Illusion

Illusion

by Stephanie Elmas

4 out of 5

Synopsis
London, 1873. 

Returning home from his travels with a stowaway named Kayan, Walter Balanchine is noted for the charms, potions and locket hanging from his neck.

Finding his friend Tom Winter’s mother unwell, he gives her a potion he learned to brew in the Far East. Lucid and free from pain, the old woman remembers something about Walter’s mother.

Walter is intrigued, for he has never known his family or even his own name – he christened himself upon leaving the workhouse.

Living in a cemetery with his pet panther Sinbad to keep the body snatchers away, word soon spreads of his healing and magical abilities and he becomes a sought after party performer.

During one of Walter’s parties, Tom is approached by Tamara Huntington, who reveals she is being forced to marry a man she does not love.

Will he and Walter come to her rescue?

Try as they might, sometimes all the best intentions in the world can’t put a stop to a bad thing, and she is soon married off to the cruel Cecil Hearst.

Drama and tragedy ensue, and Walter keeps his distance from Tamara.

That is until her stricken brother-in-law Daniel requires his magical healing, and he is forced back into her life.

With secrets beginning to emerge, Walter finds his mother may be a lot closer to home than he realised…

Filled with mystery, magic and larger than life characters, Illusion will keep you guessing until the very last page.



Review
In the late 19th Century, the mysterious Walter Balanchine is seen as a magician, with his clever slight of hand. There are so many secrets, and so much danger, for him and his friends.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't really sure what I expected from this, and I'm still not entirely sure!
It's an Historical drama, with suspense and discovery. There's friendship, and the bizarre family you find yourself with, as you pick up people through life.

It starts with Tom, he's a product of the workhouses, and he not only survived, he's started doing reasonably well for himself. He is a pianist, teaching young ladies to play, and looking after his ill mother.
When his oldest and dearest friend Walter returns from travelling, Tom knows that his life could go in any direction. Walter has that wonderful effect of creating chaos, and always seeming like it was planned.

We follow Tom, as by chance he meets Tamara, an heiress who is set to marry a hideous man, and needs to be rescued.

The first section of the book, when Tom is our central character is quite slow and dull compared to the rest of the story. He's the blandest character, and seems to be there to fill the role of Tamara'a love interest; and to be Walter's "normal" friend, which allows the reader to see behind (some of) the tricks.
Honestly, I didn't really like Tom's actions either. He leads along poor Sally (the woman that cares for his ailing ma, and is in love with him), but has no intention of marrying her. 
<spoiler>
And when his first plan to save Tamara from marrying Hearst fails, he does nothing. He lets the wedding go ahead. He lets the violent marriage continue for months. And when she's later in London, he makes no effort to do anything to show he still loves her and he hasn't abandoned her.
Yes, Walter knows best, but Walter can act cool and logical because he has no connections to this girl.
What about Tom? He's supposed to be in love with her?!</spoiler> 

The second section really starts to shine. It follows Tamara, as she is forced to marry Cecil Hearst, and live in his cold, unwelcoming house.
Cecil is a fascinating character. He's abusive and violent and smart; but there's more to him and his punishments than you might expect from a Historical villain. As Tamara copes with him, her character becomes more defined. She is more than just a pretty face, she has a quiet strength, as she resists her husband's attempts to destroy her sanity.

Things take a tangent in the third section, as it focuses on Walter's history, and the parents he never knew. This disrupts the flow of the book, but it is still very interesting.

This was a book with high and low points, but overall it was an enjoyable mystery.

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