The Medium

Set before and during WWII, this compelling paranormal love story from Sickels (Walking West; The Shopkeeper’s Wife) will remind many of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs series (Messenger of Truth, etc.), with its deft historical detail and timeless characters. Helen Schneider, a 13-year-old school girl, discovers she has remarkable powers as a medium after she has a vision of a New Jersey neighbor caught in a fire. As Helen matures, her ability to communicate with the dead and see the future sets her at odds with her fiancé, Billy Mackey, and eventually arouses the interest of the U.S. military. Helen must decide whether to use her psychic gift to do what she thinks is right or to bow to the opposition of skeptics like Billy. Paranormal fans seeking a realistic change from the vampires and werewolves that dominate this popular subgenre will be well rewarded. (Dec.)