Doppelgangsters — Laura Resnick

A waiting game . . .

Nothing can tank a Broadway magic act faster than too much authenticity. So -- with Sorcerer! shut down -- Esther Diamond is doing what out-of-work actresses do best: waiting tables in Little Italy while hoping for the next good audition.

But magical mischief is as obvious as an aging ingenue's plastic surgery (once you know what to look for), and when the same man walks into the restaurant that he just left, well, Esther knows that something is very wrong. Particularly as the gangster -- or the doppelgangster -- quickly drops dead after meeting himself.

It's time to call in both magical and mundane reinforcements -- including Max the magician and Detective Connor Lopez.

Though this investigation started as a welcome distraction from temp work, the danger level is amping up. 'Cause Esther might be about to meet herself . . .