Review: An Excellent Gothic Supernatural Mystery!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2014
I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers and I'm so glad that I did because I absolutely loved it! I don't give out 5 stars very often, but I did for this book! It grabbed me from the start and didn't let go. The characters were well defined and it was easy to visualize them in my mind as I read.I've always been interested by the Victorian fascination with seances and the Other Side so the setting and premise of the book was right up my alley. Lizzie Blaylock is a young girl from an impoverished family where her mother has run off and her father is an irresponsible alcoholic and theif, along with a little sister sick with TB. Not a pretty picture, but one that was all too common for the lower classes of the time. Lizzie, however, is not an ordinary young girl, but one who is "the rarest of the rare"...a material medium. Souls from the Other Side can use her body as a bridge to cross through to this world for a short period of time, and they can not only appear but also speak and interact with their loved ones. This ability is at first confusing to Lizzie until she learns what she is and what is happening during such episodes.Knowing how desperate the times were for those in need, and taking Lizzie's young age and naivety into consider, it's no wonder that she falls into situations in which she doesn't know who to trust or if good fortune that falls into her lap will be snatched away without warning. She is resourceful and fiesty, as well as intelligent and loyal. Mysteries abound and Gallagher does an amazing job creating an atmosphere of rising fear and creepiness. The characters known as Mr. and Mrs. Silver are an excellent example of the latter. They made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and I think the author could do an excellent horror novel on them alone!I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It was an exciting read and I was sorry to come to the last page. I hope that there are many more additions to the Lizzie Blaylock series because I now consider myself a firm fan!