The Amazing Harvey: A Mystery
Praise forThe Amazing Harvey:“The Amazing Harveymoves along at a fast and funny clip."—Orange Count Register"A great character who sees humor in almost everything."—NewsOK"Stand in line and be ready to laugh."—Beverly Hills Courier“Don Passman’s entertaining third novel reflects his lifelong interest in magic. It informs the entire novel, from the realistic way he describes Harvey’s lifestyle and showmanship to the very fact that the book itself is a carefully constructed mystery—Passman creates a literary illusion, showing you all you need to know, while still maintaining an element of surprise, a final flourish that pays off handsomely. In between, readers are kept entertained by the presence of Harvey himself, the strangest blend of confidence and insecurity you may ever encounter. He’s a true everyman, and very relatable—his only advantages over normal folks are his sarcastic sense of humor, and his ability to see a crime scene through the eyes of a professional magician, spotting clues that those not used to concealing secrets for a living would likely overlook.”—Mystery Scene“Harvey's wit and sarcasm makes him a fun "detective" to follow along on the case. The stage magician plots of the story are fun too. The chemistry between Harvey and Heather makes the reader yearn for a romance between the two of them too. I really hope this isn't the last case for Harvey.”—Parkersburg News & Sentinel“Harvey's a poor schnook, but determined. As a protagonist, he's entertaining and believable; readers will find it easy to root for him. The magicians' world is interesting, and the story moves briskly, delivering on its promise…[with] characters that bounce right off the page.”—Contra Costa Times“But what the book reminded me of more than anything were the old hard boiled gumshoe novels, like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett. Harvey has all the trappings of a noir-hero: he’s the guy who’s wrongly accused, he has major money problems, he’s great with the patter, and the whole thing takes place in the glaring sun of Los Angeles. But Passman makes use of the tropes, instead of being trapped by them. He takes the dark cynicism of Noir and turns it around to something funny and clever, something with a little more levity, but never turning all the way to silly.”—CriminalElement.com“A fascinating milieu as well as characters to root for…All the characters are fully developed, speak in their own voices and lend credibility while propelling the high-stakes, compelling plot forward.”—Reviewing the Evidence.com"The quick-witted and endearing Harvey is a good counterbalance for the serious and driven Hannah, an effective team who will hopefully reappear in a sequel."—Stop, You're Killing Me!.com“By striking a careful balance between humor and tension, Passman puts a fresh spin on the familiar setup of a man unjustly accused of a crime trying to prove his innocence.”—Publishers Weekly“Passman launches a new series starring a sleuthing magician whose greatest trick ever might just be releasing himself from a murder rap.”—Kirkus Reviews“Every great mystery has a murder. But none of them have a magician-moonlighting-as-a-substitute-teacher who wears his sequined jacket to solve the case. The Amazing Harvey is just like The Amazing Passman: a gifted magician destined to entertain.”—Brad Meltzer, bestselling author ofThe First CounselandThe Millionaires“The Amazing Harveyis an absolutely refreshing suspense novel and I have to say one of the most ingeniouswho-done-itsI have read in a long time. The dialogue in it is sharp and carries at times a cutting touch of humor which adds to the intrigue of the characters. […] Talk about a Hitchcock twist, Harvey’s story has it and I congratulate Passman on a brilliant presentation.—Kreskin