The Zig Zag Girl
Brighton, 1950.
When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl.
The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men.
Max is still on the circuit, touring seaside towns in the company of ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls. Changing times mean that variety is not what it once was, yet Max is reluctant to leave this world to help Edgar investigate. But when the dead girl turns out to be known to him, Max changes his mind.
Another death, another magic trick: Edgar and Max become convinced that the answer to the murders lies in their army days. When Edgar receives a letter warning of another ‘trick’, the Wolf Trap, he knows that they are all in danger…
Elly Griffiths
Thank you for visiting my Amazon author page! I'm the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway books, the Brighton Mysteries and four standalone titles featuring DI Harbinder Kaur. I've also written a middle grade mystery series, A Girl Called Justice. My new series, about time-travelling detective Ali Dawson, started in 2025 with The Frozen People.
I was born in London but moved to Brighton when I was five. I always wanted to be an author and wrote my first detective story, The Hair of the Dog, when I was 11. I studied English at King's College London and worked in a library before joining HarperCollins as a publicity assistant, eventually becoming editorial director for children's fiction. I wrote my first published novel, The Italian Quarter, whilst on maternity leave expecting my twins. Three other books followed, all written under my real name, Domenica de Rosa. When I wrote my first crime novel, The Crossing Places, I was advised to get a 'crime name'. I chose Elly Griffiths, after my grandmother, and have now published 32 books under that name..
Brighton Mysteries
Brighton Mysteries consists of seven books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
