Elephants in the Distance

Paul Galliard is a magician by training and heredity: his father died performing the Bullet Catch, an infamous trick that over the centuries has claimed the lives of more than a dozen magicians. A pragmatist, Paul confines his conjuring to commercials; he shows up often on TV screens, demonstrating the “magical” power of some brand of household cleanser.

Then he gets a call. A producer wants to do a show highlighting his father’s old cronies, those grizzled vets of the glory days of TV magic acts. Their top-hats are moth-eaten, their rabbits have arthritis, but they’re desperate for one last shot at the limelight. Paul would like to give it to them—these fellows all but raised him. But there’s a catch—a Bullet Catch, to be precise. Either Paul does the trick that killed his father, or the show doesn’t go on.

Who's Likely to Like This

Fans of Lawrence Block's "Burglar" series