Tragic Wand

By James Tucker

Book Overview

Surgeon Jack Merlin and Assistant D.A. Tory Welch find themselves in the thick of a murder mystery, involving a plastic surgeon with a criminal mind.... Praise for the novels of James Tucker:"A... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451409469
• ISBN13: 9780451409461
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Onyx Books
• Length: 406 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A diamond!

Number three in the series may have proven to be the charm, but one wonders what happened since then. Tragic Wand is the third in a series of medical mysteries and thrillers that have been written by James Tucker about Jack Merlin and his girlfriend Tory Welch. In this third volume, Mr. Tucker gets it right on almost all counts which is also a huge improvement over the first two volumes. Finally we can read a medical thriller that has the requisite mix of ingredients to make a fun read. In his previous two books, there was never a mystery about who the bad guys were and why they were doing what they were doing. In this book, you think there is no mystery as you get started, but you very quickly pick up on the fact that there is more going on under the surface. I thought it was great that I was not able to piece together the real storyline until the last eighty pages of the book. Also, the way some crimes were being committed were almost totally believable and the motives of the various characters were logical and made sense. Tragic Wand really delves into the issue of what happens when a plastic surgeon goes bad. It starts with a prologue in which a plastic surgeon in Florida does an operation on a gangster and then finds out that his colleague has been murdered. The implication being that since the doctor left the office too soon, the murderer was actually looking for the surgeon. Move time forward by six years and we meet a very successful plastic surgeon in Pittsburgh who operates on a shady character who seems to have a pathological need to maintain anonymity during his operation. Unfortunately, due to a scheduling error, Tory Welch is in the office when the criminal is there and he goes ballistic. Not only does he harm Tory, but he manages to go off full-cock and create all kinds of additional havoc. There are many twists to the story and I will not lay them all out here since that would give too much away. There is a lot of medical jargon in these novels and that is expected both because of the nature of the stories as well as the nature of the writer - he is a doctor who is practicing in the Pittsburgh area. In addition, this book excels in giving the flavor of the various Pittsburgh locales that are descried in the book. As someone who lives in Pittsburgh, it was easy for me to visualize the various scenes as they are very authentically rendered. The author does have a habit of naming his characters in a slightly goofy manner. The main character is Jack Merlin who is a surgeon and a magician (magician = Merlin, get it?). The plastic surgeon is Marshall Cutter; while the gun-wielding policeman is detective Deringer. Ouch. Another thing that I do not particularly like is that the assistant DA (Tory Welch) is always on the receiving end of most of the violence. Of course, Merlin and Welch continue to investigate what is going on in spite of and in ignorance of any police actions... I do regret though, that it seems as if Mr. Tucker has

A very pleasant surprise

When I picked up this book, I wasn't expecting much. The cover and title are goofy, and even the author's photo and bio make the book look like a third rate "cozy" mystery. But it isn't.The plot was gripping! The murder scenes and descriptions were so vivid and horrendous, I could barely keep reading (makes you want to cover your eyes like at a horror movie). The intensity kept building as the pages flew by. The author uses his medical knowledge well in building a believable murder mystery. Count me in as a new James Tucker fan. His entry into the genre of medical thrillers should be noted!

Amazing Book!

If you read Tucker's first book, 'Abra Cadaver', and was a little disappointed with it (as was I), do not be discouraged! Stick with this guy! His second, Hocus Corpus, is a lot better after we have already gotten familiar with the characters (but that's another review). The best reason for sticking with Tucker is definitely Tragic Wand.This book is fast paced and smart, leaving the reader thinking they've solved the mystery time and time again, only to uncover some clue that twists your entire theory around. But what's most surprising is the ending, which I can guarantee, you will never see coming. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great mystery.

This one's a winner!

This author continues to mature with each new book. Tragic Wand is even better than Tucker's two previous Merlin books. This whodunnit had me on the edge of my seat until the very last moment. Fearing for the safety of the two protagonists, I found myself reading late into the night. Tucker's descriptions are terrifyingly real. I know this sounds a bit trite, but this is truly a medical thriller you cannot put down. Prepare to be sleep-deprived!

good murder mystery with a unique hero

In Miami Beach, the place to go for plastic surgery is the Phillips Cosmetic Surgery Center run by Raymond Phillips. His clientele consist mainly of society matrons who desire a younger look. Once in a while, Raymond takes on cases where the patient, wanted by law enforcement officials, need to disappear. As Raymond works on one of these individuals, someone kills his anesthesiologist, which forces the surgeon to disappear.Six years later in Pittsburgh, society matrons cluster around the Cutter Institute for Cosmetic Surgery. Stanley Stillwell goes to the clinic for extensive surgery in order to vanish. However, Stillwell sees another patient at the facility and simply goes berserker. He almost chokes Tory Welch to death. When Stillwell calms down, surgery is performed on him. However, he soon learns that Welch is an assistant DA. He kidnaps Tory and her boyfriend Dr. Jack Merlin, planning to kill both of them. However, before he can complete his ugly deeds, a masked intruder sticks an ice pick into his brain, killing him. Jack and Tory have solved homicides before and team up to try to uncover the truth.TRAGIC WAND is an exciting fast-paced mystery that will appeal to readers who enjoy subtle twists in their plots. The hero is a surgeon whose hobby is magic in which he explains the tricks. Tory is a superb partner and heroine in her own right. However, James Tucker's tale belongs to the story line in which sleight of hand leaves the audience wondering who are the puppets and who are the puppeteers? Harriet Klausner