Daniel Stashower

Two-time Edgar award-winning author Daniel Stashower uncovers the riveting true story of the "Baltimore Plot, " an audacious conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the Civil War.

Young magician Harry Houdini sees an opportunity to make a name for himself by exposing the tricks of the medium Lucius Craig--but first he must figure out how the medium managed to conjure a "spirit" that stabbed an audience member to death before disappearing.

"In turn-of-the-century New York City, struggling young performer Harry Houdini is working for the renowned magician Kellar. One night his master's astonishing illusion the Floating Lady goes horribly wrong, with Kellar's levitating assistant apparently plunging to her death. Houdini, along with his wife Bess and brother Dash, must solve the mystery and figure out how the young lady died from drowning rather than a fatal fall."--P. [4] of cover.

"In 1880 a young medical student named Arthur Conan Doyle embarked upon the "first real outstanding adventure" of his life, taking a berth as ship's surgeon on an Arctic whaler, the Hope. The voyage took him to unknown regions, showered him with dramatic and unexpected experiences, and plunged him into dangerous work on the ice floes of the Arctic seas. He tested himself, overcame the hardships, and, as he wrote later, "came of age at 80 degrees north...