Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold

Set in Roaring '20s San Francisco, the story begins when President Harding agrees to appear in the finale of a show with magician Carter the Great, going through a series of dicey illusions before emerging on stage at the end to take a bow and declare his good health. Shortly afterwards, Harding dies mysteriously in his San Francisco hotel room, and Carter is forced to flee the country. Or does he? Plus you start to wonder if Harding even really died that night. (This is all based on fact so I really found that fascinating).

In the course of the story, Carter finds himself pursued by the most hapless of FBI agents; falls in love twice and manages to confront an old nemesis bent on destroying him. Throw in countless stunning (and historically accurate) illusions, some beautifully rendered period detail, and historical figures like young inventor Philo T. Farnsworth and self-made millionaire Francis "Borax" Smith as well as dozens of magicians and local people of San Fransico of that time.

I read this book for my bookclub and honestly it probably would not have been one that I would have read as I do not particularly care for historical fiction. But this has a little bit of everything, history, adventure, magic and romance. I was sucked in by how well Gold kept the story interwoven. I enjoyed it so much and there is so much more than what my little review lists. Carter is one of those characters I wish I could have known or seen do magic. He honestly seemed to care about the people he worked with and was very kind to the animals used in his acts. He just loved showing magic and loved his life. We could all be so lucky.

Interesting side note - he is married to Alice Sebold.