A great mystery and paranormal story with characters that draw you in. Don't want to give away too many of the secrets. It was such a fast read and you'll enjoy discovering everything along with the main character, Lizzie. I couldn't put the book down. Lizzie is a gifted medium who uncovers truths others want to keep hidden. Would recommend this for young adults who want some paranormal topics without it being too scary. ( )

This MG novel has broad appeal and a very engaging story full of psychics and ghosts and Victorian technology. I cannot wait to read the next installment of the Lizzie Blaylock series. ( )

First a note on formatting: the font size was very large and needed adjusting. Also, though when the ebook is opened to the cover image on Kindle for PC, the preview image for the digital library is only the default blue image. If there is a way it can be fixed either by downloading a new copy or somehow adjusting the one I have, I would ask for someone to bring it to my attention.

Asw for the story, I found a connection with it through personal experience with the plot of mediums, particularly a spiritual conduit. With two running main plots between missing diamonds from a crazy family and a fake-psychic performance from people who actually got their hands on a girl with power for a change, it was often hard to connect the details together; it was only tied together in the last chapter. This was good in that the meat of the story was not easily predictable, but there is something uneasy about exposition after a book's climax. ( )

Lizzie Blaylock, a resident of Victorian London, was not having a good month. First, she is expelled from school for having some sort of fit that scared her whole class. She goes home to her terminally ill sister, to learn her father has lost his job. She lands a job as a maid, but that quickly ends when she has another of her fits. She arrives back home to discover that her whole family has just been thrown out of their home because the rent was due. She has still another fit while hiding out at a meeting of people trying to contact their dearly departed friends and relatives. At this pount, she is taken under the wing of a woman who proclaims that Lizzie is a Bridge (those who have crossed-over can cross back again via Lizzie), and she finds herself living with a group who provide a regular service to those wishing to contact the deceased. The ins and outs and what-just-happeneds will keep you turning the pages as Lizzie explores what she is and, also, finds out more than she wanted to know about running a Victorian-era seance for profit. How much is flim-flam and how much is honest psychic abilities? You will have to read the book yourself to find out. ( )

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers and I'm so glad that I did because I absolutely loved it! I don't give out 5 stars very often, but I did for this book! It grabbed me from the start and didn't let go. The characters were well defined and it was easy to visualize them in my mind as I read. I found the story itself gripping. It kept me reading well into the early hours of the night!

I've always been interested by the Victorian fascination with seances and the Other Side so the setting and premise of the book was right up my alley. Lizzie Blaylock is a young girl from an impoverished family where her mother has run off and her father is an irresponsible alcoholic and theif, along with a little sister sick with TB. Not a pretty picture, but one that was all too common for the lower classes of the time. Lizzie, however, is not an ordinary young girl, but one who is "the rarest of the rare"...a material medium. Souls from the Other Side can use her body as a bridge to cross through to this world for a short period of time, and they can not only appear but also speak and interact with their loved ones. This ability is at first confusing to Lizzie until she learns what she is and what is happening during such episodes.

Knowing how desperate the times were for those in need, and taking Lizzie's young age and naivety into consider, it's no wonder that she falls into situations in which she doesn't know who to trust or if good fortune that falls into her lap will be snatched away without warning. She is resourceful and fiesty, as well as intelligent and loyal. Mysteries abound and Gallagher does an amazing job creating an atmosphere of rising fear and creepiness. The characters known as Mr. and Mrs. Silver are an excellent example of the latter. They made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and I think the author could do an excellent horror novel on them alone!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It was an exciting read and I was sorry to come to the last page. I hope that there are many more additions to the Lizzie Blaylock series because I now consider myself a firm fan! :-) ( )