One of the most common tricks, of the magician who has already reached a certain level and large doses of prestige, is disappearance. Whatever the trick, the best magicians achieve this fading effect in the eyes of the marveling public. And then the murmur arises, the general brooding, where can the trick be? The magician has focused all your attention, you have not blinked and, despite this, he has disappeared right under your nose.
In this book Ilusionarium the trick goes beyond mere spectacle. Angela's disappearance is a fait accompli. It is assumed that after an accident on the road, his body caged inside his car ended up in the Seine for good.
Christian Bennet is the surprised spectator who does not quite believe what happened. You have to think of it like this in order to take on the job of Martha Sullivan, businesswoman and manager of a prestigious newspaper. Martha herself lets him know about her daughter's fondness for illusionism that ended up elevating her as the magician Daisy.
Given the antecedents, the accident, the disappearance, the waters of the Seine…, everything can be part of the necessary set for Angela's trick. But why and why disappear? While Christian throws himself on the official clues of the case (as inconsistent as they are incredible) he relives scenarios from his past, the evocations of a lost love, that of the young Lorraine unexpectedly appear to him as an uncomfortable Deja Vu.
When Christian tries to fit official versions, testimonies and other references about the case, he ends up verifying that Angela is still alive. The magician Daisy has fooled everyone and has retired from the stage through the hidden trapdoor.
And it is then when the magician's facilities become more evident in front of a public eager to be deceived. Those who attend a magic trick watch closely, intending to discover the deception in the same proportion that they wish to be deceived.
This approach of the public as a participant interested in the trick is extrapolated in the story to the press, what we want to hear and what they end up telling us. Thus, the final effect is both the merit of the magician and the will of the observer. Maybe Angela disappeared because her world agreed to the deception, a kind of price for admission to the show.
Undoubtedly a different intrigue, a setting as close and recognizable as it is fascinating in its unpredictable fantastic drifts.
You can buy the book Illusionarium, the latest novel by José Sanclemente, here:
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS AND REVIEWS
THE WORLD WANTS TO BE DECEIVED.
A vibrant thriller in which everything looks like a great magic trick.
Longtime Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christian Bennet receives an enigmatic call from Martha Sullivan, owner of the newspaper The Sentinel from New York, prostrated by a deadly disease, which makes him a unique task: he wants me to locate his daughter and only heir, Angela, who disappeared years ago, since if she does not appear, the newspaper will fall into the hands of an investment group.
Angela's only clue is in some press clippings and a briefcase that, after the death of Martha Sullivan's husband, came to her hands, clippings that speak of the girl's professional career as a famous illusionist, turned into the magician Daisy.
This strange request removes some stories from the past in Bennet, such as the guilt he has lived with for years for the death of Lorraine, the young lover with whom he shared a few weeks of his life.
Bennet discovers that Angela Sullivan appears to have been killed in a car accident that killed her in the cold waters of the Seine in Paris. However, the body was never found.
Christian Bennet begins to suspect that the official story is a lie, and that Angela is still alive, hiding her true identity somewhere. The great unknown is to find out where it is and why it is kept in the shadows.
It all seems like a tremendous magic trick. You do not have to ask how it is done or why we allow ourselves to be fooled. In journalism that is not valid, and in real life neither. Or maybe yes?
«A surprising intrigue, a fascinating story. What captures this brilliant novel from beginning to end is its original plot in which suspense gallops ahead of the reader dragging him to the end. It's like a good movie: illusionism, mirror game, journalism and the search for truth. »
Maruja Torres, writer and journalist
«In this novel, José Sanclemente works magic: he hooks you with his illusionistic effects and he doesn't let you go until the end. No matter how hard you try, like good magicians, you won't get the hang of it: it catches you, it tricks you, it entangles you and you end up applauding it. "
Jordi Évole, journalist, director of Salvados
«International intrigue with elements as original as magic and journalism. Time flies by reading this novel and… there is no disappointment at the end. An exquisite dish to taste. »
Alicia Giménez Bartlett, writer
«The best novel by José Sanclemente. A meticulous magic trick that grabs the reader and drags him to an astonishing ending. "
Ignacio Escolar, director of eldiario.es
«Full of traps, distorting mirrors and double backgrounds, it shows us with devilish speed that the deception is not in the magician's trick but in our gaze. An absolutely addictive novel. "
Antonio Iturbe, director of Book compass
«A great film plot that pits a brilliant magician against the predators of journalism, politics and finance. A great magic trick that will keep the reader fooled to the end. "
Rafael Nadal, writer and journalist
«Like the best illusionists, Sanclemente, hijacks your attention from the beginning of the show and keeps you as aware of the plot as trying to discover the trick. We all want to be fooled, but if it's with a good story, all the better. "
Lourdes Lanch, Cadena Ser
"Pure black magic, black for subject matter, black for crimes."
Álvaro Colomer, writer and journalist
«An atypical thriller, a mixture of journalistic and police investigation. A clear reflection on the limits of journalism. A jolt on every page. "
Ernesto Sánchez Pombo, journalist
"From surprise to surprise, The reader contemplates a spectacle of total illusionism, in which he only sees what the magician wants him to see."
Juan Carlos Laviana, journalist