⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

Thank you to NetGalley, Tin House, and W. W. Norton & Company for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I really, really wanted to love this book. And parts of it, I honestly thoroughly enjoyed. I appreciated the author’s approach to the subject of spiritual mediums. I was never quite sure if I was believing in Robert and Clarence’s abilities, or siding with Evelyn in her doubts.

Where the story fell short for me was Evelyn’s back story that she continued to bring up but never fully explained. She always seemed a bit frantic when she wasn’t discussing the other character’s style of dress, or what remodeling she would do in the places she visited. There didn’t seem to be much reason to her internal dialogue. She just continued to come across as a woman who was a bit shallow.

Not to create a spoiler, but the book was not wrapped up into a nice package at the end, and I feel like the author may have a sequel planned?!

So, did I like the book enough to read the next one if the author does indeed write one? Yes, I think I will. I am strangely curious as to what becomes of Evelyn and Robert.

Evelyn Hazard is a housewife whose husband, Robert, has opened up to her about his 'gift'--he can sense spirits and speak to the dead. The Hazards have had enough issues with their social standing--Evelyn can't afford to have a full-time servant, her now-deceased older sister, Dolores, has already brought shame to their family with her divorce, and her mother and sister are putting pressure on her to have children, despite her blatant discomfort with babies. If her family found out about Robert's newfound obsession with the occult, they'd most likely disown them.

As Evelyn attends more of Robert's shows, she gets pulled into the world of mediums and spirits. Robert and his tutor, a ten-year-old boy named Clarence, are making accurate observations about the souls with which they're communing. Evelyn fears that a secret only Dolores knows will be unearthed if Robert or Clarence can communicate with her beyond the veil, and the threat of this reveal sends her spiraling.

I don't know what I was expecting when I read 'Hazardous Spirits', but I ended up enjoying it way more than I anticipated. Anbara Salam's observations of upper-middle class society and rich people living in excess hearkens to 'The Importance of Being Earnest', with loving descriptions of unappealing food and the secrets held by every character. I can see some readers being turned off by the shallowness of the characters, Salam's writing proves that there's more going on under the surface than meets the eye. As an adult woman who never wants children, I found Evelyn's distance whenever the subject was brought up relatable.

I'll definitely seek out Anbara Salam's other books now--her writing voice is intuitive and funny, and I really want to read the other things she's written!

This is one of my favorite reads this year. The writing is excellent. I found myself highlighting several sentences and I rarely do that. The characters and settings are described so well that I feel like I almost watched a film.
I am a person who is very curious about Mediums, but I don't know if I whole heartedly believe in them. This book made me pause and think even more.