Walking the Labyrinth

This book is what one of my writing instructors would label a plot-driven novel. It tells a story in which the protagonist, Molly Travers, orphaned at the age of three and raised by her great-aunt, gradually discovers the history of her extended family and meets relatives that she never knew that she had. In the process she learns about herself and about ways in which people in family and romantic relationships can use and misuse power over each other. She finds that her family traces its roots to an illicit union in Victorian England between a lower-class girl with a magical Gift and a gentleman with an interest in the occult, and she eventually learns how and why the family emigrated to the United States, of the life they led as vaudeville performers (illusionists who could perform tricks that baffled other magicians), of family conflicts that isolated her branch of the family from the rest, and of the family's connection with the secret Order of the Labyrinth. Information is revealed at a pace that adds steadily to the reader's knowledge while sustaining enough of the mystery to make each chapter a pleasure to read. The metaphor of the Labyrinth ties a genuine physical labyrinth in the story to the process of learning that goes on through life. I suppose this is not earth-shakingly original. Still, since I experienced a few frustrating setbacks in my own life while reading this book, it was actually very helpful to hear in my mind the echo of the question that characters in the book are asked when they experience such a turning of the labyrinth: "What have you learned?"

After reading her book "Dark Cities Underground" I ordered this book and the "Red Magician." I thoroughly enjoyed both books. I think anyone who likes urban fantasy or magical stories would like her writing. It is good to see solid women writers in this genre.

Great book! I couldn't put it down. Lisa fascinated me with the descriptions of the family, their performances and everyday life. She also rode that mystery until the very end of the story.