Reviewed by Mandy Wrangles

Well, that’s it. It’s all over. Charlaine Harris’ much loved Sookie Stackhouse series that has spanned thirteen novels over twelve years and inspired the HBO television series True Blood is finally dead and err… dusted.

Almost.

But more about that later.

Dead Ever After is one of those books that have had the internet in an uproar. I’d suggest to anyone who hasn’t yet read it to stay away from sites such as Goodreads and even Harris’ own Facebook page. There are more spoilers than there have been murders in Bon Temps. But don’t worry. You won’t find any here. It seems fans fall into two groups: those who love Sookie and her cohorts and see Dead Ever After as a fitting end to her adventures, and those who are spewing bitter vitriol at the author who is doing nothing but staying true to her character. The character she created. In her own head.

I guess you can tell which side of the fence I’m sitting on.

Dead Ever After isn’t a literary masterpiece. It isn’t even the best Sookie Stackhouse adventure. As most fans will agree, the series has been getting tired as it neared its end. Harris was right in concluding it now. She says in interviews there was simply nothing left to say. And you know what? That’s okay. I imagine writing about the same group of characters for all those years would be much like cooking the same meal four or five times a week, year after year. It’s a favourite dish. You love cooking it; your family love eating it; but after a while – it gets a little boring. The enthusiasm you once felt in adding your own special blend of spices, the countless hours spent stirring the pot and then plating it up in an identical manner each time (well, maybe with a slightly different sprig of herb to garnish) gets old; the passion is bound to wind down after time. This doesn’t mean you love the meal any less, but love and passion are not the same thing.

As a reader and long-time fan of Sookie Stackhouse and her creator, I feel like a family member at that table. It’s good, it’s comfortable and it’s safe. You know what you’re getting. I’ve said many times before that reading a Sookie novel is like spending time with an old, welcoming friend. Dead Ever After is no different. I devoured this final instalment in less than a day. I left the table feeling satisfied and content. Sure, there are inconsistencies in the storytelling that long-term fans will pick up, but this isn’t anything new. Harris herself admits she has trouble keeping track of so many characters and interweaving story lines. I can forgive her that since it doesn’t make any difference in this final episode. There’s also a slight stylistic change in Dead Ever After, with added scenes written away from Sookie’s first person point of view. This possibly wasn’t the book to introduce this in, but maybe it was simplest way to get the story told.

What we do see are many of our favourite (and despised) characters. And finally, an answer to the biggest question of them all: Who will Sookie choose? She’s been involved with a list of men – well, a list of supernatural beings – including vampires Bill and Eric, Alcide the werewolf, Sam the shapeshifter and Quinn the weretiger. Will it be a forever love? Will she remain human? Or at the very least alive? Will Sookie finally get her Happy Ever After?

Like all its predecessors, this story is a murder-mystery at its heart and Sookie finds herself in all kinds of trouble, with threats on her life from all sides. At the same time, she still tries to work at the bar, keep her home and wardrobe in order and the revolving door of houseguests fed. For all her wild adventures, Sookie remains a Southern hostess at her core and craves a quiet, ‘normal’ life. The question is… will she get it?

Now, to that ‘almost’ from earlier. Dead Ever After might be the final Sookie novel, but it’s actually not the last Sookie book. ‘After Dead – the Coda’ is due for release on October 29^th this year. The coda will list all those Sookieverse characters that Harris wasn’t able to tie up in the end. Yes, even the teeniest-tiniest bit player will have their future told. Pretty cool, huh? And if that’s not enough, you can check out the numerous Sookie short stories that appear in anthologies. These all slip neatly in between novels. Check out Charlaine Harris’ website details on these.

So yeah, that’s almost it. Thank you, Miss Stackhouse and Ms Harris – it’s been a wild, steamy – and somewhat bloody – ride.   

http://www.charlaineharris.com/

The ancient city of Cairo is a feverish tangle of the old and the new, of the superrich and the desperately poor, with inequality and corruption everywhere. It’s a place where grudges and long-buried secrets can fester, and where people can disappear in the blink of an eye.

Makana, a former Sudanese police inspector forced to flee to Cairo, is now struggling to make ends meet as a private detective. In need of money, he takes a case from the notoriously corrupt mogul Saad Hanafi, owner of a Cairo soccer team, whose star player, Adil Romario, has gone missing. Soon, Makana is caught up in a mystery that takes him into the treacherous underbelly of his adopted city, encountering Muslim extremists, Russian gangsters, vengeful women, and a desperate mother hunting for her missing daughter-a trail that leads him back into his own story, stirring up painful personal memories and bringing him face-to-face with an old enemy from his past …

Published on the anniversary of the revolution in Egypt, The Golden Scales is an elegantly written, thrilling story set in a city of upheaval, chaos, and corruption.

Hardcover, 397 pages  Published January 31st 2012 by Bloomsbury USA (first published January 2nd 2012)

ISBN  1608197948 (ISBN13: 9781608197941)

Makana, a broken man who is just trying to make ends meet, is now living on a broken down old houseboat. He was once a detective on the police force but after losing his wife and child he was forced to flee his homeland. Makana accepts a job with pay too high to refuse and discovers that it will lead him down a path to face his own past.

Adil Romario may be the reason that Makana delves into the past of several characters in the story, yet the answers he discovers are far from to do with Adil himself. The answers go back years, to Cairo’s corrupted leaders and gangsters like Saad Hanafi, now a very wealthy and powerful man whose deeds both inspire and terrorize the civilians of the city. However, the real question is why, with all the connections, Mr Hanafi chooses to hire Makana?

Golden Scales has a heavy atmosphere, with the past crashing into the future, and Makana wading his way through a modern day Cairo, where the slums are squashed right up against the pillars of mansions and expensive tourist sites. Religion, politics and money all play important roles in this story. As the setting itself is one of the oldest civilizations in history and involving current day topics, I found the story to be informative as well as entertaining. Makana is a character who’s determination is at times awe inspiring, yet still he acts on instinct without rationalizing his actions. Both characteristics play out well in the story, to add suspense and character growth. He is a very hardened man, but humane at heart.

Golden Scales is a detective novel that encompasses several story lines that diverge and cross, eventually colliding into a well played out mystery of revenge, family, and power.

Reviewed by Krista McKeeth

An ancient volume of philosophical heresy provides a motive for murder in this haunting, lyrical novel of forensics, archeology, and history—the fourth in an acclaimed suspense series. What sort of book is worth a man’s life? After a year away from working in the field, archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are back in the bogs, investigating a ninth-century body found buried in the trunk of a car. They discover that the ancient corpse is not alone—pinned beneath it is the body of Benedict Kavanagh, missing for mere months and familiar to television viewers as a philosopher who enjoyed destroying his opponents in debate. Both men were viciously murdered, but centuries apart—so how did they end up buried together in the bog?

While on the case, Cormac and Nora lodge at Killowen, a nearby artists’ colony, organic farm, and sanctuary for eccentric souls. Digging deeper into the older crime, they become entangled in high-stakes intrigue encompassing Kavanagh’s death while surrounded by suspects in his ghastly murder. It seems that everyone at Killowen has some secret to protect.

Set in modern-day Ireland, The Book of Killowen reveals a new twist on the power of language—and on the eternal mysteries of good and evil.

Hardcover, 352 pages  Published March 5th 2013 by Scribner (first published March 1st 2013)  ISBN 1451634846 (ISBN13: 9781451634846)

When an archaeologist and pathologist are called out to the bogs to investigate the finding of an ancient body, they discover that there is another corpse underneath it. And this one is recently dead. The missing Benedict Kavanagh, who is known for his television debates, turns out to be the recently deceased. Nora and Carmac stay at a nearby Killoween, an organic farm community, during their investigation to find out who might be connected to Benedict’s murder and why.

They discover that the people living in this area have a lot of secrets and it’s going to take a lot of digging to figure out who knows what.  As untrained detectives, Cormac and Nora appealed to me more as a reader because I could relate better to them as investigators than I could to  hard-core detective-types. The longer they stay among the community the more they get to know the people and build relationships with them. They eventually gain the locals trust and begin to put the puzzle together.

I was thoroughly impressed with the different layers to this story. It is obvious that the author did a lot of research into the history of Illuminated manuscripts, antiquities, folklore and science for this story. When digging into Kavanagh’s past, the two discover that he not only had an interest in medieval books, but also a fancy for younger girls. They find themselves in danger when they begin to figure out the mystery.

The pacing and well crafted story lines unfold with great ease. With both shocking and suspenseful moments mixed into the historical and personal lives of the people, The Book of Killoween is an entertaining and educational read. This is the first book I have read by Erin Hart and am looking forward to reading the other books in this series. 

Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen

Since 2008 the Ghost Adventures crew, consisting of Zak Bagans, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, has taken TV audiences into some of the most terrifying and haunted buildings in the world. Three ordinary guys; dozens of extraordinary locations. Now, for the first time in his book, Chasing Spirits, Nick Groff is offering a deeper insight into the show that has captivated thousands.

From early on in life, he has had a sense of adventure, and a curiosity for the unknown. This, combined with his deep interest in film, all served to spark the beginning of what would become the hit series Ghost Adventures.

Fans of Ghost Adventures will be delighted with this down-to-earth, in-depth look at Nick’s life, loves and experiences. As one third of the GA team, it is too easy for Nick’s personality to be stifled by Zak’s dynamic presence, so having his side of the story fleshes out a lot of what is not seen in the series.

While there are numerous chilling locations described within these pages, from abandoned mental asylums to darkly historic prisons, Poveglia Island is the one that will stay with me. The history of bubonic plague victims being burnt in giant pyres there and an asylum later being constructed has left the island with a plethora of restless spirits. The lockdown that Zak, Nick and Aaron go into there sounds terrifying.

For those who have watched the series but want to know more, Chasing Spirits offers rare insight into many of the locations from GA’s first season. Delving into the questions that the series has left unanswered, Nick explains what it was like to have a dark spirit attempt to take him over, how his visit to Linda Vista Hospital has changed him and what his beliefs are about ghosts. Sometimes controversial; always unapologetic, Chasing Spirits follows Nick on a journey that is both physical and spiritual, exhilarating and exhausting.

The closest you’ll come to lockdown from the safety of your lounge, Chasing Spirits is a must-read for any paranormal enthusiast.

Chasing Spirits – Nick Groff

Allen & Unwin (October 2, 2012)

 ISBN: 9781742379487

Sherry van’t Hag has read for thousands of people both privately and publicly and was one of the three psychics chosen to audition for Brynne Edelstens’s TV show My Bedazzled Life. Sherry is the recent winner of the award for‘Victorian Psychic of the year 2012’ voted by her peers in the Australian Psychics Association. With twenty two years of experience behind her, she is renowned for inspiring and extremely accurate guidance.

I’ve heard that nurses and doctors cannot sit down and watch episodes of ER without feeling like they’re bringing work home with them… Have you ever just sat down to watch shows like Medium, Ghost Whisperer or Long Island Medium for entertainment purposes?

Strangely enough, I have to admit that I have never sat down to watch an entire episode of any of these shows! Partly, yes, because it is for a lack of a better word, ‘work’, although most of the time my work does not feel like work to me, Never the less it is ironical that I have not taken up an interest in watching shows like this. I believe it is because sometimes the way in which it is portrayed can be quiet different to the way it actually is.

For example, being consistently woken during the night while trying to sleep, seeing spirits as if they are as clear as the living right next to us and hearing or having full conversations word for word with the deceased. Spirit communication although mind-blowing is not nearly as straight forward as it is shown in these shows, but if you’d like to know how it really works then you should read my book Eternal Light, I dedicate an entire chapter to educating people about all types of spirit communication. I speak about how we as mediums receive their messages, to the six stages of perception and how they (meaning spirit) try to get their messages across to us. Each medium is unique in their approach and it can be hard to define this and how it truly works in a television show.  

Do you find electrical items tend to misbehave around you, more than they would around a non-psychically intuitive person?

Actually, I really have to think about this one. I will have to say no. And that’s the answer I prefer, as sometimes when lights are going on and off and electrical equipment is playing up it can be quiet annoying. Yes I have seen it and witnessed it but not really much around myself.

Sometimes this type of activity happens when a spirit is restless and cannot get their information through, so I find that it is not particularly a good thing. Although some spirits it can actually be their trademark, so to speak. Every time my friend’s Mother would visit the lights would flicker in a consistent manner and I know of someone’s father in law who liked to change the television to stations he frequented when he was alive. All in all, there is no harm that can be done as long as the computer saves the manuscript!

Did you find that writing your book ‘Eternal Light’ helped you to put into words, things you had previously found difficult to express to family and friends? 

Most of my friends already know how deeply spiritual I am and quite a few are very spiritual themselves. Family, on the other hand, is an entirely different kettle of fish. I cannot actually name one family member who understands anything about my spirituality or even really comprehends what I actually do.

My mother, who is now supportive, had previously discouraged me to keep going with anything spiritual or psychic in nature. She always thought I would be better off with a normal job. After many years, she now realises that it is my life’s purpose and destiny to be a psychic medium. She is now also quite a fan of Psychic TV and is beginning to realise that I am not the only one on the planet who is into this type of thing. So this is quite a turnaround for her.

My daughter of nine has grown up with it around her, so it’s soaked through her DNA; she’s just like her mother. She actually gives me advice about my personal life and tells me how it is and her hands are holy as a saint, it is apparent to me when she lays her hands upon me or I hold her in my arms.

My son who is eighteen always gives me a hard time about my spirituality in a joking way but then he will praise me about my achievements and he is always encouraging when I do my work. So I know that deep down he knows there’s something to it! For other close family members who came to celebrate the launch of my book, they were there to support me not necessarily what I do, and I know that. I can only hope that if they read the book, it will ring true to them on some level. I wrote my book for humanity with the hopes and determination that we can raise our vibration and spiritual awareness on this planet and grasp the deeper meaning of life, not having to fear death or life or one another.

You have a lot of success with your prayers coming true. Does this work when you pray for yourself or when you pray for others? And is there usually someone specific that you pray to?

This is my favourite question to answer as my purpose is to make a difference in people’s lives and this is what I feel that I am doing when I pray! I do prayers for others that come true. By this I mean that I receive feedback that proves to me that my request from spirit for the person I am praying for has worked and changed their life for the better. As an example, of this I had a client whose husband had been very physical with her throughout their relationship. Of course, none of was acceptable and so I prayed that her husband see his wrong doing and his faults. I also prayed that he was to awaken to the fact that he really despised himself not her and realised that he needed to heal and immediately stop abusing his wife. I also said to my client that she would end the relationship with him and be much happier on her own. Weeks later she saw me and asked, “What did you do to my husband, he’s gone from beating me up to saying, hey I am sorry can we be friends?” She said that after my prayers he never lifted his hand to her again. About one year later she had another reading with me and she was on her own very happy.

I have had people tell me that on the night of my prayers all the noises that previously plagued them during the night had instantly stopped. There really are countless times I have prayed for people and all sorts of circumstances and things have changed. In my book, I write about what prayer is really is. Who do I pray to? I pray to the hierarchy in spirit and to the guides of the person I am working with. I do this is my own specific way.

Many years ago, while sitting in meditation I heard a voice say to me “You’re an Earth Angel”. A few days later I was about to do my first ever public speech and my friend handed me a tiny handbook by Doreen Virtue with a title that read, Earth Angels - what type are you? I had never heard the term Earth Angel until my loving guides mentioned it. And to prove I was hearing correctly they gave me a lovely sign to confirm any doubts I had in my mind about their message. It didn’t surprise me as back then in 2004. I had been working so diligently as a Lightworker through reading, healing and teaching that I knew I had a greater purpose here on Earth.

I was once told by a very good Psychic that I volunteered to come here upon this Earth at this time to help humanity with the quest for enlightenment and I believe that to be so. I have been informed that this is my last lifetime here on Earth. I believe that too. My path in life hasn’t always been easy, but to tell you the truth all I really wish for is a better more peaceful enlightened world where we can love one another and our dear planet and live in harmony.  There really there is so much work to do and I cannot get enough of it. The more I do, the better I feel. You can never pray too much and you can never love too much. I wrote my book for many reasons but to help us understand our true nature and to help humanity understand death are two.  My prayers come true because I command them to do so. My words are powerful and so are yours. Everyone can pray.

You’ve been doing psychic readings for 22 years now. What is the strangest case that you’ve had in that time?

It seems that there are so many that I find it hard to pinpoint just one incidence in particular but throughout my twenty seven year span of spiritual development I would have to say the strangest thing that has happened to me is when I entered a full conversation with my ex-partner John without opening my mouth once. In other words yes a real live true full length telepathic conversation!  This took place over ten years ago when John and I were sitting down close to midnight at his mother’s house. This particular conversation is documented in my book Eternal Light as it is quiet an anomaly! I sat to speak to him concerned about our relationship when all of a sudden I started communicating with him from my third eye. It was quite incredible; I could tell he knew what was happening by the look upon his face. My mouth was closed but I was speaking loud and clear in a telepathic method, it was so unusually profound and both of us seemed to be in a trance like state as if something else besides us was taking over, but none of it was scary, actually it was quite the opposite. There was amazing sense of peace and serenity within me as I relayed information to him through my telepathic dialogue. I spoke first then he responded.  I was the calm one while John was totally freaked out even as he was doing it. Never the less he was doing it somehow and when he had finished giving me his message our heads fell down as if to come out of the trance strangely enough his mothers clock struck midnight right at that second! His mother had passed away two years prior. I don’t know that I could do this again if I desperately tried and I am not sure what force of nature took over us that evening but all I feel is that there was such a deep connection with the two of us that it was able to take place.

You say that you occasionally use Angel cards, not Tarot cards. For us beginners, what is the difference? 

I started with Tarot cards all those years ago and the only Tarot pack I have ever owned are the very first ones I brought. I still have them now! They are called The Enchanted Tarot Deck by Amy Zerner and Monte Farber published in 1991. Back then I am not even sure if there were Angel cards. Now with the emergence of our very wonderful Doreen Virtue, who really is the Angel lady, we have many types of Angel cards and decks to choose from and more people are becoming aware of the existence of Angels, Arch Angels and Ascended Masters and the love and guidance that come to us from them.

There are so many Angel Decks and other tools available to us thanks to her ability to channel much information directly from Angels. She of course not the only person who has published Angels cards or channels information directly from them however she would be the most well known. Within my Tarot deck there are seventy eight cards, twenty two being Major Arcana and the rest comprised of four suits of Minor Arcana that correspond to different aspects of our lives.

Tarot cards are like a visual story telling tool, and when laid out in a card spread for an individual they will tell a story about the past the present and the future.  The exact date of the first use of tarot cards for divination (the art of foretelling the future) isn’t known but the oldest surviving decks date back as far as the fifteenth century. Since the ancient times it has been common to consult the oracles of various deities in temples and shrines to gain insight into the mysteries of life. I believe that the human spirit is eternally seeking to know and understand itself and its power. To explain the tarot in full we would have to go into great detail. Angel cards seem to be much easier and simpler to understand and read and I believe they are a relatively new concept. Either way both are a powerful tool to help mediums and psychic’s gain insight for guiding people in their lives. I use several decks of Angel cards and I pull them from the deck for people. They are always spot on. I usually use the cards at the end of the reading to confirm what I have already said. 

In the past you have used things like psychometry and Tarot cards but you find you don’t need these any longer. Do you think this is because you’re stronger in your psychic abilities now or because you have a better idea of how to use your abilities? 

In brief the answer to both those questions is yes. When I first began reading I was very unaware of how much it would develop or that one of my main strengths would be medium-ship  The tarot cards in the beginning where very useful as I read straight from them, yet even then I would sometimes receive information about my client before they arrived at the front door. Because I was first starting out I would get nervous so I would ask my guides for insight before the reading had begun.

Nowadays, because I know it’s all going to come through accurately and very fast I prefer to tune in when the reading begins. Naturally, I have improved immensely overtime, in the fact that I am more confident and more trusting of the information channelled to me through all the psychic senses. I see (clairvoyance) hear (clair-audience) feel (Clair-sentience) smell (clair-alience) and know (clair-cognizance).

Psychics seem to refine themselves as instruments for messages and it does get easier to do this without any tools. This is how it is for me anyway. I don’t need or use jewellery like I used to and the cards I don’t actually need. So yes I do indeed after so many years trust my own ability more but mostly I trust spirit, and this gives me complete confidence in what I do! It’s just beautiful! 

You can find Sherry on her website.

From three-time Edgar Award–winning mystery writer Ruth Rendell comes a captivating and expertly plotted tale of residents and servants on one block of a posh London street—and the deadly ways their lives intertwine.Life for the residents and servants of Hexam Place appears placid and orderly on the outside: drivers take their employers to and from work, dogs are walked, flowers are planted in gardens, and Christmas candles lit uniformly in windows. But beneath this tranquil veneer, the upstairs-downstairs relationships are set to combust.

Henry, the handsome valet to Lord Studley, is sleeping with both the Lord’s wife and his university-age daughter. Montserrat, the Still family’s lazy au pair, assists Mrs. Still in keeping secret her illicit affair with a television actor—in exchange for pocket cash. June, the haughty housekeeper to a princess of dubious origin, tries to enlist her fellow house-helpers into a “society” to address complaints about their employers. Meanwhile, Dex, the disturbed gardener to several families on the block, thinks a voice on his cell phone is giving him godlike instructions—commands that could imperil the lives of all those in Hexam Place.

The St. Zita Society is Ruth Rendell at her brilliant best—a deeply observed and suspenseful novel of murder in the quintessentially London world of servants and their masters.

Hardcover, 272 pages  Published August 14th 2012 by Scribner (first published July 5th 2012)  ISBN  1451666683 (ISBN13: 9781451666687)

Here is a book that would make a perfect serial or television show. There are many characters involved which I found overwhelming at times. If they’d been presented more gradually, the story would have blown my mind. There is enough tension, paranoia, lies, cover-ups, deceit and yes, murder, to fuel season after season of great TV. As it is, in a single book format, it came off a little confusing, with a slow build up.

The St. Zita Society is a group of local workers in Hexam Place, a very contemporary London street. They meet weekly to discuss topics of interest regarding the improvement of the neighbourhood, as well as to gossip and shed their grievances about their jobs. Members of the group are all the workers of the different families that live iHexam Place and these get-togethers are a form of stress release. All of them have secrets and desires of their own, and during the course of the story they exhibit a range of distinct human emotions from paranoia, schizophrenia, loneliness, to jealousy and haughtiness.

The real crime happens about halfway through the novel. An accidental death turns into a cover-up and from there, secrets, back stabbing and alternative motives begin to emerge. With so many characters and overlapping stories, at this point there is not a dull moment. The residents of Hexam Place may look like they are living ordinary lives to those on the outside but that’s not the case to those on the inside. Only time will tell when their secrets will be revealed.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the audio-book for this review. The narrator was a key to my enjoyment of the story. As I am American, her accent really added to the aesthetic enjoyment to the story. She made me, as the reader, feel like a member of their group and my heart went out to some of the characters, and the emotional grief they experience in this story.

 Simon & Schuster Audio | 

• ISBN 9781442349810

Through years of success in Hollywood composing music for Oscar-winning films, Chris Lowndes always imagined he would come full circle, home to Yorkshire with his beloved wife Laura.

Now he’s back in the Yorkshire Dales, but Laura is dead, and Chris needs to make a new life for himself. The isolated house he buys sight unseen should give him the space to come to terms with his grief and the quiet to allow him to work.

Kilnsgate House turns out to be rather more than he expected, however. A man died there, sixty years ago. His wife was convicted of murder. And something is pulling Chris deeper and deeper into the story of Grace Elizabeth Fox, who was hanged by the neck until she was dead . . .

Hardcover, 436 pages

Published 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton ISBN 1444704834 (ISBN13: 9781444704839)

Chris is a widower and now, later in life has decided to return home to settle down, purchasing a house out in the country for a quite place to work on a new project. He becomes obsessed with the story of the past owners’ of the house, which turns out to be a famous recent murder cases. Everywhere he looks in the house he feels Grace’s presence and cannot escape the nagging feeling there was more to her life than being accused of murdering her husband.

The writing is so atmospheric and really takes the reader to a relaxing and sometimes melancholy world. The descriptions of the house and the land were breath-taking. It gives the reader the feeling of really being there, in this gorgeous mansion, expansive lands and quaint local stores and pubs.

This is my first read from author Peter Robinson. I loved the writing style and feelings that the story evoked. I must admit that I was expecting for the story to be more edgy as the clues began to unravel but it was like reading a classic crime novel; a slow unravelling of details and not much of a “big” moment, but an ending that lingers with you.

There are times when we are taken deep into the aftermath of World War II as Chris learns more about Grace’s life as a nurse; inlcuding pages of historical information about the process of war and the use of poisons and gas testing. About halfway through, we are introduced to Grace more directly through her old writings and get to see her life from her own perspective which was interesting and really puts us in her head. I had to take the book in sections and didn’t experience a lot of gasping, or moments that caught me off-guard.

Through his research and travels to find out about Grace’s life, Chris learns many things, solving more than one mystery along the way. These side stories held more of the “edge” I was looking for in the main narrative.

It is very much a character driven story, not only revolving around the obsession Chris has with Grace, but about his own life as well. He’s distracted from the events of his past. Moving to this quiet house was supposed to give him the space and time he needed for his new project, but he cannot concentrate and finds these distractions welcome. The time he takes to learn about Grace lets him come to terms with events from his own life.

If you’re looking for a read that is light on the crime and mystery with a slower moving plot line and a gradual revelation of secrets from the past (as well as travels from England to France to Southern Africa), this is your book. It will take you all over the world through the eyes of both Chris and Grace. Before the Poison is a novel of great writing that is both visually aesthetic and emotionally atmospheric.

Interviewed by Joelene Pynnonen and Belinda Hamilton

Jade-Sky is a Psychic/Medium-a “direct channeller”. She was born with a special gift of being able to connect clairvoyantly with energies of deceased loved ones. Over the past 19 years Jade-Sky has fine tuned her natural skills in the areas of psychometry, medium-ship/channelling and uncovering past lives. Jade-Sky has read professionally for clients from all around the world.

How do you ask your kids to address your profession to their classmates, and their parents when asked? (not everyone is open minded about Mediums and the likes)

My children are very open to what I do, in fact when they are little they think everyone’s Mum does the same thing that I do they don’t see anything weird about it. However now that my eldest child is in high school at a new school I have noticed a difference, he mentions that I am an author first and then once he gets to know the children he says that I am also a medium.

My younger children’s friends and parent’s know what I do and who I am and they are open to it, many of them are open spiritually too and so are their kids. The other parent’s or classmates who are not close to my kids do not know what I do, I am just a Mum all the same.

 Your ability is something that you have passed on to your kids, which according to Karina Machado’s wonderful book Spirit Sisters is 

remarkably common. Does this make motherhood more challenging for you? Or is it something that they are all comfortable with?

Yes my ability has been passed down to all three of my kids in three different ways. They are all individuals so each has their own gift. My youngest child my daughter is very similar to me she is a direct channel, a medium and she is very clairvoyant. She has channelled ever since she could talk and would accidently channel at daycare and freak her teachers out. Now that she has started school it is becoming easier for me to teach her how to close down and not to tell everything to everyone.

My second child is a healer, he is an empath and he sees things. This can be hard to deal with at night time and when he is around people that are stressed or sick as he tends to take on their energy too much. He also had a lot of premonitions when he was younger, as he has grown older he has blocked this out.

My eldest son my teenager is going through a scientific doubting stage and he has blocked his gifts for now, which actually helps him to focus on his studies and being a normal teenager.

With 4 books under your belt, do you think you’ll ever run out of material to write about?

I am so passionate about writing about so many different things, I will continue to teach and write. The world is an amazing place and the spiritual world is so vast I am sure there will be many more opportunities for me to write. In fact I am currently in the middle of writing my next book.

In your experience do those who have died hold grudges?

Each person and each spirit is individual; I have found though that many spirits see things from a different perspective after they have passed, usually they don’t hold grudges because they can see the past, present and future and how it affects everyone they have left behind.

You discovered your psychic ability through the spirit guides you had as a child. These guides were thought of by others as imaginary friends. Do you think this is a common misunderstanding about imaginary friends?

Yes I meet many people who have experienced similar experiences to me or their kids have imaginary friends, after to speaking to them they often realise that this friend was actually a spirit helper or guide. 

You say that children are more open and therefore have more psychic ability. What is it that closes us off from that as we grow older?

As children grow older and begin to learn things at school they start to use their intuition less and begin to learn to use their practical skills with reading, maths etc. Also as kids grow older they usually find new friends and often they don’t want to stand out or be different from the crowd so they begin to block what they are seeing or sensing or hearing to fit in with their peers.

As adults sometimes people may be quite reluctant to think that there is a spiritual world due to their belief systems, fear of the unknown or their own scepticism. It can be daunting for people to realise that there is more to the world than just the physical world, that there is in fact a spiritual world.

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Spirit Sisters starts out in much the same vein as any good ghost story collection. It begins with the personal; a story that comes from an unforgotten, unforgettable childhood experience that can still send shivers down the spines of any one listening. Is it real or imagined? I’m not sure, but tell me more.

That’s the hook in ghost stories. Without scientific evidence they can still be believed. Everyone has seen something, heard something or experienced something that they can’t quite explain. And one tale is never enough.

Having recently read the amazing Where Spirits Dwell, I came into reading Spirit Sisters with the expectation of it being far more than a collection of ghostly tales. I was not disappointed. As in her second book, Spirit Sisters is full of warmth and compassion – both for the ghosts and the people who see them. The stories in Spirit Sisters are more personal than those in Where Spirits Dwell though. Connected to women rather than buildings, as they are, they need to be. Every woman Machado describes comes across as an individual.

I was disappointed to see many of the stories in Spirit Sisters end. The skill with which Machado writes them made me desperate to know more. The ghost tale might have ended, but what happened to the woman who lived it? The portraits of them that Machado conjures with her words are so powerful that I would have loved to spend more time on some of these stories.

The chapter on mothers losing children who they later see in spirit is the one that will stay with me for a long, long time. While the rest of Spirit Sisters can be spine-chillingly spooky; this chapter is terrifying and gut-wrenching in equal parts. As well as exploring the intangible realm of ghosts; it explores the very real terror of losing a loved one. Despite the truly chilling spectres elsewhere; this chapter is the one that will haunt me.

It is hard to put into words exactly what it was about Spirit Sisters that enchanted me. It is encompassing in its reach; not picking and choosing stories that fit the mould Machado wants for her book but taking a range of all of them. The traditionally scary tales are in there, as are the stories that stem from the love between someone alive and someone deceased, as are the tales of bonds that form between the deceased and the alive. Being introduced to each of the women who can see these phenomena and seeing how different from each other they can be is also a singular experience. Ultimately though, I think that it’s the warmth and enthusiasm in the writing that makes Spirit Sisters such a powerful book. For anyone who likes spooky tales; or has wondered what lies beyond death, this one’s for you.

 Spirit Sisters – Karina Machado

 Hachette (April 1, 2009)

 ISBN: 9780733626289