Saturday, August 1

Will Kingdom: Mean Spirit

One of the world’s most popular spiritualist mediums is being stalked by a ghost. In desperation she turns to her old mentor, now editor of an ailing paranormal journal, for help. But the truth of her situation isn’t at all straightforward and digging through the layers of deception puts them in the path of a vicious career criminal determined to contact a departed colleague-no matter what that might entail.
This simplistic summary does very little justice to an intriguing and convoluted plot.
I was delighted to find this novel by one of my favourite author’s alter egos (Will Kingdom is Phil Rickman) but equally nervous as to the style of the work (anticipating a divergence from his usual form requiring a different persona). I needn’t have worried. Eerie, funny and terrifying by turns, this thriller really does have it all. Well developed characters, loads of atmosphere and tight suspense, it was everything I could have hoped it would be.
This story stands alone although it is the second book in what may have been intended to be a series, which unfortunately has not eventuated. Luckily there are no loose threads waiting here to be tied up, unluckily these characters seem to have retired. A real shame because there are not enough transvestite ventriloquist Shamans out there and this series would redress that balance.-Lynn

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