We both thought that this book suffered from some over-writing. Late edit: Because I enjoyed this, I bought the audio book for my wife and I to listen to while on an extended road trip. He’s also working in this book in locations in Minnesota and I recognized some of the locations presented. He’s smart, clever, and just enough of a wise-ass to be fun and not a jerk. But once in awhile I get in the mood to crack one open and in this case, I’m really glad I did.Īuthor John Gaspard hooks the reader immediately with the first person narrative from the very likeable character of Eli Marks. Because I have such a backlog of ARCs from publishers, I tend to put my free reads on the back burner. Somewhere along the line, in all the various ways I get books, I got this as a free read. It all gets more complicated for Eli when he falls in love with a psychic and then learns that she is targeted to be the next victim of the real killer. More psychics are killed and more clues lead police to seriously consider Eli as a suspect.

At the scene of the crime is a playing card, the King of Diamonds – which happens to be the signature card for Eli’s most famous trick. This doesn’t make him very popular among the psychic community.Įli debunks a popular psychic in a very public forum and then that same psychic is later discovered dead. Eli Marks is a highly skilled magician but he’s made a name for himself as a debunker of psychics, showing how so much of what they do is nothing more than magicians tricks.

The Ambitious Card by John Gaspard