My latest blog is for The Witch of Lime Street for Blogging For Books.
The Witch of Lime Street starts with two people: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-a true believer in spiritualism, and Harry Houdini-a man who made a career out of trickery and has a more difficult time believing in the psychic phenomena. The two men start out as friends, visiting each other's homes and even attending seances together, but a space opens between them as Houdini goes about debunking many psychics so-called gifts. One by one famous psychics are taken down as they're examined more closely, but then along comes Margery, The Witch of Lime Street, who gives them all a good baffle.
I really enjoyed this read and the book kept my attention all the way to the end. It was interesting to read about this era of spiritualism, to see the trickery that some 'mediums' would use during their party games. Their clever antics convinced many people of their 'powers', including intelligent men like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But then Harry Houdini started questioning their abilities. It didn't seem to be his intention to deliberately embarrass mediums, but instead to seek out the one who didn't use tricks to contact the dead, the one who was an authentic seer, and in the process their chicanery was revealed.
I recommend this book. Dig in, judge, explore, and draw your own conclusions. This book would be especially good in a book club as it's a great conversation starter.
