The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

In 1950's England, DI Edgar Stephens is in charge of a a particularly gruesome case: a woman cut into thirds--the top and bottom left in the Brighton train station, the middle part sent to Edgar at the police headquarters. Who would commit such a crime and what is the identity of the victim? For Edgar, the manner of death recalls a magic trick called the Zig Zag Girl. His old friend, magician Max Mephisto, used to perform the illusion before the war. During World War II, Edgar and Max were part of a unit called the Magic Men, whose job was to fool the Germans with magic and subterfuge. Edgar knows that Max had nothing to do with the murder, but he goes to see him, hoping Max can help. Soon, someone else is murdered, and Edgar and Max have to look into the past to find who's responsible. With The Zig Zag Girl, Griffiths starts a new mystery series featuring Edgar and Max. At first, I was hesitant to read this first book because I'm not interested in magic at all, but Griffiths' writing style and character development won me over. If you enjoy her Ruth Galloway mysteries, give this new series a try.