A man wakes up, disoriented. He doesn't know what time it is, where he is but he knows he is going to be late.

He sits in his chair in front of the TV and watches a show live in Central Park. Oliver Tree, a mediocre magician, is trying to redo Max Chance' Lost Illusion in front of the cameras, in front of thousands of people. Everybody is waiting for the show to start, cops that are part of the show are anticipating it. Suddenly, the arrows shot one at a time and Oliver Tree is hit by them. One at a time, each one leading to his sure death while the watchers applaud for such a great performance. The cops not seeing that the red stains are not faked blood but Oliver Tree's own blood... Then suddenly, Oliver Tree stops screaming. And Malakhai applauds such a performance knowing that someone had just murdered Oliver Tree in front of thousands of people who would only think it was an accident.

Thanksgiving Day, Detective Mallory and her partner, Riker are just watching Macy's Parade. They're only there for the show but Mallory never ever forgets, she is a cop. She also is furious because no one wants to believe Oliver Tree's death is a homicide and not an accident. She swears to herself she will prove it to the world! Riker is anxious. He knows her partner and sees the trance in which she is every time she has found a new possible target. He sees the target but it's only someone hired for the parade. He leaves her for a couple of minutes and suddenly he hears the blast of a gun. He finds Mallory on top of the target, at the same time a kid yells she killed Goldy. People start singing it " she killed goldy, she killed goldy". Riker believes it until Mallory gives him her weapon and sees that nothing was fired from it. Mallory knows that the gun blast is related to Oliver Tree's murder as soon as she learns the identity of the guy she just arrested. It is Tree's nephew. But no one believes her and she is allegedly on vacation until proven she is not responsible for the murder of Goldy the balloon.

She finally meets Malakhai's and his dead wife at a poker game. Malakhai, Louisa, Oliver Tree, Max Chance, Nick Prado, Franny Futura and John St Emile were together running a little theater in WW2 Paris. Mallory knows that Tree's death is linked to that era but she still doesn't know how Tree was murdered and she needs the help of a man, who with each stroke, is losing a bit of memory. Malakhai's losing his memory and Mallory must work against time to get the truth before it is too late or another murder is committed.

This book IS excellent. As I turned the last page, I actually didn't want to put it down, not to lose that feeling that it generated. O'Connell succeeds in putting you in Malakhai, Louisa's shoes. The atmosphere of Paris during WW2 permeates your every bone. You don't want to see Malakhai killed because as much as he's an old person, you still feel he's 20 in old Paris. You don't want him to lose his memories and you do want to see him with Mallory... You also don't want Mallory to lose it completely as she is taken into Malakhai's web of memories. You're running with her before it is too late and you feel such a satisfaction at the end. That end you will only know when you read the book.

O'Connell does a wonderful job of developing and analyzing each character in depth and it makes a better book than most thrillers, just for that!

To be honest, as I am writing this review, I am back in the book, the atmosphere, and I could actually reread it, now! I haven't felt that way for a book for ages.

GO get this book. You won't be disappointed!!!!!!!!