In smoothly entertaining prose, a professional biographer who has specialized in rock musicians turns to the rocky personal friendship of two remarkable men, based on their common interest in the occult and Spiritualism—Harry Houdini generally a scoffer, Arthur Conan Doyle a true believer. Both are presented sympathetically, though their foibles (sometimes remarkably similar) are not glossed over. The illusionist Houdini's egotism, showmanship, and thirst for approval often cast doubt on his reliability. The extent of Doyle's gullibility and single-minded devotion to psychic matters, often downplayed in accounts of his life, is subjected to a hard, bright light. The final chapters are a depressing record of human folly and misplaced energies. Overlook the hackneyed title, which may not be the author's fault; the book was published in Great Britain as Houdini and Conan Doyle.