A tragic death sees Elizabeth Crawford seeking answers in the spirit world, and William Crawford sees himself drawn in as well. He is determined to prove the theatre of these seances and those who host them. But: he can’t. And goes on to tour as the reputed Spirit Engineer - a rational man who can communicate with the afterlife, with the help of his medium and an assortment of characters. West has mixed fact with fiction and shrouded it all in a gothic veil of mystery. There are some disturbing subjects and ideas to come from this book. Of course, seances and dabbling in ‘ the other side’ are not going to be easy experiences. I just loved the way you are invited to belief or not, but to experience the world of those trying to understand it all. 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.

Ten gazillion sparkling stars for the creepiest, most galvanizing and mind-blowing story I have ever read! The author has documented his research and I would urge you to watch this along with the book, it’s fascinating to see the institute where William worked along with other pieces of evidence that appear in the book. A spooky tale of frustrated ambition, hidden loyalties, and desperation, told with wit, charm and devastating twists. A gothic novel that also manages to make you laugh, even if you shouldn't.' JONATHAN HARVEY, PLAYWRIGHT Kathleen’s family are absolutely clear that she was in no way a seeker of the spotlight later in life; her public performances having switched from communion with the dead to ballroom dancing with her husband at company functions. William was, by all accounts a somewhat eccentric, socially awkard man, in spite of his aloof tone in his books and articles. His contemporarties speculated that his suicide came as a result of stress, brought on by his apparent fear of public speaking (he was due to embark on a world tour at the time of his death). Correspondence with a member of his family states:There's a real brilliant sense of the time period that this story is set around, the whole idea if there is life after death is such a fascinating one that is wonderfully challenged in the quest of seances being faked.

Oh, Darwin, Darwin, Darwin,' said Stoupe. 'The very enemy of magic himself. Very well then, perhaps not butterflies but even Mr Darwin would struggle to explain where we go when we die. He might be up there now, in fact, sitting on a wooly mammoth and thinking himself a perfect clown." This was a rather creepy read, made even more chilling after finding out that it's based on real history and events!! Is there something out there?! Oct: William publishes a second edition of The Reality of Psychic Phenomena (Raps, Levitations, etc) However in the last few chapters I was practically on the edge of my seat and on closing the book found myself straight onto Google researching 😂 Got to admit I did like that ending and didn’t see it going that way at all. Really brilliantly done. Set in a historical moment where science and spiritualism meet, The Spirit Engineer is an ingeniously plotted debut novel.’

That is, until one day his wife is seen taking part to try and recover what she has lost and William may finally start to believe that maybe the veil between the living and the dead is more tangible if only he can figure out just how it all works so that he may lay claim to being The Spirit Engineer. Is it possible Kathleen worked as a medium under duress from her family? If not duress, then might we look to the social pressures placed on children born into intense religious cultures. After all, if you live in a small world, without education, without prospects or outside perspectives, might you believe entirely in the paranormal, inured to the questionable morality of your actions? Or, did she find herself a prisoner of her own dupe, knowing she was dishonest and caring or not caring as her precocious morality allowed? We will never know, and I wrote The Spirit Engineer in such a way as to preserve Kathleen Goligher’s mystery. Still, we’re not without some detail. William Crawford is a family man. A man of science and one who will not be duped by these people who claim the dead converse with them, heavens no it’s nothing more than pure fantasy and delusion which people with too much imagination use as a coping mechanism when they refuse to let go of those they have lost. 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 It's clever, it's quirky, highly entertaining, but carries a chill as cold as the grave." - Annie Garthwaite

I love the fact that one book can make you want to laugh, cry and hide behind a cushion in one sitting. Split into four parts, the first three were interesting and well written, but the fourth part was something else! Knowing that the book was based on a true story, I deliberately avoided looking into the characters before reading it and the final scenes were so explosive and hard-hitting as the truth was revealed. I could barely bring myself to read on as it suddenly dawned on me the way in which the story was heading, while at the same time I was unable to put it down. An authentic, engrossing and emotional novel.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 am nervous about but fascinated by how people used to believe in spiritualism and seances in years gone by. The other thing I love to read about is actual historical figures who believed, dabbled in or forwarded the cause. Conan Doyle for example believed that the Cottingley Fairies were real.

A marvellous and menacing gothic chiller, filled with secrets and soaked in atmosphere, in which the ghouls and fiends are not of the other world, but this one...’ Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Librarians Group is the official group for requesting additions or updates to the catalog, including: As a child, Kathleen helped her family pay their way, blouse-cutting for the large factories which made up the city’s world-dominating textile industry. The women of Ulster were renowned for their skilled needlework, though the Goligher family were likely more involved in the less-skilled pattern-cutting trade, trimming linen into shapes to be stitched elsewhere. The remuneration was meagre, though poor families such as the Golighers were at least able to afford food and benefit from a grace and favour home supplied by their employers.Regular visitors to my blog know that I read a lot of cozy mysteries, mysteries and historical fiction. I tend to shy away from ‘ghost stories’ or anything paranormal. I’m a scaredy-cat, honestly – I don’t sleep well after reading or watching anything scary. But I saw a blurb about AJ West’s The Spirit Engineer on Facebook and was intrigued. And so I went down the rabbit-hole. West himself is personable and charming online (I’ll be posting an interview with him soon) and as soon as I saw that The Spirit Engineer was available on Netgalley, I jumped on the Request button and even though I did receive an ebook from the publisher, I also ended up purchasing a signed hardcopy for my bookshelves (it’s a gorgeous book).