A young woman,Evelyn, is faced with social and financial ruin due to the death of her socialite husband. But all is not lost. She is befriended by another society matron who is promoting her "medium" who lives in-house. Evelyn believes that the medium is at fault and works to find out the truth alongside her attorney, her late husband's friend and partner. Who's lying and who's not and what can be done?

I really liked this book, particularly because of how the author allowed her character to grow through the adversity she faces. Chance's other book that I've read, An Inconvenient Wife, was also compelling in the same way. It's not great literature, but it's still quite good. ( )

(#28 in the 2009 Book Challenge)

Oh, this was goofy. It was almost goofy enough to turn the corner and be enjoyable in a fun way (like The Alienist) but sadly, not quite. Set in 19th century New York, a young society widow accused of her husband's murder gets involved with a spiritualist group -- at first she is determined to debunk them, but eventually starts to doubt herself. The kookiest thing is that the medium leader of the group is supposed to be a French Creole, so he starts every sentence with "Oui" or "Non" and as a result, in my head I couldn't help but think of him as Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau, making it difficult to even try to take the book seriously. The whole thing was dripping with high drama.

Grade: D+
Recommended: Oh dear no. I should confess I read this by mistake, because I confused it with another title that someone had recommended so I'm not its target audience by any means. ( )

Evelyn Atherton attends a spirit circle to apease her husband, an attorney and member of an important New York family. When a gun is "accidentally" fired during the circle, her husband is suspicious and decides to investigate. When several days pass without hearing from him, Evie's worst fears are confirmed when her husband is found murdered. Even worse, her in-laws railroad her into being arrested for the murder, even though there is really no evidence against her. Before the trial she is taken in by the woman who held the circle and finds herself living in the same house with the person she suspects murdered her husband, the medium who conducted the circle. Evie intends to clear herself by finding evidence against this man, but she is soon drawn into the mystery of the spirit world.

I really enjoyed this book. The paranormal elements are balanced with the mystery of the story. I liked the way the characters were developed and found them very believable. I think the depiction of New York society at the time is probably pretty accurate. The sex is not terribly graphic but is quite erotic somehow. ( )

The novel opens with Evie attending a spirit circle with her husband Peter. She's trying to keep an open mind, despite her misgivings, which are not lessened when she meets the medium, Michel Jourdain. The circle comes to an abrupt halt when a gun is fired. Peter is certain the shot was meant for Jourdain and decides to investigate. Peter is found dead, and his family accuses Evie, who married far above her station, of the crime. Peter's law partner, Ben, offers to take on her case, and Dorothy, the wealthy widow who supports Jourdain, offers Evie a place to stay, though it means living in the same house as Jourdain, whom Evie does not trust.

The one problem I had with this novel was Evie's naivete regarding Peter. I figured out what was going on with him within the first twenty pages or so. And while polite society would never have figured it out, Evie worked with her father, a detective who worked for Peter, and had seen the darker sides of society. I'm not sure these things wouldn't have occurred to her, even in the 1850s.

I did very much like how the question of authenticity was handled by the author though. I thought it was quite well done and on the whole quite a good novel. Even a little spooky. ( )

The prose is a little dense, and the plot takes some fanciful turns at the end, but overall a pretty good read. ( )