Review by Kirkus Book Review
In Barker's witty debut, two mediums engage in a battle of wits in 1873 London. Violet Wood, pushing 40 and trying to keep a grip on the lifestyle her late husband afforded her following a hardscrabble childhood, is precariously holding onto her position as one of the most reputable mediums in the upper levels of London society. With the aid of her beleaguered assistant, Sarah Newman, who's showing signs of abandoning the unappreciative Mrs. Wood for a more rewarding life within the women's suffrage movement, the medium conducts increasingly predictable "grand séances" at her home as well as private meetings with some of her patrons. Mrs. Wood realizes that her fickle fans have begun to abandon her for younger, hotter talents, but she sees an opportunity to turn things around when pretty young Emmeline Finch begs to become her protégé. As Emmie increasingly inserts her own voice and presence into the séances, drawing attention away from her mentor, the stage is set for crafty confrontations between the two women. Barker--who doesn't stint on revealing the tricks of the supernatural trade--balances a comic sensibility with a real concern for the weight of her characters' secrets and problems so that Violet, a figure of fun at the beginning, becomes a character deserving of the reader's concern as the novel proceeds. The novel is set in a sumptuous--and sometimes sumptuously ridiculous--world full of colorful characters, where rooms are "crammed with taxidermied animals and silent clocks," crumbs cascade "from mouths to bosoms to carpets," and "illusion is everything." The plot unfolds at a leisurely but satisfying pace, and a twist at the end should tickle readers. A sly literary sleight of hand. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
