A Sean McPherson Novel, Book 5

Mystery / Crime Thriller
Date Published: August 7, 2025
Publisher:
She Writes Press
Run Time: 9 hours 27 minutes
Narrator: Rebecca Stern


A contemporary crime thriller perfect for Louise Penny and Robert Dugoni fans,
Illusionist presents PI McPherson with an impossible dilemma: kill an author
at a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest, or let a college student
die.

WHEN AN ILLUSIONIST joins the Pines & Quill writing retreat, one of the owners vanishes without a trace in the middle of everyone—but the surrounding would-be witnesses don’t see or hear a thing. That’s when crime boss Georgio Gambino makes a checkmate move against his nemesis, Sean McPherson—he attempts to blackmail a writer in residence into killing another writer and framing McPherson. In a video call, Gambino warns the writer, “If you don’t follow orders, your daughter will die.” Then he pans the camera to prove his access to her college dorm room.
As he begins to investigate, McPherson discovers that Carmine Fiore, Gambino’s second in command, covets his boss’s role and is staging a coup. As Gambino’s soldiers traffic drugs, weapons, and humans, Fiore plants incriminating evidence against the notorious Sureños gang. Can McPherson leverage that knowledge for a temporary truce and the gang’s help?
Even if he can, the Sureños gang won’t be enough alone. As the clock ticks down, McPherson gathers Pines & Quill’s writers in residence—a former NASCAR driver, a professional triathlete, an architect turned house flipper, and a world-renowned magician who may not be who she appears to be—to create the illusion of a lifetime.

 

About the Author

A blend of Dr. Doolittle, Nanny McPhee, and a type-A Buddhist, Laurie Buchanan is an active listener, observer of details, payer of attention, reader and writer of books, kindness enthusiast, red licorice aficionado, and lover of the Oxford comma. As a novelist, photographer, and voracious reader, she never travels without three essentials—a laptop, a camera, and a book.

Growing up, she dreamed of being a magician, an international spy, and a mad scientist. There’s still time!

Her writing studio is the hayloft of a historic carriage house in the Pacific Northwest, where creativity thrives. Her husband, Len, a private pilot, and Henry, their not-so-standard Standard Poodle, join her on daily walks. She always carries a camera because sometimes, the best word choice is a picture.

A journey that left an indelible imprint on her was a 20-day, 211-mile trek across the majestic landscapes of Scotland. She, her husband, and their son hiked from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, with the pinnacle being the climb of Ben Nevis at the midpoint of their adventure, the highest point in the British Isles. 

“My writing goal is simple: to leave you wanting more.” —Laurie Buchanan

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