Bruce Cervon – Hard Boiled Mysteries: High-Impact Close-Up Magic

Hard Boiled Mysteries by Bruce Cervon is a substantial 192-page hardcover volume (8.5 x 11 inches) with a full-color dust jacket, featuring 52 powerful close-up effects designed for strong, direct impact on audiences. The book is richly illustrated with hundreds of clear photographs of Cervon’s hands, providing detailed visual instruction for each routine.

Bruce Cervon is widely respected as one of the most inventive close-up magicians of his generation, known for creating practical, deceptive, and highly performable material. This collection reflects his reputation for strong, commercial magic that plays effectively in real-world conditions, including close-up shows, strolling performance, and formal presentations.

Many of the effects included were previously reserved for his professional repertoire and are now released for the first time, along with refined handling and subtleties developed over years of performance.

Included Effects and Routines

This volume features a wide range of close-up magic, including:

• The Twenty-Five Dollar Aces Trick
  A visually strong ace routine with multiple transpositions and surprising phases.
• Impact Aces
  A signature routine used in Cervon’s Magic Castle performances for years.
• Sub-Mariner Cards
  A long-guarded routine where four face-up cards penetrate a wallet one at a time, enhanced with advanced subtleties.
• Ring Again!
  A refined version of the classic ring-on-rope routine.
• Matrix
  A strong coin assembly effect with Cervon’s handling touches.
• Vernon–Cervon Run-Up Demonstration
  A study in controlled deception and card handling.
• Quadruple Coincidence
• Triple Change
• The Mac Switch
• and many additional routines and variations

Why This Book Stands Out

Hard Boiled Mysteries focuses on practical, high-impact magic designed to astonish even experienced spectators. Each routine is structured to maximize clarity, effect, and surprise, while incorporating subtle handling techniques that elevate the material beyond standard versions of classic plots.

Cervon’s work is particularly valued for its combination of strong structure, deceptive simplicity, and real-world practicality, making the material highly usable for working performers.

Highlights

• Written by Bruce Cervon
• 52 professional close-up magic effects
• 192-page large-format hardcover with dust jacket
• Hundreds of clear instructional photographs
• Includes previously unreleased professional material
• Strong focus on practical, performance-tested routines
• Features ace effects, coin magic, transpositions, and ring routines
• Includes signature Cervon subtleties and refinements
• Designed for maximum audience impact

Discover powerful, professional-level close-up magic—add Bruce Cervon: Hard Boiled Mysteries to your library and explore routines built to impress even the toughest audiences.