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“Entertaining tale of a 19 th century NY high society woman attempting to prove her innocence in her husband's murder. ”
Alicia wrote this review Monday, July 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“**SPOILERS AHEAD**
Alethea wrote this review Tuesday, February 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
INCREDIBLE. This book evokes a foggy, dreamlike, tantalizingly erotic and mysterious atmosphere that I'm sure is what 19th century spiritualists tried to create in their sessions. So kudos to Megan Chance simply for the ambience. And the twisting murder mystery! I early on suspected Benjamin Rampling, but for all the wrong reasons. I greatly disliked the smooth and serpentine Michel Jourdain, so I never expected his eventual conquest of and future life with Evelyn Atherton. Absolutely an other-worldly novel, irresistible, impossible to put down. Truly an exploration of revenge being a sweet reward.”
“If you wanted more of An Inconvenient Wife, this book is for you. The two stories have strong similarities. Unlike An Inconvenient Wife, the plot in this book is disappointingly predictable. It is a compliment to Megan Chance, though, that despite knowing what was going to happen, I still found this book impossible to put down. It is beautifully written, well researched, and overall a pleasurable read. ”
joannamarie wrote this review Tuesday, January 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“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.
PirateJenny wrote this review Sunday, November 16 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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.”
“An interesting story. The end was not what I was expecting after reading the first part but I liked it.”
Heather G wrote this review Sunday, August 31 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Evelyn Atherton's husband has been murdered. She quickly finds herself the center of the investigation. Her husband had taken to visiting a medium to talk to his deceased mother. In order to clear her name Evie must find who killed her husband. This book took a few chapters to get going. Once it did I admit I looked to see how it ended because I felt I had to know what happened to Evelyn. I liked the twists and turns of the story. Even though I had read the ending before I was halfway through I still found the story engaging and wanted to know how the characters made it from the beginning to the end. ”
i.should.b.reading wrote this review Monday, July 28 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“In her newest novel The Spiritualist, Megan Chance explores psychic mediums,murder, and the upper elite in NYC in the 1800s. Evelyn Atherton finds herself charged with her wealthy husbands murder. She is immediately disowned by her husband's family and the upper crust of NYC except for one very wealthy woman who hosts an exclusive seance group. Through exploring her psychic mediumship powers Evelyn helps to solve the mystery surrounding her husbands murder. While this book is intriguing it drags on in places but is a good book overall. ”
bookwormerin wrote this review Friday, July 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“As someone that rarely enjoys a book that I have not asked friends or people on shelfari about, this is a wonderful read. I completely enjoyed the entire book from cover to cover. The setting was 1856, a time when women could only hope to marry into money of she did not already have money. Spirit "rappers" were common (as they are now) and people were trying to find ways to contact the dead. Most spirit "rappers" were charlatans and fakes, but if they reached a long lost relative it meant money and fame.”
Rowan is really tired, but she is blowing through books... wrote this review Monday, July 7 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“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.
quinnsmom wrote this review Wednesday, June 25 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I won't say any more about the story, but it will definitely keep you turning pages.
Unlike most reviewers of this novel, I didn't love it. 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.”
“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. ”
Lisa Yarde wrote this review Tuesday, June 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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