Valentine Hill was a magician by trade; a confidence artist who defrauds after gaining someone confidence. Twenty-four years old, she has searched for years in a quest to find out who she is. Her mother never gave her any information about her age, place of birth, or who she was. She doesn’t even have a social security number. She is looking for a sense of place more permanent than she has yet found in her young life.

At a gig in a casino, Valentine met her mother’s boyfriend and a very young Ashley. Her intuition told her Bobby Kroy was a “creep” boyfriend rather than an “Uncle” mark. That night Valentine lost “the hat”, the money people dropped in a hat when they liked her magic act. Her friend Jeff was supposed to guard the badly needed money. Then he ransacked her room and stole another $2,000 from her.

Her mother headed out a window and down a fire escape to avoid seeing her, and a man who was looking for her mom beat Valentine up. All along the way, nothing and no one is who it seems.

Will Valentine every get everything that is owed her? Will she ever meet her mom and dad? Will strangers, thieves, and dishonest family members ever stop beating her up and taking her money so that she can get back to what she loves best – working her magic?

The Magician’s Daughter by Judith Janeway is a Valentine Hill mystery that grabs the reader’s attention right from the start. While the story itself can be a bit on the wild, unbelievable, side, the characters keep the action moving at a swift pace. Every time you think the heroine is finally getting everything together, something else happens to keep her broke, battered, and needing to regroup in order to reach her goal.

This is a gritty read and not for the faint-of-heart, but it is an intriguing story of how far someone will go to find out who she is, why her mother abruptly left her, and will she truly find someone to love, and love where.

If you are interested in any of Judith Janeway's books, they are available at Amazon.com

A special thank you goes to Poisoned Pen Press for providing us with a complimentary copy of this book for our review.