The Magician's Daughter: A Valentine Hill Mystery    by Judith Janeway Order:  USA  Can Poisoned Pen, 2015 (2015) Hardcover, Softcover     Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Valentine Hill believes that nothing is as it seems. Her con artist mother has never informed Valentine of her real age, birth place, or who her father was. She just told her daughter that her father was a magician. Not much to go on. Valentine, who is a magician herself, would like to locate her father. She is a street performer who loves to pull rabbits out of hats – but the identity of her father takes precedence. How else can she know who she is? But to learn that, she must first find her mother, who disappeared ten years ago – not an easy task. Following her mother's trail, Valentine travels to San Francisco where she finds the woman. Which places her in a different world. She is convinced that mama is running a scam which seems to be turning deadly. Valentine discovers that a socialite is a ruthless criminal. A car mechanic is a psycho killer. Even a cab driver turns out to be a seductive gangster. And in the middle of all these low lifes, her mother is working a scam! The Magician's Daughter by Judith Janeway is the first in a series of three. I look forward to the next two. I've learned a bit about this business of magic. Not that I want to become a magician, but it is nice to have a working knowledge of the basics. This is a fun book by an author with a good sense of humor. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews