The Warlock Effect: A highly entertaining, twisty adventure filled with magic, illusions and Cold War espionage

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All the hallmarks of a modern classic, with more twists and turns than the intestinal tract -- Adam Kay Thriller set in the world of 1950s magic, co-written by Derren Brown's show-creating partner and one of the League of Gentlemen (who has apparently written a novel before). I am generally cautious of novels by people off the telly, on the grounds of having read novels by people off the telly (especially the ones infesting children's publishing like Japanese knotweed, don't start me on that), but Nyman is clearly a genius and I love stage magic with an abiding passion, so I had to have it. At some point, Louis becomes a willing participant in the secret agenting that he is being forced into. Given what they had put him through, I found that a bit incredible. If it were me, I would have found some way to phone the fiancée. A British Secret Service agent recruits him for a mission which requires his sleight of hand skills. But is he dealing with a double agent? He is being used by someone. Are his handlers British? Soviets? Louis is taken against his will, removed from his friends and fiancée and thrust into a Kafka-esque world of mind games. He is sent behind Soviet lines into Czechoslavakia to investigate the sinister ‘Funhouse’, where it seems magicians can even fool magicians.

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But then Louis agrees to spy for the British government (it's the height of the Cold War), and things grow far darker and messier. The tale becomes more psychological, the conflict more internal. Interwoven into Louis's tale are snippets from a primer on magic that he has written -- but there are strange passages that make us wonder what is really going on. Man about town, denizen of Soho's nightclubs and cabaret bars - and the most skilled magician of his time . . . Sue Vertue, Steven Moffat, and Brian Minchin will Executive Produce for Hartswood Films with Dyson and Nyman writing and acting as showrunners on the series.

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Margot Robbie stars as the eponymous fashion doll in this live-action adventure directed by Greta... Jeremy Dyson is co-creator of the West End hit play and film Ghost Stories, and a founding member of the team behind award-winning BBC series The League of Gentlemen. He has written for and script edited many series, including Killing Eve. He is the writer of a novel and three collections of short stories, one the Edge Hill award winner The Crane that Builds the Cranes. Intriguing and completely original, this Cold War spy novel is just what every bookshelf needs’ W.C. RYAN

RYAN'The period atmosphere and the Cold War detail feel like a Le Carre but it's the characters you really care about. A British secret service agent recruits him for a mission which requires sleight-of-hand skills. But is he dealing with a double agent? Are his handlers British? Soviets? Louis is taken against his will, removed from his friends and fiancée, and thrust into a Kafkaesque world of mind games. He is sent into Czechoslovakia to investigate the sinister ‘Funhouse’ where it seems magicians can fool magicians. But after his talent for deception attracts the attention of the British secret service, Louis is thrown into the perilous world of espionage and finds himself sent across Europe with a dangerous mission to fulfil. The blurb was misleading. Yes, it's about magicians and espionage in the Cold War, however, what is not made clear anywhere is that the protagonist is Jewish and is burdened by World War II experiences in his formative years. This context is central to the whole novel, so it's bizarre that it's not mentioned anywhere in the marketing. So, TW/CW: Mentions of the Holocaust, antisemitism, genocide. His talent for deception attracts the attention of the British secret service and he is thrown into the world of espionage on a mission across Europe.This was really cleverly written ,and as entertaining as I had hoped it would be.It was a perfect mix of magic , adventure and espionage .The characters were well written and believable That took me to the blurb which sounded so delicious it rendered me powerless to resist. So I didn't! The period atmosphere and the Cold War detail feel like a Le Carré but it’s the characters you really care about. Exactly like some of the magic it describes, the odd sleight of hand or false deception wrapped around a terrific mystery.’ IAN MOORE