The Bullet Trick – New NovelInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

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There is a certain fascination for magic generally, and for
magic of a death-defying ilk specifically.

The Sunday Times features Louise Welsh
and her newest suspense novel, The Bullet
Trick .

This is Ms. Welsh's second novel and she already has quite a
track record. Her first outing, The Cutting Room, also dealt with the
public's prurient interest. There she
chronicled an auctioneer who stumbles upon a collection of pornography and the
riches to be made by entering the world of the obscene.

In The Bullet Trick,
Ms. Welsh describes with similar "tone, mood and macabre intent" the
story of magician William Wilson who leaves London
after "becoming embroiled in a moment of horror and moves to Berlin, where he is
drawn into the murky gloom of the city's burlesque nightlife."

Sounds like a happy, feel-good tale of fun-loving magicians
traveling the globe.

But it's not.

The protagonist, Mr. Wilson, "doesn't like himself very
much and this feeling of self- loathing doesn't make people want to be with
him. But by the end of the book he's got a bit more confidence and I'm happier with
him going on in the world."

But will the world be happier to have him?

Ms. Welsh says she doubts she'll ever write a romance novel
— unless it is seriously twisted.

She wants her readers to "be worried, or feel
uncomfortable, or be excited. I hope it's a novel of sensation. When William's
on stage, he's inviting you to accept that he's going to do a conjuring trick,
when we know there's no such thing as magic, yet we allow ourselves to be
pulled into that."

Researching pornography or auctioneering must have been
easier than learning about the psyche of magicians and their secrets. Ms. Welsh said she met and interviewed
several magicians and read books about their craft to prepare her novel.

"They don't like to give things away, but it's
interesting to spend time with people who are doing that particular job, even
just to get little bits of jargon."

She was quick to advise The Magic Circle that despite her
newly acquire knowledge, she is not likely to perform magic — anywhere. "I'm rubbish at it."

The Bullet Trick is set to be released in hardback this July from Canongate (UK).