail engaging and entertaining and The Vanishing Box is no exception ... I could almost smell the greasepaint and see the flutter of feathers ... Loved it! * Crimewarp * [Griffiths] weaves a fascinating tale. And, like all good mysteries, some surprising revelations along the way with a delicious twist at the end. Highly recommended * Promoting Crime Fiction * Griffiths pulls a truly startling rabbit out of the hat, demonstrating that this is more than the cosy mystery it initially appears * Sunday Times on The Blood Card * The lively beginning ... broadens out into an excellent whodunnit, matched by the terrific down-at-heel atmosphere of postwar Brighton * The Times on Smoke and Mirrors * Mixes cosiness and sharpness in a way that recalls the best of Agatha Christie * Sunday Express on Smoke and Mirrors * Enormously engaging ... Post-war Brighton and its Theatre Royal are beautifully captured in all their seedy glory ... subtle, charming and very good * Daily Mail on The Zig Zag Girl * Original, lively and gripping * Independent on The Zig Zag Girl * Atmospheric . . . a fine novel * Sunday Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 164 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
612 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78429-700-8 (9781784297008)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
Quercus
€5.99
Available for download
Person
Elly Griffiths was born in London. She worked in publishing before becoming a full-time writer. Her bestselling series of Dr Ruth Galloway novels, featuring a forensic archaeologist, are set in Norfolk. The series has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, and has been shortlisted three times for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Her Stephens and Mephisto series is based in 1950s Brighton. She lives near Brighton with her husband, an archaeologist, and their two children.