As Sam and Uncle Ezra watch, the Great Houdini escapes from a trunk at the bottom of the river. Includes facts about Houdini and his career.

In 1889, the ship Etruria departs Liverpool, England, for New York carrying Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her crime-solving partner, Thomas, a famous escape artist, and a cold-blooded killer.

"In 1814, redcoats burned the White House to the ground. In 1889, Harry Houdini discovered a trick that would save his life. In 1955, the U.S. launched the world's first nuclear submarine. And one family pulled the strings behind the scenes at each of these events: the Cahills--the most powerful family the world has ever known. Now the Cahills have opened their vault and dangerous secrets are pouring out. This book contains three of them--three stories...

Young Harry Houdini's efforts to perfect his magic tricks are put on hold when his mentor, Herbie, disappears, prodding Harry and his two best friends, Arthur and Billie, to embark on a dangerous investigation that pushes their skill and their friendship to the limits.

When second-rate illustrator Ernie MacGuffin's artistic works triple in value following his apparent suicide off the Brooklyn Bridge, Dorothy Parker smells something fishy. Enlisting the help of magician and skeptic Harry Houdini, she goes to a seance held by MacGuffin's mistress, where Ernie's ghostly voice seems hauntingly real.