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I am speechless. I can truly say I have never had a final chapter of a book punch me so endlessly, over and over, with such satisfying conclusions and reveals. As the book went on, I found myself theorising what was coming, all of which turned out to be wrong. By the ending, I had no idea what I believed. Part of me was bracing myself for an ambiguous ending, but I needn’t have worried. The book was wrapped up in a way that truly made me want to throw it across the room, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Um, spoiler warning for a historical events that have happened and are recorded as having happened and exist in the public domain (e.g. on Wikipedia) I’m so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to read something outside of my usual genres. It was the perfect spooky read for October, but honestly, West may have triggered a hidden love of dark gothic stories in me. I’ve already added a bunch of new books to my TBR in the genre – I just hope that some of them are even half as gorgeous as The Spirit Engineer– it’s going to be a tough act to follow. Read The Spirit Engineer for yourself Working at the Belfast Technical Institute, William would have had easy access to potassium cyanide powder, which was used in the electroplating process and also for developing early photographic plates. Stores in both the engineering laboratories and photographic studios likely held quantities of potassium cyanide. Seamus Stoupe, who produced William’s famous photographs, was head of the Art Department and would have had access to the photography stores.
Mr Donaldson was, from what I can tell, an enthusiastic Spiritualist, with as much faith in ghosts as his medicinal herbs, and it transpires that he encouraged Kathleen to continue with private seances for a decade after they were married, acting as intermediary and booking agent for this wishing to take part in circles. Their now-deceased children had very vague memories of some strange goings on upstairs while they were expected to keep a distance. Their daughter apparently listened to the seances from the bottom of the stairs, never full understanding what they were. The Spirit Engineer is fabulously written, fast-paced & palpitation inducing, particularly in the latter third of the book. For me, the ending was so brilliantly & cleverly done, it overwhelmed me so much that it reduced me to tears. Absolutely outstanding!
Written in period language, there was a small adjustment period with this book but after a few chapters I was completely immersed in the story - it started off slow, almost mundane, before descending into utter, spine-chilling chaos in the most unexpected ways. Absolutely brilliant! This is *the* book for Halloween. It’s an immersive, fascinating and truly creepy read. I was so sold on the cover that I didn’t even bother reading the synopsis and had no idea what to expect, let alone that it’s based on real events. I love story's like this, a gripping interesting read that has led me to YouTube videos on William's real life.Crawford seems to relish his new celebrity, he goes from an almost meek man to one who feels confident in his new role as Spirit Engineer. He becomes controlling, overbearing and almost monstrous in nature, beholden to the power of celebrity and money. Spiritualism was quite an obsession in the 1900s, especially for the middle classes. To some it was a harmless parlour game. To the true believers it was a desperate attempt to cope with loss and find consolation. Séance anyone? Séance + historical fiction = one of my favourite things, especially when there's a science meets spirituality element. In this novel, an engineer sets out to prove by scientific method the veracity of a spirit medium through whom he is able to hear the voices of his dead mother, son and brother-in-law. I thought I would love this book - but it was a bit of a rollercoaster of liked it, didn't like it, liked it again and it's growing on me... When I first read about "The Spirit Engineer" I was a little nervous about requesting to review it by NetGalley. The fact that this book is based on a true story intrigued me and I am honored that I was chosen to read it. Thank You. Kathleen Goligher was born in Belfast on the 27th June 1898, according to her birth certificate. She was one of five children, all of them cramped together in a string of small terraces, moving almost every year of Kathleen’s early life. Still, though the Goligher family’s quarters were small, Belfast prided itself on far better living standards than the tenement houses found in other British industrial cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow or Manchester.
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