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    The Masquerading Magician
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    The Masquerading Magician
    Unavailable
    The Masquerading Magician
    Ebook341 pages5 hours

    The Masquerading Magician

    By Gigi Pandian

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Deciphering an ancient alchemy book is more difficult than Zoe Faust bargained for. She'd much rather be gardening and exploring her new hometown of Portland, Oregon—but time is running out for living gargoyle Dorian Robert-Houdin. If Zoe isn't able to unlock an unusual alchemy book's secrets soon, the French gargoyle will remain awake but trapped in stone forever.

    When Zoe gives herself a rare night out to attend a classic magic show, she realizes the stage magicians are much more than they seem. A murder at the theater leads back to a string of unsolved robberies and murders in Portland's past, and a mystery far more personal than Zoe and Dorian ever imagined.

    Praise:

    "People who enjoy character driven stories with mystery, magic, supernatural creatures, and historical intrigue will greatly enjoy this inventive, well-written tale."—Portland Book Review

    "A fine, whimsical, paranormal book . . . this plot certainly holds your attention."—Suspense Magazine

    "[The Masquerading Magician] is enjoyable and holds together quite nicely."—Reviewing the Evidence

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLlewellyn Worldwide
    Release dateJan 8, 2016
    ISBN9780738746623
    Unavailable
    The Masquerading Magician
    Author

    Gigi Pandian

    GIGI PANDIAN is the USA Today bestselling and multiple-award-winning author of the Secret Staircase mysteries, inspired by elements from her own family background. She is also the author of the Accidental Alchemist mysteries, the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries, and more than a dozen locked-room mystery short stories. Pandian has won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. A breast cancer survivor and accidental almost-vegan who adores cooking, she lives with her husband in Northern California.

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    Reviews for The Masquerading Magician

    4/5

    68 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I stumbled upon the first book in the series the accidental alchemist and was pleasantly surprised. The Masquerading Magician continues the story of Zoe, an alchemist, who is searching for a cure for her friend Dorian-a stone gargoyle. Zoe thinks she's stumbled upon a fellow alchemist when she attends a magic show. The flashbacks of Dorian's history were a nice touch. We also dig deeper into Zoe's past and her relationship with her past lover Ambrose. Gigi Pandian does a great job of vividly describing the settings that make you feel like your inside the story. I also love the touches of the descriptions of the plants and herbs and how they are used for different remedies.
    • 5/5
      Meet Zoe Faust & Dorian Robert-Houdin...

      Zoe is a a 400 year old vegan herbalist and alchemist. Dorian is a living French gargoyle chef. Dorian followed Zoe in a packing crate from France all the way to Portland, Oregon to enlist her help. They now live together in a ramshackle house with a hole in the roof, which actually makes it easier for Dorian to come & go at night without being spotted. : ) They are so unique & delightful and are quickly becoming two of my favorite fictional characters!
       
      This series has so much variety- ancient alchemy, magic, mystery, cooking, etc.- that I just love it. In the first book though, I thought the numerous vegan recipes were a bit over done, excuse the pun, but in this second book, they were toned down more and they flowed with the story line much more naturally. The first book was good but this one was so much better. It was really fantastic and a lot of fun!

      The story opens with Zoe on a date with Max- a local policeman. They are attending a magic show at a local theater. Brixton, Zoe's neighbor, thinks the magician might be an alchemist too and can help Zoe and Dorian unlock the secrets in Dorian's alchemy book that will prevent him from turning to stone. As Dorian and Zoe try to get close to the magician to find out just what secrets he's hiding, they become embroiled with treasure hunters, a murder mystery and a decades old jewelry heist.

      Zoe also reconnects with her 150 year old friend Tobias, who comes to visit her for a couple of days. He is also an alchemist and is able to help her a little with Dorian's book and her health, which is failing due to the backward alchemy transformations she performs to help Dorian stay mobile. I really like Tobias, a lot more then I do Max! They have so much more in common. I hope we see a lot more of him in this series. 

      I listened to the audio book (1.3 playback speed) and it was great! The narrator's French accent for Dorian was so cute. I can't wait to start the next book! If you're a vegan or enjoy cooking, mysteries or alchemy I think you'll really enjoy this series. The quirky characters alone will steal your heart!  

    • 4/5
      Another good mystery from Gigi Pandian, full of incredibly interesting, colourful characters set in a richly detailed historical backdrop. The main story takes place in present day Portland but an alternating timeline from the mid-1800's is woven throughout the chapters and an Author's Note at the back clarifies the historical facts vs. the writer's imagination. The story is nominally about a murder that takes place at the theater hosting a magic act, but truly the focus of the story is on Dorian, the gargoyle and Zoe's frustrating efforts to heal him using a strange book of backward alchemy. This leaves the 'solution' to the murder mystery treated almost as an afterthought and readers looking for a good mystery to solve might end up feeling cheated. I'm always more invested in the characters, so I didn't find this problematic. I only went 3.5 stars because as much as I love the alchemical backdrop of the series, this one's focus on magic shows bored me a bit, making parts of the book move slower. I love watching a good magic show, but I have zero interest in reading about them, or knowing how the illusions work. Still, I enjoyed the story once I was able to finally sink into it and the ongoing arc of Dorian's 'health' will definitely bring me back for the third book. Oh! and there's a recipe in the back of the book (the MC is a vegan, so they're all vegan) for a chocolate drink that can be made either as a hot chocolate or a smoothie. I immediately put the book down and made it as a smoothie - delicious!! (Although next time I'm scaling back the cinnamon a bit.)
    • 5/5
      When an author makes readers believe the unbelievable, I call that genius. Gigi Pandian is a genius. A heroine who lives in today’s Portland, Oregon, but was born in the 17th Century? No problem. Her roommate, a living gargoyle, who’s almost as old? I believe. Magic? Murder? I’m in!In this second book in the series, quasi-retired alchemist Zoe Faust attends a magic show by a husband-wife team. Later, the audience “volunteer” who was part of the show is murdered. Although she’d rather not be involved at all with the investigation, Zoe can’t help herself. Plus, she wants to know more about the magicians, thinking that they can help her with a huge problem: Dorian, her gargoyle roommate, who’s also a gourmet chef, is turning back to stone. Zoe needs to find a way to save him from an awful fate – sentient but encased in stone. She thinks “backward alchemy” can help and the magicians may know something to help her and Dorian. Zoe is once again brought together with Max Liu, a hunky police officer she’s interested in. But how much of her story can she share with him? As far as Max is concerned, Dorian is a stone gargoyle, no more, and Zoe herself is 28 years old albeit with totally white hair – the only hint of her true age. I love this series and hope it goes on and on!
    • 5/5
      magic, alchemist, mystery, mysterious-character, paranormal, Oregon, urban-fantasy, murder-investigation, theft, vegan, friendship, relationships*****Definitely one of the perfect antidotes to pandemic living! Light and easy to read with characters I can relate to in an urban fantasy world where whatever we call reality kind of integrates with people who live for several hundred years, and gargoyles are gourmet chefs. All the characters are interesting, but the ongoing ones are such a lot of fun!Julia Motyka is a great voice actor and gives voice to all of the characters.Suspend disbelief and just enjoy!
    • 3/5
      I'm really enjoying this series.

      However, I'm tired of Dorian's vegan recipes. I would be tired of it if the recipes weren't vegan. That' isn't my objection. I don't dislike foodie books and I don't eat meat. But, I find the pauses to discuss ingredients to be disruptive to the flow of the narrative.

      Tell me AGAIN that you can make a great creamy faux cheese sauce using cashews. I got it the first time that making hot chocolate with coconut milk is delicious. There are recipes in the back of the book and that's wonderful. And sufficient.
    • 3/5
      Oh, *that's* why this reads like the second book in a series ... it IS the second book in a series. I hate it when that happens. The fact that this was neither the introduction to the characters within nor quite a standalone book was obvious from the chunks of information that float throughout like icebergs. I honestly still can't decide whether or not I actually like the main character, Zoe. She wears whole-grain veganism and castoff second-hand clothing like a cloak of specialness, to the point that I wanted to take her clothes in for tailoring and force-feed her Twinkies and hamburgers. "Soaking raw nuts ahead of time, then blending them with water and a little salt and lemon juice, created a thick cream more decadent than the heavy cream Dorian used to cook with" - Really? Forgive me, but I find that inconceivable. I mean … have you met heavy cream? I was frankly shocked that when the main character mentions chocolate and doesn't specify that it's free trade guaranteed non-slave-labor-using GMO free cocoa. And the reason for the second-hand ill-fitting clothing is that most of her clothes were destroyed in the events of the first book. Long after I've forgotten the characters' names and the plot, I will remember this, because sheer repetition is a time-honored way to make things stick in one's memory, and boy howdy does this get repeated. And repeated. And Dorian? The living gargoyle who I suppose was supposed to be the charming and irresistible and adorable sidekick? I have to say it was hard to get past a preposterous-sounding synopsis: immortal alchemist protects gargoyle kind of accidentally brought to life by Robert Houdin. Fantasies are often hard to encapsulate in a way that sounds sane, but for whatever reason this one seemed too far out there. And the adorable sidekick frankly just annoyed me. He could be shockingly stupid at times. Example: he is returning to stone bit by bit, and at one point "Dorian clapped along until the claw of his left pinky finger broke off." I have no patience for that level of common-senselessness, in reality or in fictional characters. (And, seriously, don't be bashing Harry Houdini. Don't.) I realized after reading this that I had taken advantage of an Audible Daily Deal and purchased the first book in the series. After I finished this I returned that first book. So much of the story was revealed in "The Masquerading Magician" that it didn't feel like it was worth it. And, quite honestly, I just wasn't at all interested in any more of the story. The inanity of the characters, and the constant repetitions within the writing –using the same phrases over again in the space of a few pages or a few chapters or a few lines, and as I mentioned hammering points like Zoe's veganism and what happened to her clothing and so on into the ground over and over. The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
    • 5/5
      I had a fun read with the first book in this series so I was really looking forward to this next book.Zoe is still trying to save Dorian, her suave, gourmet cooking gargoyle friend. He’s slowly turning to stone and will be trapped in his frozen body, eternally awake and unable to move.Her house is still a wreck. The hole in the roof still waiting for repair. But Zoe is using all of her time and strength trying to decode the alchemist book in order to help Dorian.Taking a time out for herself, Zoe goes to a magic show, which stirs memories from her past. Brixton, a teenage boy and the only one besides Zoe that knows about Dorian, discovers some disturbing facts about one of the performers, which draws all of them into a murder that takes them down a dangerous path.I enjoyed this one even more than the first book. Partly because I already knew the characters and knew I was going to get answers to some of my questions.There’s magic, murder, flashes to a mysterious past, strong characters, humor, and suspense. Enough going on to keep me flipping from page to page, waiting for the next big surprise and those answers I wanted.I really like Zoe. She’s got a lot to handle and as much as she wants to settle into her new home, she pushes herself past exhaustion to help Dorian.Dorian is as debonair and witty as usual. And his concern for Zoe is touching.If we could all have such a friendship, how fortunate we would be.I hope you give this series a try. And, while you can read this book without having read the first, I recommend you start at the beginning. You’ll have a lot of fun and get to meet the characters and watch them grow.
    • 4/5
      Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Accidental Alchemist series. I borrowed this book from the library.Story (4/5): This book picks up right where the last book left off. Zoe has found a temporary fix for Dorian that prevents him from turning fully back to stone but it comes at a great cost to her own health. When Zoe takes a rare night off to attend a classic magic show, she is suspicious of the identities of the magicians and desperate to find other alchemists to talk to about Dorian’s condition. Then a murder at the theater the magic show took place at is tied back to a string of robberies and murders from the past, things really get interesting.This was another wonderful investigative urban fantasy mystery with an emphasis on alchemy and its history. I enjoy the mystery, which kept me guessing, and enjoy learning all of the history behind alchemy.Characters (4/5): The characters are definitely a highlight of this series. Zoe is intriguing, she has a long history and is trying to make a new life for herself. She is surrounded by characters that are interesting, likable, and easy to engage with. Both Dorian and Braxton are very fun sidekicks for Zoe’s investigations. We learn a bit more about Max as well and I look forward to spending more time with him in future books. We are also introduced to one of Zoe’s alchemist friends from long ago and this was intriguing; I look forward to meeting more people from Zoe’s history in future books. Setting (4/5): This book is set in modern day Portland, Oregon. I enjoy the Portland setting but it isn’t the main driver behind the story; it’s fine but nothing special.Writing Style (4/5): This is well written and easy to read. The mystery is well done and keeps you guessing right up to the end of the book. The characters are easy to engage with and the subject matter is something I enjoy learning about. My Summary (4/5): Overall I am continuing to enjoy this series. These are fun mystery reads with a bit of a paranormal element to them (alchemists can do “magic” different from what normal people can). I really enjoy the alchemical subject matter and love the characters. I plan on continuing with the series