With elements of the whodunnit and, crucially for a book about magic tricks, the howdunnit, this is a four-course meal of a novel

you're unlikely to read a better book this year.Ī stormer of a novel, this is the perfect read for people who despise airport blockbusters yet find themselves on aeroplanes longing for a good, meaty page turner a daredevil feat of writing that will remind you how much fun reading can beīrilliantly inventive and constantly surprising. The plot is endlessly inventive and surprising and pulls the reader through some very complicated events in the most compelling way.Īn extraordinary story. The droll, good-natured narrative never stumbles over 600 pages and Gold's characters, the endearingly troubled Carter at the top of the bill, sit so naturally in the proceedings they positively seem to enjoy being part of his show.

What's most unbelievable about this stagey set-up is that it's based on actual events. Read more author so obviously into his characters and debut novelist Glen David Gold radiates enthusiasm in his tale of magician Charles Carter, implicated in the death of 29th US president Warren Harding. Savour its every pageĪ top-hat-and-tails performance.suspenseful, compendious, moving and persuasive the plot turns a dazzling array of somersaults. Show Less Product DetailsĮngaging, comical and, yes, magical, this is a sure-fire contender for the debut novel of the year. Seamlessly blending reality and fiction, Gold lays before us a glittering and romantic panorama of our modern world at a point of irrevocable change. Until the night President Harding takes part in Carter's act only to die two hours later, and Carter finds himself pursued not only by the Secret Service but by a host of others desperate for the terrible secret they believe Harding confided in. But in 1920s America the stakes are growing higher, as technology and the cinema challenge the allure of magic and Carter's stunts become increasingly audacious. Charles Carter, dubbed Carter the Great by Houdini himself, was born into privilege but became a magician out of need: only when dazzling an audience can he defeat his fear of loneliness. A dazzling debut, a gripping, panoramic novel of magic and science, love and death set in 1920s America Num Pages: 608 pages. Description for Carter Beats the Devil Paperback.

Carter beats the devil