My thoughts It's an entertaining yarn, but not entertaining enough for me to read other Edna Ferber mysteries. There are several reasons for this, but I wasn't particularly convinced by Edna. For a very modern character in a quaint society, Edna is oddly flat and two-dimensional. I liked that Edna wanted more from life than being a homemaker, but the repeated focus on her plain looks really rubbed me the wrong way. And the strife between Edna and her mother and sister and other female characters was too shrill for me. Edna Ferber was an actual historical figure, so I was hoping for a bit more. In addition, the mystery itself is pretty ho-hum. But there is a lot that's done well here. The real triumph of the book is the excellent depiction of small-town early 20th-century America, especially the suspicion directed toward immigrants and Jewish Americans. There's also a great deal of sexism given that Edna is a young woman in a male-dominated field; unfortunately, this comes across in a very heavy-handed way. But Houdini's cameo was handled well. It could have been a distraction, but it wasn't. Houdini provided some helpful hints and then receded into the background where he belonged.
Bottom line Skippable unless you have a great interest in Edna Ferber or Houdini.
Fine print
Escape Artist, by Ed Ifkovic
Genre: fiction, mystery, historical fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I borrowed this book from the library
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