Jeffery Deaver
The Vanished Man
The fifth book in the Lincoln Rhyme series, 2003
"A conjuring trick is generally regarded by magicians as consisting of an effect and a method. The effect is what the spectator sees… The method is the secret behind the effect and allows the effect to take place."
– Peter Lament and Richard Wiseman, Magic in Theory
I . EFFECT
"The expert magician seeks to deceive the mind, rather than the eye."
– Marvin Kaye, The Creative Magician's Handbook
Chapter One
Greetings, Revered Audience. Welcome.
Welcome to our show.
We have a number of thrills in store for you over the next two days as our illusionists, our magicians, our sleight-of-hand artists weave their spells to delight and captivate you.
Our first routine is from the repertoire of a performer everyone's heard of: Harry Houdini, the greatest escape artist in America, if not the world, a man who performed before crowned heads of state and U.S. presidents. Some of his escapes are so difficult no one has dared attempt them, all these years after his untimely death.
Today we'll re-create an escape in which he risked suffocation in a routine known as the Lazy Hangman.
In this trick, our performer lies prone on the belly, hands bound behind the back with classic Darby handcuffs. The ankles are tied together and another length of rope is wound around the neck, like a noose, and tied to the ankles. The tendency of the legs to straighten pulls the noose taut and begins the terrible process of suffocation.