The Grand Illusion

Historical fiction inspired by the War Office response to the Nazi obsession with the occult

Step forward Daphne Devine - you are about to change the course of the war

’A breathtaking historical thriller.’Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key

’Vivid and thoroughly entertaining... More, please.’ Guardian, best crime and thrillers

June 1940. As World War Two rages, Daphne Devine remains in London, performing each night as assistant to stage magician Jonty Trevelyan, aka the Grand Mystique.

Then the secret service call.

For, aware of Hitler’s belief in the occult, the war office has set up a hidden cohort to exploit this quirk in the enemy’s chain of command.

Daphne and Jonty find themselves far from the glitz and glamour of the theatre, deep inside the lower levels of Wormwood Scrubs prison. Here, they join secret ranks of occultists, surrealists, and other eccentrics co-opted to the war effort. There is one goal: to avert invasion on British shores.

Soon Daphne realises she must risk everything if there is any chance of saving her country

’Quirky, clever and compelling.’ Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

’A rattling good read.’Barbara Nadel, author of Belshazzar’s Daughter

Syd Moore is currently the first Author in Residence for Essex Libraries. She is best known for her Essex Witch Museum Mysteries. The series was shortlisted for the Good Reader Holmes and Watson Award in 2018 and 2019. Syd founded the Essex Girls’ Liberation Front and successfully got the term ’Essex girl’ removed from the Oxford dictionary in 2020. Her debut screenplay, Witch West will go into production in 2024. She lives in Essex.