The Zig Zag Girl cover art

The Zig Zag Girl

The Brighton Mysteries, Book 1

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The Zig Zag Girl

By: Elly Griffiths
Narrated by: Daniel Philpott
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About this listen

Magic, murder, and a mystery rooted in a murky wartime past. Meet DI Stephens and Max Mephisto.

Brighton, 1950.

When the body of a girl is found cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens, is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.

The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar's. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men.

Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers, and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind.

Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another 'trick', the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in the killer's sights....

©2014 Elly Griffiths (P)2014 Quercus Editions Ltd Crime Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Magic Detective
All stars
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Just disappointed after her previous novels featuring Ruth Gallagher and was hoping for the same quality

Lacked depth

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loved this book from the very beginning.
great characters and interesting story line.
had me guessing until the end.
really looking forward to reading the others in the series.

1950s nostalgia

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Story was gripping and the characters were unusual and interesting. I was really engrossed in the plot and excited to see how it all unfolded. Although the final reveal featured many surprises, I thought it was pretty obvious who the murderer was. Narrator was excellent.

Thrilling but sometimes transparent

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I have just discovered Elly Griffiths, and have read this and one of the Dr Ruth Galloway series, and they were both excellent.
As you might expect, many twists and turns in the plot, and a thrilling climax. The post- WW11 England setting of the twilight days of Variety shows was well executed, if you will pardon the poor pun.

I’m hooked

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Last week I finished binge listening to (apart from the final book, which I read in book form) Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway series. And, knowing I’ll have to wait at least another year for the next Ruth book, the obvious move was for me to try out her other popular series, the Stephens and Mephisto Mystery series.

The Zig Zag Girl starts out a little gruesome. Two pieces of a woman’s body are found and then the third piece is delivered to DI Edgar Stephens at the Brighton Police Station. The way the body is presented reminds Edgar of a magic trick and he elicits the help of his friend, the famous magician Max Mephisto.

It’s 1950 and during the war, Edgar and Max had been part of a unit called the Magic Men. The Magic Men was basically a group of spies who used their stage skills to set up illusions which the British Army hoped would fool the Nazis into believing there were tanks and boats and army personnel in places there wasn’t.

I love this time period. It was such an interesting period of history where the war really was affecting everyone across the globe and so many men and women were obviously suffering PTSD. There’s so much potential for a writer and I thought Griffiths did a great job of utilising the PTSD of the characters without making it inappropriate in today's world.

The method the murderer used was original and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book, despite my squeamishness about it at times.

I did think the identity of the killer was pretty obvious early on but I couldn’t even be disappointed by this as Griffiths threw in a couple of other twists that I didn't see coming. In fact, I think the reader was meant to guess the killer and these other couple of reveals were the actual gasp-out-loud moments.

I always read the Ruth books for the characters more than the mystery plot, however. Happily, I fell instantly in love with Edgar. He was the perfect rumpled policeman, with quiet ways but obviously intelligent and solid and loyal to his friends and country. His almost naive and unassuming personality was a perfect contrast for the more world-weary and confident to the point of arrogant, Max.

As in the Ruth series, Griffiths introduces quite a few supporting characters. The other magic men, obviously, were used including the handsome Bill and his wife, Jean, the brash and annoying Tony, their commanding officer, Major Gormley, and the ageing and usually drunk Great Diablo (I’ve already cast Sir Ian McKellen as this character in my mind!).

I thought I might be disappointed by the lack of romance in this book. I love the romantic aspect of the Ruth books, after all. I thought The Zig Zag Girl was pretty much perfect with just the tiniest hint of romance Griffiths gave us though.

Accustomed as I am to Ruth’s saltmarsh, Griffith’s place setting was surprisingly just as impressive as Norfolk--this time, Brighton and surrounds. I also enjoyed the descriptive passages for the world of live variety shows. The acts mentioned throughout (including magic and comedy and dancing and acrobats) were colourful and fun but also sad, knowing that most of the performers would have needed to diversify significantly with the introduction of tv.

As usual, there’s something about Griffiths’ writing that draws me in to her books. I’m already invested in the fate of these characters.

Adding a 5 out of 5 rating to The Zig Zag Girl and immediately am off to buy book two.

Magic

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This is an early book by this author with a complicated plot. However, Griffith's writing style makes it enjoyable to read. The characters are well-developed and the plot holds the reader's attention for the duration of the book. The level of expectation and resolution builds towards the end of the story. I am looking forward to either reading or listening to the next story in this series.

The ZigZag Girl

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An old fashioned type of mystery. Style of writing matches the post war era in which it was set. Narration does likewise.

Kind of quaint

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Very easy to spot whodunnit from the early chapters. The characters are a bit thin too

A bit disappointing compared to the Galloway series

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