For more about Houdini’s history and even the secrets to many of his tricks: Houdini on Magic by Harry Houdini, edited by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young; The Right Way to Do Wrong by Harry Houdini; and Harry Houdini for Kids by Laurie Carlson.

Acknowledgments

To say I’m grateful to the following people for their support and guidance as I endeavored to write what has easily been my most challenging and ambitious novel to date would be an understatement. First and foremost, I’m thankful to Aimee Long; while this book might have existed without her help through well over two years of brainstorming, prose obsessing, and invaluable marks from her brutal red pen, the story would have looked very, very different—and not in a good way. To Shelley McFarland for her brilliant wordsmithing and sage insights, and to Tracy Callan for her perpetual cheering and boundless faith. “Friends are the family we choose,” people say, and I feel fortunate beyond measure for our Golden Girls family of four.

For their unending patience and encouragement, I’m indebted to my beloved agent, Elisabeth Weed at The Book Group, and to my exceptional editor, Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks. And of course to Dominique Raccah and the rest of the stellar Sourcebooks team, whose clear love of authors and the belief that books change lives is as inspiring as it is treasured.

I’m also deeply grateful to the KB National Library of the Netherlands, namely to its remarkable Historical Collections specialist, Dutch historian Huibert Crijns, whose thoughtful corrections, suggestions, and research assistance went above and beyond anything I could have hoped for. The same could be said of German historian, linguist, and former U.S. Army Captain Michael Bunch, who undoubtedly endured far more questions than he ever anticipated; ditto goes for Alan Cagle, former 1Lt, Infantry, USAR, who once more generously shared his extensive World War II and military knowledge.

Enormous thanks to Dutch Holocaust survivor Anneke Bloomfield, British WWII and MI9 historian Dr. Helen Fry, and Margaret Grace of the Beaconsfield Historical Society for all their input and support; to Amanda Latchmore, née Watson, and Christopher Hartney of the Army Air Forces Historical Association for details on Waddingtons’ history and Monopoly usage; to fabulous author friend and former emergency-medicine doctor Kimmery Martin for accuracy on wounds, recuperations, and more; to Erika Robuck for her Catholic insights but mostly her immeasurable support and friendship; and to the curator of art and cultural history at Het Spoorwegmuseum (a.k.a. The Railway Museum in Utrecht), Evelien Pieterse, for wartime specifics on Dutch trains and stations.