The Magician's Lie by Greer MacAllister

I had requested The Magician's Lie in 2014 but was not approved, but with my digital library I'm trying to pick up the books I missed. I think the publisher may have done me a secret favor declining my request. 

The blurb listed it as the next Water for Elephants (which I had really enjoyed). There was vaudeville and magic at the turn of the century. I was interested. I was disappointed that I had not been approved for the ARC. Then I read it.

This turned out to very much not be the book for me, though. It is brimming with brutality and negativity. While reading it, I struggled to keep positive energy. Then we hit the completely unnecessary details of her love affair, which she even openly admits to being an unnecessary part of her tale. I'll also just roll my eyes at her cliche career sticking it to the man because she was a victim.

By the end of the book I was skipping whole sections and really only read the last paragraph to at least have the whodunit answer and allow me to walk away from this book with some closure.