This was a great Fifth Doctor story, full of so many twists and turns. It concerns the TARDIS being summoned to Earth by an old friend of the Doctor's, Harry Houdini, where some strange goings-on are taking place at a fun fair.

Yes, finally we get to hear more of the Doctor and Harry Houdini's long-hinted-at friendship! This was also explored in a short story on the official Doctor Who website, but hearing it in a full-length audiobook feels more substantial somehow. It feels like a much deeper take on their friendship, especially with what happens later on and the way it explores how Harry Houdini feels about the Doctor having to keep certain things about his future a secret.

I do find it odd how Harry Houdini has such a negative view on fortune tellers in this story though, going as far as to label them as frauds, given that he at this point in his life is stated to be a fortune teller himself! That element of the story didn't quite land for me; I mean, even if you go deeper into it, he was technically a fraud by his own definition long before he was a fortune teller, given that escapology is all about tricking the audience into thinking you're going to die.

The Doctor doesn't really get a lot to do either, until the very end. Most of the narrative is driven by the companions Tegan, Nyssa and Adric, which is a shame for a story that focuses so heavily on the friendship between the Doctor and Houdini. It's a great moment hearing Nyssa encountering an old enemy again, one who of course has unfortunate personal connections to a family tragedy, and the stuff with Nyssa is truly excellent in this story. But it would have been nice to have heard the Fifth Doctor be given more to do.

But I really did NOT see that twist with Harry Houdini coming! What a twist!