Illusion, by Frank Peretti

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Dane and Mandy Collins have been a popular magic act for close to thirty years. They plan to retire but soon devastation strikes and Mandy is killed in a fiery car wreck. 

Reeling from his wife’s death, Dane reluctantly agrees to see a new magic act on the advice of a friend. Dane is transfixed by the magic he sees, illusions that even he, a seasoned professional, cannot readily explain. But more than anything, he is stunned by the nineteen-year-old magician who is in every respect identical to his wife, forty years ago.

I cut my teeth on Christian fiction by Frank Peretti, so I was happy for the chance to review his latest. He didn't disappoint. I was more than halfway through the book before I figured out what was going on, and only then because the author spelled it out for me. Was this all one big magician's stunt? An alien experiment? Perhaps a nightmare? Something that could be explained?

It's not often that I am totally in the dark, but this story remained a mystery for a long time. When the characters and I finally figured out what was going on, the situation got tense as they tried to figure out how to ensure a happy ending.

By the way, I didn't include ALL of the publisher's teaser above, nor did I read any of the summaries before reading the book.  I'd recommend that you do the same, because they're all jumping ahead and answering the big question that makes this book so intriguing.  That, or I am the only person on the planet who didn't "get" how this was possible from the get-go.

I thought I'd wear a hole in the protective cover of my e-reader from how quickly I was flipping the pages. There just wasn't a good spot to take a breath, put the book down for the night, and come back to it. Peretti really drew me into this one. I couldn't tell the bad guys from good ones, and I had no clue how this would end until the last.

The suspense in this book should appeal to those readers who like an edgy twist, while the power of a life-long love should satisfy the romantics among us. Thanks, Mr. Peretti!

I received this book free from the publisher through netGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.