Inamorata

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful afternoon read!
Review: "Never fall in love with the medium" is the anthem for this novel. Martin Finch, a Harvard graduate student, is called upon by his mentor to travel to Philadelphia to observe the seances performed by Mina Crawley. A $5,000 award is the prize for an actual spirit appearance. Martin provides all the gimmicks to prove Mina a fraud. However, he falls in love with her and now we are questioning each appearance by her dead brother. Her much older husband becomes suspect.
I loved the spiritualism, seances, and the young Martin, always at odds with his fellow compatriats who must come to a
decision as to whether Mina's visions are real or trumped up!

Rating:
Summary: A clever and fun debut
Review: It is the 1920s and the Scientific American Magazine is offering a $5,000 reward for anyone who could prove themselves to be a real spiritualist. Many apply and only the most promising are investigated by the committee. One of the members of the committee is a promising graduate student, Martin Finch. His ingenuity has proved several of the most brilliant and famous spiritualists as frauds. He now is off to Philadelphia with the committee to evaluate the 'society psychic' Mina Crawley. Mina presents a unique problem to Martin. First, her seances appear authentic and quite difficult to prove as fake. The second and more important problem is that Martin is falling in love with her in spite of the fact that she is married.
INAMORATA is not a true mystery in the usual definition of the genre. No murders occur but the mystery lies in finding the proof that Mina is a fraud. The book is clever and quite a bit of fun. The historical era is very well depicted in this atmospheric novel filled with realistic characters. The length is perfect for the plot and the solution is both clever and satisfying. A recommended read.

Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: Occasionally a book comes along that reinforces the reasons why, in an age of bad video games and worse reality TV, time spent reading fiction is still the most rewarding form of entertainment of all. The Inamorata is such a book.

Among the many positive aspects of the book are the incredible descriptive techniques that are as penetrating as I any I've read in a long time. Gangemi provides a perfectly seamless ride to his 1922 locales and once there, richly developed characters come alive. By the time this tight novel reaches its end you feel know each of them like an old friend. The subtle strengths of Mina Crawley echo throughout, as she confounds the men around her ( who are also each intriguing in their own right) in ways that will haunt you long after you put the book down.

There is not a wasted word in the novel. The clear, concise narrative moves the plot along at exactly the right pace while the reader subconsciously digests themes as diverse as a young man's coming of age, the complexities of familial relationships, and the ongoing battle between science and faith. Or it can just be thoroughly enjoyed as an old fashioned ghost story. Either way, this a terrific book, and one I recommend highly.

Rating:
Summary: Fun read, clever story
Review: Our book club read this book and really enjoyed it. There is much to discuss about the plot and lots of fun period detail. I enjoyed the many clever descriptons and metaphors. Plus, the story was a real page turner - I hated to put the book down.