ACTS OF VIOLET

A winding tale of two sisters pulled together and pushed apart by fame, magic, and the cult of celebrity.

After a yearslong hiatus from performing following a disastrous Las Vegas show, Violet Volk—magician, self-help author, motivational speaker, and celebrity—stages a comeback in her hometown of Willow Glen, New Jersey. But during the big disappearing-act finale, the Flaming Angel, she fails to reappear as expected. Slowly, the audience and security come to realize that Violet is well and truly gone. Ten years later, her fans—the Wolf Pack—have remained obsessed with her disappearance, and the annual candlelight vigil at the location of her last show will be a huge event to mark the anniversary. Her sister, Sasha Dwyer, is still angry at Violet in the way that only sisters can be: for slights perceived and real, for actions that hurt her and those she loves. Sasha’s husband, Gabriel, has spent decades trying to protect her from the worst of Violet’s egoism. Their daughter, Quinn, is nearing college graduation and trying to figure out her future, her past, and what it means to be Violet Volk’s niece. A podcast about Violet’s life and disappearance is being taped, and host Cameron Frank is pulling out all the stops to try to get Sasha to appear. Author Montimore has written a layered story told in fragments of documents, emails, podcast transcripts, and narrated segments that jump through time, place, and voice. It’s a whirlwind of information and characters, much like a magic show with smoke, mirrors, and misdirection consuming the viewer’s attention before the final big reveal: Is Violet alive or dead? And if she is alive, where has she been for 10 years?

A story of the lifetime bonds of sisterhood that also touches on the paranormal subtext inherent in magic acts.