A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Solving a Murder by F H Petford

 

December 1914 Britain was on edge. They had the Great War to contend with. The young men recruited were dropping off like flies, the rumors of German spies was rampant but bombardment of Falmouth where the story was set had not begun.

Anna Timperley, having a mundane job inherits a hotel from an Aunt she was not aware of and an entire new chapter in her life opens. Her aunt ran a spiritual retreat for people who had lost loved ones, with two people who ran seances and who reached and contacted the dead. Anna’s aunt herself was a spiritualist and Anna has inherited the gift, though she has not actually used it for years.

Drawn into both running the hotel, and against her inclination drawn into the spiritualist side as well, Anna stumbles into a plot to destabilize Falmouth, when she realizes her hotel is being used by someone who is a spy.

The combination of the spiritualist aspect of the members in the hotel and the espionage that was taking place alongside the murder of two young women in this quiet town was an interesting mix of genres. Reminiscent of the times, it was also descriptive of the lifestyle and attitudes of people.

Sent by Hodder & Stoughton for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.