Uneasy Spirits
An Annie Fuller Mystery, No 2
M Louisa Locke

Creative Space
10/2011 / ISBN 9781466373549
Trade paperback Fiction/Adult/Victorian mystery/San Francisco
Amazon

Reviewed by Barbara Buhrer

Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, owns a boarding house she inherited from her aunt. To supplement her income she dons a black wig and becomes Madame Sibyl, clairvoyant who dispenses domestic and business advice to needy clients.

Miss Pinehurst, one of Annie's boarders, fears for her sister's sanity from attending séances conducted by Arabella Frampton a medium who supposedly connects her with her dead young son. Miss Pinehurst wants Madame Sibyl to help her prove the medium a fake.
With the assistance of Kathleen, her Irish maid, and Ned Dawson, an up and coming lawyer who wants to marry Annie, Annie meets with the Framptons and their intriguing mysterious partner, Evie, who as a child has different personalities which are used by them to make money. Their investigations uncover dark and disturbing actions in the world of mediums and spiritualists. There is danger before they are able to unravel the mystery.

This is a skillfully crafted mystery. The world of the Victorian era in San Francisco is thoroughly explored. The atmosphere is really fraught with mystery. The characters are wonderful: Kathleen who wants to imitate a Pinkerton agent and Nate who wants to marry Annie but is afraid he can't afford it.

Reviews of other titles int this series

Maids of Misfortune [review]
Uneasy Spirits [review 1] [review 2]