Kiersten White’s Mister Magic is an unnerving and spooky tale that definitely has a commentary on religion and those who believe. Mister Magic was a radio program, and later a television show that ran until the 90s when the final episode ended in tragedy.

It seems a number of people remember the show, and remember the magic that seemed so real, the show doesn’t seem to exist anywhere but in people’s memories. There are no recordings, no physical media, no merchandise, but when there is a rumor of a reunion and a reboot, everyone is excited.

Except Val. She was a part of the last Circle of Friends, who was involved with Mister Magic, but something happened, something she can’t remember. In fact, she can’t remember any of her childhood. So when a couple of the former cast members show up in her life to invite her to the reunion podcast, and review some shocking truths about her past, including a lost sister, she goes along.

But neither she, nor the reader are prepared for where the story will take her. Spooky moments, suggest that there is something more going on here than anyone realizes, and is it possible the magic on the show that couldn’t, shouldn’t, exist was real?

Nightmarish, unnerving White delivers a page-turning novel, that I stayed up late into the night reading, just wanting one more chapter, and then one more chapter. I had to know what happened to Val and the rest of her friends, what she would remember, who is manipulating who, and who or what Mister Magic is.

Mister Magic is an engrossing, captivating read that explores a number of themes from religion, cults, television, its effects, and how children are raised.

There are some truly creepy moments, and as the reader and Val discover the truth the story things just get more and more frightening and it will go that way unless Val takes control of the narrative.

Each chapter is broken into two parts, one moving the characters’ narrative forward, and the other building the mythology of and around the show, and it is done so incredibly well. Mister Magic is a stunning page-turning ride that has introduced me to a new writer that I will have to read more from.

Definitely check this one out if you want something familiar yet uniquely scary that taps into a touch of nostalgia, and shared memory, while also serving as a white knuckle thrill ride.