Jaher has clearly done a ton of research on this, and just the detail alone is really interesting. It doesn't make for the most intriguing reading, on a topic that I think should just be fascinating! But he should be applauded for trying to write an objective, well-researched book.

I realize that in non-fiction writing detail is important, but I really got tired of the repetition of the seances. Other than that, this look at the Scientific American investigation into the most famous spiritualist. Aided by Houdini, the book is definately thorough and the reader will learn a lot . The narrative was well written.

Whilst I can certainly appreciate this book for the countless hours of research that must have gone into it, there were also times during the course of reading this that I got bored. Sometimes there is just too much information included, weighing the book down with needless details, and that was what I thought in this case.

The idea of spiritualism as a whole is interesting to me, and that it was such a craze at one point is fascinating. I did like the descriptions of what happened during the seances and the way one famous person was in the corner of the medium whilst the other spent his time trying to debunk her abilities. That part of this book, in my opinion, makes it worth reading.

If you are curious about the use of mediums and spiritualism to contact the other side, this will be a book that you most likely want to add to your collection.

This review is based on a complementary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.