Margery and Me

Notorious 1920s medium Mina Crandon comes to life in the beguiling latest from Biaggio (Gun Girl and the Tall Guy). The novel is purportedly narrated from beyond the grave by the spirit of Mina’s older brother, Walter, who protects Mina from their father’s abuse as they grow up together on a bleak Ontario farm. After Walter dies in an accident at 28, Mina marries affluent Boston doctor Roy Crandon. Walter’s ghost still wants to help Mina, but he fails to make contact until she attends her first séance and invites him to connect. The siblings begin communicating telepathically, and Walter persuades Mina to hold séances herself. The combination of her feminine allure and his paranormal assistance (in addition to moving tables and stopping clocks, he uses her vocal cords to banter with attendees) makes “Margery,” Mina’s nom-de-séance, famous. She loves meeting illustrious fans including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but her celebrity also poses dangers. Roy, hoping to exploit her renown with a book, begins faking supernatural phenomena, and celebrated anti-spiritualism crusader Harry Houdini vows to prove her a fraud. Walter’s narration is brisk and sassy—he calls Houdini a “shifty weasel”—and Biaggio cleverly leaves its provenance in question, like so much else relating to Margery. This fun story offers an enlightening view into spiritualism and the grip it once held on America. (Apr.)