Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke Trilogy #2

by Tanya Huff

Tanya Huff’s supernatural fantasy Smoke series, with a gothic twist • Mix of ghostly mystery, paranormal horror, and dark humor • Lamba Award nominated
 
Fans of the  X-Files  and  Twin Peaks  will love acclaimed master of contemporary fantasy Tanya Huff’s twisted version of vampires, wizards, and TV terror. 
 
Tony Foster, a former street kid, is given a second chance by vampire Henry Fitzroy, when they both relocate to Vancouver. Tony lands a job as a production assistant for a TV show,  Darkest Night , about the adventures of a vampire detective.
 
Everything is going fine until shadowy forces from another dimension attack the crew, and Tony discovers he’s a fledgling wizard. 
 
Things have been quiet on the set since the defeat of the shadows. Then Chester Bane, head of the company, rents Caulfield House, a long-deserted, turn-of-the-century mansion, to shoot an episode about a haunted house. It should be an easy week, with a perfect setting, but there’s one little hitch—Caulfield House is really haunted.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Vampires, Fiction, Paranormal, Horror, Mystery

404 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 7, 2005

About the author

Tanya Sue Huff is a queer Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood Ties.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Tony Foster book, spun off from Huff's very popular Vicki Nelson series. I didn't much care for Tony in the original series, but he really comes into his own here, and, of course Henry's there to add a lot. There are also some really terrific new characters, fun and quirky for the most part, and quite interesting. This one is a very fast-paced story of filming an episode of a vampire-themed television show about a haunted house... and, you guessed it, they happened to pick a real haunted house to film it in. Page turning fun from beginning to end.

[Jammies · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I did enjoy the Vicky Nelson series and the first "Smoke and..." book with Tony Foster as the main character, I was surprised at just how blown away I was by this book. The characters are well-drawn, quirky enough to be engaging but not so quirky as to make relating to them difficult. The plot is an amazing new take on the old "group of people trying to survive in a haunted house until sunrise" and the twists and turns kept me turning pages until late in the night. In fact, the television show "Supernatural" borrowed the plot for an episode.

What delighted me the most about this book was Huff's extraordinarily skillful blending of horror and humor. Every page had something that made me start or wince or shiver, and almost every page had something that made me giggle. I've re-read this repeatedly, and it has lost none of its attraction for me. If you love to see clichés skewered and like your horror laced with belly laughs, this is a book for you.

[Punk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supernatural/Mystery. The crew of Darkest Night is filming a haunted house episode in a house that, surprise, turns out to be haunted and Tony has to save them all with his new beginning-level wizarding powers! This is very, very good. I tore through it. Huff seems to have resolved her POV issues and the story itself has lots of suspense and gore and creepiness. Tony's growing up some, and it's awesome that he's wizardly. The unresolved sexual tension between him and Lee is actually sexy this time, and I loved Tony's relationship with the adorable Zev. Also, Chester Bane and Henry suddenly being all BFF? Fantastic. THIS is the Huff book I wanted, and may be my favorite to date.

Four stars for an exciting, creepy read, and for Tony, who tries very hard and makes fun of himself in his head and is easy to like.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first in the series, itching to read the third now. Better book than the first. Liking character of Tony more. Love Lee and the surprising situational conflict arising. Henry was in book very little and takes a long time to appear. Clear Huff wants reader to be clear this is a Tony show, but a character as interesting as Henry can't disappear too long in the background without harming the book. Villain was awesome in a gory, almost cheesy but not cheesy way. Showdown fight worthy of its story and opponents. Sometimes assistant Amy got on my nerves. Ghost scenes cool, pacing tight. Rarely dulled (although a mite bit at minor times). Really left warning more at end with the Lee and Tony situation (i'm such a drama addict!)

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure genius! I could not put this second book in the Shadow series down. I seriously read like 200 pages in a single day. I wanted to stay up all night to finish it but my body would have protested the lack of sleep during class today.

Every death was more gruesome than the next and while I'm not a big fan I couldn't stop reading. This book truly built on Tony's character and I'm loving where Huff is taking him. I can't believe there's only one more book left in this series.

And it's official, I'm in love with Lee. I won't give anything away but THEY need to be together!

[Lori S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's lovely how the right narrator will infuse life into a book. Great book, too.

[ETA 11/03/25] - I never want to be caught in a haunted house, like, ever. LOL

[keikii Eats Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

To read more reviews in this series and others, check out keikii eats books!

56 points/100 (3 stars/5) [revised from 4 stars].
Alert: LGBT themes

Tony Foster is a production assistant on a TV series about a vampire detective. He is also a fledgling wizard. Now they're trapped on location in a haunted house. A haunted house that wants to kill them. Tony may be their only way out of the hell they have found themselves in.

Smoke and Mirrors is thankfully kind of better than Smoke and Shadows. It isn't nearly as confusing as the first book. The perspective switches were fewer and less confusing. It is also vaguely more interesting to me as a story, even though I've seen it a dozen times before. It was just sooo long. It was much longer than it needed to be, and I felt as trapped as the characters were throughout the book waiting for something, anything to happen so I would be less bored.

The entire story was that most of the people on the vampire detective show are trapped in a haunted house that is trying to kill them. I think if this was the first time I had seen this story, I would have been really interested in it. It is really chilling in a way, and managed to creep me out despite my being very bored with the story. As it was, I have seen this story play out many times before, and there really wasn't a lot new added to the story archetype.

Minor rant here: Why the hell is it that everyone is so pissed off at Tony this entire book. They think because he is a wizard he should be able to stop everything that is happening. As if he is a god or something. They hate him because he immediately can't get them out. Tony knows one spell. That is it. The fact that he is even calling himself a wizard at all is hilarious. He is so incompetent that if Arra was still around, she'd beat his ass for for being so egotistical. I just hate how half the book is people yelling at Tony because he isn't doing anything...because he can't.

Also, someone discipline those fucking kids already. For fucks sake! They're going to get you all killed through their inability to follow directions! Arrrgh

It looks like Tanya Huff is exploring tropes from other genres and bringing them to urban fantasy through Tony Foster. I just wish that these tropes were actually explored instead of being the same thing I've already seen, just thrown into modern day Earth without a care for what it actually means.

[Bunny McFoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book so fucking much - i honestly have no idea how i've never reviewed it on goodreads before, especially considering that i read it on average once a year.

it's one of the few books that actually has scared me while i was reading it and even after a solid 12 readings (at minimum) it still gives me the heebie jeebies on occasion. i fucking love tony. i fucking love cassie and stephen. i love the build between tony and lee. i love brianna and ashley. i love the house and the atmosphere and the building horror of it all. it's just so very very very much my kind of ghost story.

the other two books in this trilogy are fine. i remember enjoying them. i've never reread them and i don't think they're required to read this one as you get a pretty solid recap of the first book throughout this one. :D

tw: this book was published in early 2005 and it should be noted that there is a term for developmentally delayed peoples that has since become unacceptable that is used at (i think only) one point in the book. there's also a couple of uses of the word "f*g", though mostly from gay characters self-referring.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

My original review of the novel

The Tony Foster trilogy is one of my absolute favorites on my shelf (and this is my favorite of the three), so I was super thrilled to find out that there are audiobooks. That usually doesn't happen to my older favorites barely anyone talks about anymore.

So of course I loved the story. Brian Sutherland is a competent narrator, too. Still, I substracted a star because while it definitely is enjoyable to listen to this, I thought that there was something... lacking. I've listened to audiobooks where the narrator elevates the story and makes the characters' voices their own. Maybe it's just me, but sometimes they just sounded so flat?
Still, I'll definitely listen to this again.

[Saphirablue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this and I love, love, love, love Tony. <3

Even though this is kind of a classical "trapped over night in a haunted house" story, it still feels different and I loved reading it. The deaths are gruesome but not too much.

I love Tony. His snark. His thoughts. The way he is the hero. Love it!

On to the next part!

[Alealea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Same than previous book

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it's really unusual, but in this case the second book of a trilogy is my favorite. I love all three of them very much, but if I had to rank them, this one would come out on top every single time.

Imagine: You're stuck in a haunted house. With your colleagues. Including the one you have a big crush on. Nightmares! At least your boss is not there, right? But his two young daughters are and you know he'll murder you at least twice if they get hurt. Plus, you're the only person who actually can see the ghosts which in this case means you also have to watch their flashbacks of getting murdered again and again. And no one believes you.
Basically it's one of those days where you wish you hadn't left your bed in the morning.

At least you actually like most of your colleagues, most of the ghosts are more pitiful than scary, your crush is talking to you an awful lot, your vampire ex-boyfriend is waiting outside the house to help you and you haven't lost your sense of humor yet. So it could be worse.

Long story short: This book is awesome. I don't think there is one thing I would change about it. It's funny, it's sad and it's heart-warming. And sometimes a tiny bit scary.

My personal highlights were the interactions between the different characters. First and foremost between Tony and Lee. After the first book I was honestly expecting nothing, because usually not much comes out of a gay character crushing on a straight one outside of m/m romance books. So seeing them spend a lot of time together and growing closer was a really nice surprise! I think I must have cursed just as much as Tony when the ghost flashback interrupted their kiss
And I know I keep calling what Tony feels for Lee a crush, because most of the characters call it that, but reading this book I felt it became more and more clear that he's actually in love with him.

And filed under "Things I didn't know I wanted": Henry and CB. They were hilarious together. Henry being puzzled by CB's everything, CB's dry humor and everyone around them being confused by them in general. They were an endlessly entertaining team and I think they deserve their own book. Or at least a short story. I would pre-order it faster than lightning.

Plus all the interactions between the people trapped in the house ranging from hilarious and heartwarming to frustrating. They even made the fight with the big end boss almost light hearted.

Tanya Huff really knows how to write characters and relationships and how those can further a plot without swallowing it or becoming cheesy and cliché.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

After chugging through Phaedra Weldon's Wraith, I was definitely in the mood to go right back to good ol' Tanya Huff, so I went for Smoke and Mirrors, Book 2 of her Tony Foster series.

And really, Tanya Huff just continues to solidly entertain. It's less rare than it used to be to have an urban fantasy series with a male protagonist, but it's still very, very rare to have an urban fantasy series with a queer protagonist. So just being able to read one is cool.

It helps of course that the Tony Fosters are entertaining reads as well. This installment follows up some months in time to the events of Book 1, when the TV production Tony works for goes to an allegedly haunted house to shoot an episode on location--and, surprise surprise, the house is of course actually haunted. Huff delivers some decently creepy haunts in the story, and the two young children who are the most significant ghost characters bring a lot to the story. Tony's secret magical ability also leaks to his coworkers in the progression of events, nicely advancing his arc with that and forcing him to start taking more charge of his gifts.

I won't say much about the progression of Tony's love life as I would run into the territory of spoilers, but I was at least simultaneously pleased and disappointed by events on that front herein. Still though it's a refreshing change of pace to see a relationship cease between a previous book and a subsequent one, and yet have the involved parties remain on good terms. More situations like this, please! Let us cut down on the angst.

I will of course be reading Book 3, which is already on my To Read shelf. For this one, four stars.

[Kate M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smoke and Mirrors is an excellent ghost story to be read in twenty-four hours, not just because it's not exactly dense but because the plot will make it very difficult to put the book down until you're done. A cheesy vampire detective TV show is using a big, isolated, abandoned mansion as the perfect location for a haunted house episode. Problem is, the house really is haunted. Oops. A number of the cast and crew are trapped inside when the house seals itself at sunset. Many cliches are in use, but as they are mostly either parodied or used in an unusual way, the story as a whole is quite creative. As I alluded to, the plot is a real page-turner, starting the tension early and keeping it high. Tony, the protagonist, is likable, clever, and just the right amount of insecure as he tries to use his recently-discovered wizard powers to get out of a dire situation. Huff does a fine job of making the rest of the characters memorable too. The book has a lively sense of humor. Sadly, there is very little of Henry Fitzroy, the vampire who is Tony's friend and a fixture of this series. Henry's minimal presence is partially made up for when the UST between openly-gay Tony and his crush, ostensibly-straight actor Lee Nicholas, is turned up to eleven and beyond. They're adorable. I do hope the next book features something between them with Lee not even slightly possessed by Evil Forces for once.

[Rachel Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tony Foster works as a production assistant on the Canadian television show Darkest Night, a show about a vampire detective. Last spring Tony discovered he was an actual wizard as he defeated a being called the Shadowlord and his minions. Things have been quiet on the set since, until they go on location to shoot an episode featuring a haunted house. But no one realized the house really is haunted until it's too late. Now the cast and crew must somehow survive the night because the house isn't willing to let them go.

It's amusing watching some of the characters slowly fall apart as the house works its magic on them. They even turn on Tony, the only person who might actually be able to get them out of this mess. But he has to reveal his secret if he's to have a chance of success. The comedy in this book keeps things light even though this is a dark book, filled with ghosts reliving their horrible murders/suicides. Tony's strictly platonic relationship with his crush Lee Nicholas, costar of Darkest Night takes a huge step forward. That's my only complaint about this series, not enough romance.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book & was surprised to find I had trouble putting it down [this lead to some very bleary-eyed work days]. Fans of the Blood series should enjoy it, but I strongly recommend reading the first book in the series, Smoke & Shadows, as there's little time spent on filling in the back story, and you may find yourself a little lost otherwise. I had to look up some of what happened previously to understand some of Tony's references. One other criticism is I would have liked to see more of Henry, but then the point of the book was Tony starting to come into his own, and Henry would have detracted from that. I loved all the dry humor and sarcasm, which sometimes was subtly British in flavor. There is just something inherently fun in reading about people who produce a fictional TV series about a vampire detective who are then forced to deal with the supernatural in 'reality'. Particularly as they find the supernatural antics unoriginal compared to their fictional TV show plots.

[amireal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Second in the Smoke series. This one goes a little darker, it still maintains the lighter playful tone, but the supernatural creepy it features is-- extra creepy.

Huff plays with Time and Ghosts and actually takes a trope you see more often in science fiction and makes it work. Or rather, it feels more like the science fiction version than the fantasy version. It's creepy, without an over abundance of gore (though there is some!) and the ultimate cause wasn't easily guessed by me.

Through it all, the relationship between Tony and Lee moves apace. The structure is familiar to anyone who reads fanfiction, though I am delighted that it doesn't move too fast and that the pace of it really fits with Lee's own struggle.

[Christine (AR) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony and the crew of Darkest Night film in an actual haunted house and get trapped inside overnight.

Loved it, loved it, loved it! Scary haunted house, fun banter and bitching between the TV crew, and wow -- keeping dialogue and POV clear between eighteen people trapped in a house, not to mention the ghosts? Huff pulled that one off very nicely. Not a lot of Henry, but baby-wizard Tony is adorable and I think I love him the best anyway. I thought his UST with Lee in this was perfect. I hope Huff writes ten more in this series.

(and now I wonder if she's in fandom somewhere, b/c some of the asides and phrasing have a definite LJ fanfic feel, though not at all in a bad way.)

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was the first of the whole Blood world books that actually scared me! I got so creeped out I had to put it down and stop reading for the rest of the day. I'm kind of impressed!

Otherwise, still funny and clever and awesome. And gruesome, but that goes with the territory I guess.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's actually the Smoke Trilogy, 2.

I AM enjoying this series…irreverent, topical, and with an interesting insight into producing films. Great cast of characters.

[Anneloup Roncin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So. It was my first 'horror' story, even tho it wasn't that scary.

I grew frustrated with so many caracters this time! They blamed everything on Tony until they could visually see his injuries. He was the only one able to save the day, but also the only one who HAD to keep his temper. The others ? Na, it was okay. They were in a haunted house, so they got a pass. Not him.
You know the book is good when you get really mad with the fictional caracters. So I guess that's my point.

I like the developpment of his relationship with Lee. Tho in truce, I keep waiting for a Tony/Henry comeback. Instead, we've got a "Henry so comfortable on CB's lap". Wich, well... I chose to ignore. Nope. Not happening.
I've seen lots of people happy about the way homosexuality is depicted in the book. Not a big thing, just... normal. Cruches, non-serious dates, exs with a huge past. Just relationships, plus the whole supernatural thing. There's even the "faggot" put there by one of the caracters, Zev reacting at first and then just laughing it off because of a secret joke with Tony. That's good, it's life. And it's a huge source of amusement how the "big bad" always has an opinion to share with Tony. Last time, he was way too interested, and this time he disaproves as much as he can. Looks like one way or another, they'll share their opinions.

As usual, Tanya Huff shows lots of self-depreciating humor. "How does it work?" "well who cares it doesn't make any sense anyway". It's really about Tony, and the plot is here to support that. Even in this situation, taking care of Mason's ego is a priority, after all.

No more than three stars because even tho it's really enjoyable, the plot is simple, no great sub-plots, and the prose so so at times. I would read it again tho, so if I could give it a 3.5 stars I would have.

[Freyavenlyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Tony Foster is even better than the first. So 4,5 stars.

It all plays out in a haunted house, where the CB production is filming the next Episode of Darkest Night. Too bad the ghosts are real.

I'll admit I'm not one for scary movies or books. I'll get scared easily and must move hand over hand to the light switches after watching a partially spooky movie at night. So I don't. And because my favorite genre is fantasy, I read next to nothing in horror. Staying up late and reading this book I wouldn't say I got scared ... but I did. At the high of the hauntings it got really spooky for a few pages. And being the middle of the night ... Let's just say, the lights stayed on.

It was really interesting to see how other people on the cast and crew dealt with being shut into a murdering old house over night and how Tony dealt with his ever growing crush on Lee, the other star of their TV show, his emerging wizarding power, mouthy kids and exes.

It was again incredible entertaining, spooky and just bloody fun to read.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There is a world beyond what fools admit. There is power for those who dare to take it. There is power here."

So, like mentioned in my review of Smoke and Shadows, I was not aware that this trilogy was a sequel to Huff's Blood Lines series, it took me most of the first book to understand what was going on. With Smoke and Mirrors, I thought I was going to get a sequel to the plot to the first book, (more of the Shadowlord and things like that), but it's basically the same characters rehashed into a new paranormal issue.

This time ghosts.

I like how Huff did the ghostly residents of this book, and the ending here was more neatly wrapped up for me than the first book, so that's a plus. But sometimes I find Huff's wording difficult to follow. It's not complicated, just confusing how information is offered, so I have to backtrack a lot because I missed things.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Übersetzung einer meiner absoluten Lieblings-Trilogien und dieser Band gefiel mir schon immer am besten.

Mein Original Review auf Englisch findet ihr hier.

Ich würde sagen dies ist eine recht gute Übersetzung, die man problemlos und flüssig lesen kann, auch wenn manche Witze holpriger rüberkommen und einige Szenen flacher fallen, als im Original (weswegen ich hier auch einen Stern weniger gegeben habe).

In diesem Band sind unsere Helden in einem Spukhaus gefangen. Niemand (Tony, die ganze Filmcrew und diverse Geister) kann raus und niemand (Henry, CB und Jack) kann rein.
Natürlich führt dies zu vielen brenzligen, aber auch komischen und vielleicht sogar ein bisschen romantischen Situationen. Die Interaktionen zwischen den Charakteren sind hier definitiv das Highlight.

[J. Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start and still way too much focus on film production which I think was why the book felt so very slow for the first part. The characters definitely make this book up more then the plot does because the plot was just a tad repetitive with all the replays and Tony having to go out to do wizardry stuff.

I do completely ship CB and Henry/Tony and Lee but I heard the former aren't in the third book as much which is a shame, they're duo partnership in this was one of the best things of this novel.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot how fun Tanya Huff's writing was. I read the first book in this series probably just after it came out and I had forgotten I actually bought the other two. Tony Foster is a laugh riot even when he might die at any minute and that is exactly my kind of protagonist. So happy I found this book and even happier I have have the last one in the series as well. I love the progression of Tony's relationships with the people in the cast and crew of the show and I really hope we get a "will they" when it comes to Tony and Lee's relationship!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A haunted house story has been done to death, as the crew filming the just-as-cliched vampire detective TV are well aware, but the creepy old mansion is a perfect location for this sort of thing. Tony & crew find out quickly just how perfect, when actual hauntings start manifesting, and a body count starts piling up.

Tanya Huff writes character-driven stories, which means even when they think the plot is silly (and they do, and they snark about it delightfully), you still get inside their hearts and heads. Even when things are gruesome, it's a rather cozy murder mystery.

[Rachel Oberlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting (Sorry, I Had To Do It)

This book shows the growth of the main character in this series as he tries to keep his co-workers from dying horribly in an actual haunted house. The house is doing it's level best to kill the group before sunrise. Add in two children of the executive producer and the main character has a problem because they don't know about his ability or remember the past Spring's event. This book is gory and a bit disgusting from description of different deaths. But the humor is still there.

[Cheery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better even than the first in the series, which I loved in spite of its flaws- I was shocked at how brilliant this one felt!

A really tight, tense haunted-house narrative, with a liberal sprinkling of the macabre and of course, the snark and wit of our protagonist, Tony Foster. This book is a brilliantly navigated urban fantasy, and with a good handful of Queer scenes thrown in for good measure, it's undoubtedly a favourite of mine.

[Charl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one quite a bit more then the previous one. I think the puns and jokes helped quite a bit, and a much more interesting story (to me). It had a bit of a Hill House/13 Ghosts feel, but was still original.

If you enjoyed the previous tale of Tony Foster, this is as good, maybe better.