The Last Illusion

By: Rhys Bowen

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Irish immigrant and private detective Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to see world-famous illusionist Harry Houdini. But before he can even take the stage, the opening act goes horribly wrong—and the sensational Signor Scarpelli’s lovely assistant is sawed in half. In the aftermath, Scarpelli accuses Houdini of tampering with his equipment. Who else but the so-called Handcuff King could have got a hold of his trunk of tricks, which he keeps under lock and key?

And it seems the maestro Scarpelli’s not the only one critical of Houdini. Now that he’s raised the stakes to such a perilous level, lesser acts are being put out of business. With everyone on edge, Houdini’s wife hires Molly to watch his back. But how can she protect a man who literally risks his life every night? Now it’s up to Molly to keep an eye on Houdini and find out whether these masters of illusion are simply up to their tricks—or if there truly is something much more treacherous going on…

©2010 Rhys Bowen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Interesting historical fiction mystery

Fun and entertaining. I enjoy learning about the time period and actual characters who lived then. I fun way to learn some history. While still being entertained.

Energetic Enlightening & Entertaining

Molly is a bold brave young woman and her character holds my attention. Her energy is matchless as she sets about unfolding the mystery. Each story enlightens us toward the people places and objects involved. A rich history of traditions and knowledge. The supporting cast provesto be a wealth of joy and amusement! Every book more energetic enlightening and entertaining than the last.

Totally addictive

The whole series to date has been riveting. Each character carefully crafted and evolving. Each story unpredictable and unexpected in its resolution. The social issues of the era are explored with subtle and poignant skill that never detracts from the excitement of the story, but adds to the texture of each moment. Molly and Daniel are a true but never cliched romance. The narrator must never be changed! She is absolutely perfect. Well worth every penny and every minute spent listening.

Great Story and Great Reader Performance

Where does The Last Illusion rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best. I have listened to the whole series up to this point and intend to listen to the rest. I will be so bummed when I listen to the last one because they are so entertaining. It has just the right mix of characters and action to keep me interested. Molly is a feisty, intelligent detective. There is also just enough romance to be interesting, but not to be considered a romance novel..

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy books are all very good and keep me riveted to find out what is going to happen next. Molly gets herself into some very interesting situations.

Which character – as performed by Nicola Barber – was your favorite?

My favorite is the heroin of the story, Molly Murphy.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have liked to hear it all in one sitting, but the story is too long for that. I am happy to listen a few chapters at a time.

Any additional comments?

Nicola Barber is a great reader/performer. She does so well with all the different accents (there are quite a few in the Molly Murphy series). She also does very well with the male voices. I have heard some readers sound kind of silly doing male voices.

Always wonderful

I just love the series and the characters. If there are any flaws, I probably wouldn't notice.

Nicola Barber is wonderful actress and makes these books come alive. I will look for audio books performed by her to find authors who are new to me.

Best of continued luck to Rhys Bowen and Nicola Barber.

Fun mystery!

Molly's investigative skills really come together in this book. She spends less time stumbling into solving the mystery and more time actually gathering clues and figuring out what happened. She and Daniel are getting closer to an actual wedding. The secondary characters are delightful.

A fun history of Houdini

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, it was interesting. I learned things about Houdini and the way magicians at the time operated.

Would you recommend The Last Illusion to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes. It is a good story.

What does Nicola Barber bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She uses great accents that really bring the book to life.

Could you see The Last Illusion being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I would love any book in Rhys Bowen's series to be made into a movie or tv show. I love this series. I could see Eleanor Tomlinson playing Molly.

Get Rid Of Daniel

I like this series and the narrator is great. The dialogue isn't always very well written, but the stories are interesting and it's not so complicated that I can't listen while I answer emails or do other things. BUT...the love interest is HORRIBLE. He is rude, demeaning, controlling, and dismissive. If there is anything preventing me from continuing this series it's his character. Why does she love him? He has no good qualities aside from being handsome.

good story

it was a good story. the one thing i disliked was the stories are getting more difficult to kind of figure out with Molly what's going on. yes, she's still an amateur, but it sometimes seems that she's still sloppy and going on wild goose chases unnecessarily. still love the series though!! good writing without profanity and foolishness.

As reliably entertaining as always!

I love this series, obviously since I am up to Book 9!

I understand that a huge part of the subplot in the series is the relationship between Molly and Daniel, and I get that if they got married in Book 2 it would have been too soon, but I am getting tired of the “my wife won’t work” part of Daniel’s character so I am looking forward to getting that all resolved.

Time to move on! Keep working, get hitched and have those babies already!! There’ll be lots of good stories to tell around that and I am looking forward to them all!