He was famous across the globe for his brilliant escape acts. But before he became the great magician, who was young Harry Houdini?

In 1880s New York, Harry Houdini is just a shoe-shine boy dabbling with a few escape tricks. But when a well-known magician is kidnapped, Harry and his friends must race across Manhattan to track down the villains!

The world's most famous magician. But before his name became legend, who was young Harry Houdini?

New York City, 1886. Harry Houdini is just a penniless street urchin dabbling with a few escape tricks. But when a well-known magician goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Harry and his friends, Arthur and Billie, are sucked into a deadly adventure.

Now Harry must put all his extraordinary skills into action - not just to solve the mystery - but to stay alive. Because when he falls into the clutches of some of Manhattan's most dangerous villains, his spectacular escapes won't be for show - they'll be a matter of life and death!

'It's AMAZING! I just couldn't stop reading it, every bit of it is full of adventure and excitement. I loved it!'

'Young Houdini is so adventurous. It is full of heroes and sinister villains. It is written so well that I can't put the book down.'

'There was never a boring bit throughout and it always had you on the edge of your seat.'

'This series opener is action-packed and fast-paced...'

'A fast-paced mystery... Middle-grade readers... will gallop through this spellbinder'

'Nicholson smoothly blends Houdini's prowess as an escape artist with his fictional hero's sleuthing skills as he tracks down a missing elderly magician... A cliffhanger ending will leave readers eager for the next installment.'

'A rattling good yarn'

'A fast moving mixture of excitement and danger'

'Nicholson gives us a whizzing, dizzying, dazzling adventure'

'This is a racy, pacey read: youngsters will find it hard to put this book down at the cliff edge of any chapter.'