The Spirit Engineer
Ratings5
Average rating4.3
Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism. In their collective grief they are attempting to reach their departed through séances. William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him seemingly from beyond the veil, placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far? Based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters that includes Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, West conjures a haunting tale that will keep you guessing until the end.
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3.5 stars. This took a while to build up steam, but I was riveted by the end.
Based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford, this delightfully spooky, gothic tale is set in 1914. After becoming suspicious that his wife is having an affair, the engineer discovers the medium Kathleen Goligher and becomes obsessed with investigating her to find out if she can really summon spirits.
Written from Crawford's point of view, I thought that he was brilliantly characterised, I especially liked his lack of sense of humour and how things completely went over his head at times. He's a wonderfully flawed man but as a reader, you do end up feeling sympathy for him. The other characters in the book are also well drawn, particularly his poor wife and long suffering family.
I found the plot spooky and gripping, with some extremely well done twists.
Add to this the fantastic atmosphere filled with period details and beautiful illustrations and this makes the ideal read for Halloween.
I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
4.5 stars but I'm rounding it up lol this is my kind of story and the pacing was great (short chapters!) It kept me guessing until the very end and love that it is based off of true historical people and events. It took me forever to finish because some parts were not as interesting to read as others so I didn't find myself wanting to find out what happened right away. But loved the descriptions and Gothic style writing. Big thumbs up and will definitely pick up other books by this author when he publishes
