Customer Reviews

The Spiritualist: A Novel

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Evelyn Atherton (Evie to her friends) was living what seemed to be an ideal life until the night of January 15th, 1857, when she attended a spirit circle with her husband, who was seeking to contact his dead mother. Odd events transpired during the circle, including a gun "misfiring" (and nearly hitting her husband) and afterwards Peter, Evie's husband left, with a mission to ask questions because he believed the medium to be in danger. Though she didn't know it, this would be the last time that Evie ever saw her husband alive.

When Peter turns up dead Evie's world is turned upside down. Because of her middle class background as a private investigators daughter and then meteoric rise to one of the top ten thousand by marriage into the Atherton family, she is immediately a suspect in his murder. When evidence of their less than passionate marriage, their estrangement and Peter's will, leaving everything to Evie come to light it only reinforces the police's (and the Atherton's) conviction that Evie murdered her husband.

Because of her position as a one of the fallen rich Evie believes that no one will help her prove her innocence. But help comes from unexpected quarters when Peter's partner in law Ben takes on her case. And even more oddly, Dorothy Bennett, at whose home the fateful spirit circle took place, places bail for Evie and takes her in, believing they can contact Peter's spirit and learn the truth through her live in medium Michael.

Evie believes Michael to be a charlatan but her husband did believe someone was out to hurt him and therefore the answers to her husband's murder must be within the house or his circle. But at the same time she begins to have disturbing dreams and visions of her dead husband, warning her not to trust a man close to her.

Seduced by the mystery and magic of the spirit world (and perhaps by the medium himself) Evie is running out of places to turn and people to trust. And as the other members of the circle begin to see her as a medium in her own right, she begins to question her sanity. Trapped by charlatans, people who are desperate to fooled, and somewhere out there, the real murderer, can Evie use the skills her father taught her so long ago to unravel the web of lies and secrets that lead to her husbands death-before time runs out? Or will she collapse to a madness similar to own mother's, who too talked often of spirits...

I was so happy when I learned that Megan Chance had another novel coming out I didn't care what it was about, I just ordered it. But I was so happy that she returned to old New York, the site of what I believe is her best book An Inconvenient Wife This novel though, portrays the city and the society of the times less and the semi-hidden, often mocked but still trusted by man world of the spiritualists. Chance expertly portrays the desperate nature of those willing to believe almost anything to speak top or touch their departed loved ones, the haughtiness of high society and their contempt for all lower classes and the inevitable closing of ranks when one of their own has been wronged by an inferior.

Of course unlike her other novels this is a murder mystery, rather than a mystery of a strange event or of the psyche. And it is excellently done. There were points were I thought I had it figured out but then another twist would come and....Let's just say it's extremely well done. The whole book is an excellent read and a magnificent return to the publishing world. I hope her fourth novel comes soon!

Five stars.

I had the impression this book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. A bit of historical romance, a bit of murder mystery, a dash of ghost story thrown in.... all good solid Victorian fodder, but it was as if the author were ashamed to be writing anything so vulgar and so wrapped it in ho-hum literary restraint.

The heroine, Evelyn, is a bit of a wet rag. She's apparently intelligent, but she spends a great deal of the book letting herself be pushed and steered by people who claim to have her welfare in mind. Granted, she's a woman in a time when women had few legal rights, she's a middle-class girl adrift in an upper-class society that doesn't want her, and she's been accused of murdering her husband. A lot of bad stuff comes down on her at once; it's reasonable that she'd be a little dazed. But even when she does get angry, she doesn't get very angry, for very long, or at times when it would do her any good. This general lack of emotional affect makes for a rather dull and frustrating book.

Particularly frustrating to me is the necessary concealment of information from the reader. In my opinion, the most skillful mysteries use redirection to obscure the truth until the very end, but in this case, the facts are only presented when we need to know them, and when they appear, they are served up on a silver tray with a big red arrow saying HERE'S A CLUE!!.... but Evie still doesn't know what to do with them. Meanwhile, I'm screaming at the book, "Good God, woman, how can you be so thick??" The plot depends upon the heroine's naivete to function, but from my modern viewpoint (which is also a bit jaded from way too much literary criticism), I knew exactly what was going to happen before the body had even been found.

I kept reading because the writing style is innocuous, and I was occasionally pleased by the descriptions of clothing, setting, and Spiritualist jargon. I'm a bit of a 19th-century buff, so much of the research was familiar to me and I think the author did a fair job of conveying Spiritualism as a branch sect of Christianity--a practice of faith to those who believed, a cult to those who didn't, and an opportunity for profit by the unscrupulous.

I've seen this book described as "suspenseful" in several reviews, but to my mind, mezzo-forte emotions and dramatic irony will only go so far. The middle third of the book is a snore--people go to breakfast and dinner, the handsome-and-concerned lawyer comes around, again.... there are more tepid and vaguely menacing conversations between Evie and the magnetic-but-dangerous love interest.... all accompanied by rustles of skirts, smoke from candles, raps from the spirits, etc.etc.... The cast wakes up in time for the climax and denouement, when Evie finally steps up and takes matters into her own hands. The last two chapters of the book are enjoyable, but they don't quite make up for the tedium that came before. Just skip through the middle third of the book; you won't miss much.

It's 1856, Evelyn Atherton's husband Peter has been murdered, unfortunately for her she is the main suspect in the crime. The Anthertons are members of the elite rich in New York City's high society, Peter by birth, Evelyn by marriage; something people have not forgotten. Evelyn soon discovers she has few true friends and once she finds herself facing formal murder charges those in high places are no longer willing to associate with her.

Before his death her husband Peter was involved in the world of the occult. He attended 'spirit circles' regularly where a medium, Michel Jourdain, attempt to communicate with Peter's recently deceased mother. Evelyn feels certain that Jourdain is somehow connected to her husband's death and with the help of her husband's best friend attempts to uncover the truth and find her husband's killer.

I enjoyed this story it was a very easy and enjoyable read. I found it sufficiently taut with suspense to keep the pages turning. I liked the character Evelyn Antherton and I thought that Megan Chance created a setting rich in historic detail. I enjoyed the occult story line and the confusion and uncertainty around Evelyn's feelings within that realm.

I've read Megan Chance's other novels; An Inconvenient Wife and Susannah Morrow. I thought they were very well written, I enjoyed the characters she created in both of those stories.

But I think that An Inconvenient Wife is a more complex and satisfying read.
The Spiritualist has some twists and turns and surprises but I wasn't that surprised, I think she alluded to the truth enough that you could see where the story was headed. Though I did enjoy the romantic relationship and found that story-line interesting and satisfying.

Overall a good read.

This book is excellent... And I have also read an Inconveinent Wife, which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. However, the only reason I won't give this book 5 stars is due to editing. Several times I ran into the wrong names being used when a different character's name should have been used. And also, the back synopsis of the book says the story takes place in January 1856. How come the first chapter starts off in January 1857? That type of thing is highly aggravating and really spoils this author's excellent writing. I know it's just small things, but to me is a sign of someone in a hurry. Please find a better editor!

A bit of fancy footwork by author Chance ushers the reader into the spiritualist community in 19th century New York. Wealthy socialites indulge in the latest craze, communing with the dead, creating a whole new environment for the charlatans who prey on the weakness of others. One such victim is Peter Atherton, an enigmatic scion of a wealthy family whose mother has recently joined the ranks of the deceased. In acclaimed "spirit circles", Peter searches for hope and his mother's voice, ignoring Evelyn, his wife of three years. Confused by her husband's growing indifference of late, Evie who has married far above her station, has never fully appreciated the irony of Peter's proposal, but could not ignore her one chance at wealth and privilege, a decision she soon has cause to regret. When Peter is found murdered after a spirit soiree that Evie attended with him, she finds herself at odds with society and her new in-laws.

Suddenly ostracized by the very family that so readily embraced her, Evelyn is easily outmatched, the powerful Atherton's joining forces and pulling strings to assure that Evelyn is the prime suspect in Peter's murder. It should be noted that such travesty is commonplace in late 19th century New York, money and power greatly influencing politics and a corrupt judicial system, investigators as yet to develop the science that will revolutionize law enforcement. With few resources, save her attorney, Peter's law partner, Evie takes matters into her own hands. Her trial only weeks away, Evelyn enters the home of socialite Dorothy Bennett, where spirit circles meet regularly under the direction of Michel Jourdain, the man Evie and her attorney are convinced is behind Peter's murder. It is Evelyn's intention to infiltrate Bennett's home and the sessions, to secure irrefutable evidence to avert suspicion from her self and accuse the charismatic and unpredictable Jourdain.

Chance describes the eerie atmosphere that so defines the spiritualist movement and its followers, the devoted suspension of belief that facilitates charlatans preying on the grief of the entitled when they are desperate to bridge the worlds of the living and the dead. It is shocking to observe the captains of industry and their wives willingly enslaved by creative opportunism and a resistance to release their dead. Prepared to solve the mystery of Peter's murder and reclaim her reputation in society, Evelyn is soon unsettled by her experiences in Bennett's home and by her ambivalence to Jourdain, whom she finds alternately attractive and repulsive. Confused by her awakening emotions, Evelyn is confronted with the duplicity of the Abernathy's and the vulnerabilities in her own circumstances since Peter's death. More romance than mystery, Chance relinquishes suspense for passion, one final twist delivering the novel from predictable to thought-provoking. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

Megan Chance delves into the world of mediums into her newest novel, The Spiritualist. When Evelyn, the daughter of an investigator weds Peter Atherton, she marries up into posh 19th century New York's "upper ten" - the top families of the city. Her struggles to fit society's expectations of a successful lawyer's wife are made more difficult by her husband's reluctance to treat their marriage as anything more than a comfortable arrangement; in fact, his proposal is phrased as "doing him a favor." Despite the strain, Evelyn attempts to embrace Peter's world, including his arrogant family and his apparent interest in spiritualism. She attends a spirit circle led by Michel Jourdain and quickly judges him a charlatan bent on duping her husband and the society widow, Dorothy Bennett. But Evelyn is forced into a deeper understanding of Michel's world when Peter is later found murdered and she stands accused of the act. Peter's family and friends ruthlessly turn against her, all except for Mrs. Bennett and Peter's law partner Benjamin Rampling. He boldly steps in to help clear Evelyn's name. But almost everyone in Evelyn's acquaintance is hiding secrets from the past that hold the key to her future. She must rely on help from unexpected sources to avoid the hangman's noose.

The Spiritualist is an engaging story, with memorable characters; each fleshed out in full to give the reader a great perspective. Michel Jourdain is striking yet reveals unexpected facets of his personality. Peter Atherton is tragic and tortured, yet he shows a surprising inner strength. Evelyn, who struggles so hard to become what she is not, learns that her destiny is in her own hands. Ms. Chance effortlessly portrays New York society at its worst and best of the period and makes it easy for the reader to dive into that world. There's a temptation to race to the ending of the story but the journey with the characters holds the reader's interest. With unexpected twists and a startling conclusion, Ms. Chance has written a beautiful novel. I highly recommend it.

Unlike most of the people who wrote the reviews I checked out prior to buying this book, I didn't love it. It was quite good, and normally anything even remotely connected to spiritualism, seances and the world of the occult gets my mental juices flowing and tends to satisfy my need for something different, but alas...I did not realize that this was also a romance-ish thing. I have to say that this factor was what prevented me from an all out enjoy of the novel -- but I'm hard to please.

Evelyn Atherton is one of the lucky ones -- she comes from a lower-class home and marries a client of her investigator father, one Peter Atherton, a criminal attorney and member of a very wealthy family in 1850s New York. She is very well provided for, and has everything she wants, except for the pleasure of her husband's company -- not even time for a honeymoon. So when the opportunity arises for her to accompany her husband on an evening out, she takes it. As it turns out, he takes her to the home of another society maven where there is a "spirit circle," -- basically a seance. Spiritualism was made popular in the US by the Fox sisters, and seances have become quite a favorite pastime among some of the wealthy. But it is at this seance where the trouble starts -- a gun is fired, and the attendees say it was some kind of misfire, but Peter Atherton thinks otherwise. Evelyn returns home, and her husband tells her he is going back to investigate the matter. Then Peter does not return home for days. That in itself is not unusual, but Evelyn receives a visit from the police who tell them her husband has been murdered. At first they write it off as a robbery gone bad, but eventually, Evelyn becomes the chief suspect. Pushed into a corner by her in-laws, Evelyn finds herself first in jail, but then under the protection of Dorothy Bennett, at whose home the seance originally occurred. She is convinced that the murder had something to do with that seance, and also that the medium, Michel, is involved. It is very important for her to clear herself, because she has no support from anyone and her in-laws are chomping at the bit to take everything away from her. But during her investigation, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.
I won't say any more about the story, but it will definitely keep you turning pages.

I figured out who really did it early on, so it was a matter of just getting through the rest of the book to find out why. Admittedly, I didn't see the end coming (the motive), so it still worked out for my reading pleasure. Plus, I'm not big on romance in a novel, so I could have cared less about that aspect. However, I did enjoy the way the author provided a glimpse at the status of women at the time, in and out of high society, and I thought her writing was very good.

I'd definitely recommend it to people who enjoy a bit of the supernatural (such as myself), and to those who are more into romance than I. The story overall is quite good.

It is 19th Century New York City. The protagonist, young and ambitious Evie, is the daughter of an educated, working-class detective. Smarter and more feminist than the regular women of her time, Evie wishes to be respected not only as a lady but also intellectually.

One day Evie meets a wealthy man named Peter Atherton. Peter seems to admire Evie's witty and independent personality, and after a short time asks her hand in marriage. Thus, Evie is introduced to the high society of New York City and all it has to offer. Her new in-laws tolerate her and secretly resent her.

Soon after their marriage, Evie learns that Peter has been regularly attending a series of nightly spiritual sessions at the home of a highly respected society lady. One night Peter asks Evie to go with him. Evie is also surprised by the fact that Peter believes the medium is for real. Skeptical yet curious, Evie accepts. During the session, a gun is shot, yet no one is sure who fired it or to whom it was meant. What's more, the medium turns out to be the most fascinating, charismatic man Evie has ever met. Then Peter disappears and a few days later, his body is found in the river. Evie is arrested for his murder, and the only one who believes in her innocence is Peter's best friend. Will they find the truth before Evie is sentenced to death?

The novel, combining a Victorian setting and the paranormal, is strongly atmospheric. Perhaps this atmosphere of mystery and threat is the best aspect of the story. Evie's character is sympathetic and the medium, Michel Jourdain is particularly enigmatic in both his physique and personality. I would say this is the character that carries the plot, even more than Evie.

The author maintains a good pace but at times the dialogues are a bit long and repetitive of facts the reader already knows. The ending is a little predictable, but this is a well-written novel that will be enjoyed by most fans of historical suspense fiction.

Armchair Interviews says: Another offering for historical fiction fans who like suspense.

I do not read many historical novels, but a few years ago a friend raved about An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance. I read the book and just loved it! Soon after I read Susannah Morrow, also by Megan Chance, (Salem Witchcraft) and was also pleased.

Her latest book The Spiritualist was released in May 2008, and it was excellent. Set in 1857 in New York City, I could not put it down. From the paranormal fun of séances, spiritualists, murders, etc., this was a great read. Megan Chance has successfully recreated the time and feel of old New York by accurately depicting the norms of that time period, and the desperation of the living to maintain contact with loved ones who have passed. This novel has many twists and turns to keep readers interested and a great ending that will surprise you.

On a cold night in January of 1957, at her husband Peter's request, a highly sceptical Evelyn Atherton reluctantly attends a séance with him. Peter's interest in spirit circles was born from the need to reach out to his dead mother. Evie wanted no part of the new craze where society's elite paid great sums of money to commune with the dead through self-proclaimed mediums, or swindlers. Having been married for only three years, Evelyn had become unsettled over her husband's apathy towards her. Was it because he married her even though she was far below his station?

During the séance, a gunshot resounds which barely missed Peter. Afterwards, Peter, departs in search of answers. Several days pass. Evie does not hear from Peter and she begins to worry. When Peter is found murdered, she learns that not only society, but her in-laws turn on her.

Her world takes on a nightmarish quality. Because she is of the lower classes, and because her marriage catapults her into the highest echelons of society, she becomes the primary suspect in his murder.

At the reading of the will, Evie learns Peter has left everything to her and has excluded his entire family. This, coupled with the knowledge of her estranged and dwindling relationship with her husband, convinces the police and his family she is responsible for his murder and is arrested.

Shunned by society, no one comes to her aid. To make matters worse, her entire inheritance is frozen pending trial. With no means, Evie struggles to find an attorney who will take her case. Peter's law partner, Ben, comes to her aid and readily accepts the case. Dorothy Bennett, the wealthy socialite who arranged the ill-fated spirit circle posts bail and invites Evie to reside with her in the belief that the spiritualist who lives with her, Michael Jourdain, can contact Peter's spirit and learn the identity of the true murderer.

Convinced Michael is a fake, Evie comes to believe he is responsible for her husband's demise. Only by living under the same roof with can she find her husband's true murderer and prove her innocence. Soon after her arrival, Peter begins to appear in her nightmares and in visions. Each time, he warns her not to trust a man close to her. Evelyn is soon troubled by Michael Jourdain, whom she finds both intriguing and abhorrent. Confused by her burgeoning feelings, matters go from bad to worse when other members of the spiritualist community realize she is a true medium herself.

As time runs out and the time for trial nears, Evie finds herself trapped amidst duplicity, suspicion, charlatans, murderers, and lies. She must unravel the web of mystery and deceit soon, lest her own sanity be at risk and she succumbs to madness like her mother before her.

Megan Chance has successfully recreated the time and feel of old New York. In this delicious novel, she serves up a tale of desperation and despair while maintaining historical accuracy to accurately depict societal norms and beliefs and the desperation of the living to maintain contact with loved ones who have passed. This mystery novel has many twists and turns to keep readers enthralled to the very shocking, but satisfying end.
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