Category Archives: Tesh, Jane

Rabbits are the animals most often associated with magicians, but Wizards of Wonder, the magicians club in Now You See It, is more of a snake pit. The Finch brothers, Lucas and Taft, are the peacemakers in the group.  They get the idea to channel their colleagues’ energies in a positive direction by having a contest. Whoever can open the special box the brothers have–a box that once belonged to the great magician Harry Houdini–can help themselves to any of the the brothers’ magic props.  But before the contest gets going, someone steal the Houdini box.

Although this is clearly a crime, the Finch brothers do not want to involve the police.  Instead they contact David Randall, a private investigator who is the main character in this and the two earlier books in the Grace Street Mystery series. David’s business is just limping along, so he is happy for the case. But when Taft Finch is murdered and one of the other magicians attacked, David knows that this is about more than a simple theft. Professional jealousy, deception, thwarted romance all swirl together.

This is the third Grace Street Mystery, and characters and issues from the early novels are present in Now You See It.  David’s romance with Kary is progressing, and David’s dreams of his dead daughter are becoming more a source of comfort than pain. David’s housemate and friend, Cameron wants to propose to his lady love, Ellin, but she has been distracted by her job on the Psychic Service Network–and her work problems cleverly figure in the plot.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

David Randall is down on his luck, sleeping in his car, when he hears police cars rushing down the street.  It appears that a burglar has broken into Albert Bennett’s house and killed the old man. The crimes galvanizes David the way almost nothing has since his young daughter died a few years back.  After a mediocre career as a private investigator and two failed marriages, David wakes up and tries to take back his life.  He will avenge Bennett’s death and in doing so redeem his own life.

Unfortunately for David,  Albert Bennett’s murder is not an open and shut case. For starters, why would anyone break into a rich man’s house and leave with nothing but an old notebook found on the front lawn the night of the murder? And what does all that gibberish in the notebook mean? Is it music? Before David can get very far into the case, he realizes that he needs a place to stay and a place to call an office.  His obliging friend Camden provides both, but Cam is a psychic who runs a boarding house, so suddenly David has a place to hang his hat, but also lots of complications, including a lovely fellow boarder who may help him forget about his unfortunate marital track record.

This is a book for music buffs and those who like their mysteries spiced up with a touch of the paranormal.

This is the first novel in Tesh’s new series, the Grace Street Mysteries.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.