Spirits Revived

January 13, 2014
In Duncan’s amiable seventh Daisy Gumm Majesty cozy (after 2012’s Ancient Spirits), her heroine, a church choir member and medium living in 1923 Pasadena, Calif., is surprised when a séance she’s leading attracts a real ghost. Daisy, whose husband, Billy, killed himself after returning from WWI, uses spiritualism to support her mother, father, and Aunt Viola, despite knowing she has no real psychic abilities. Thus, she’s surprised when deceased attorney Eddie Hastings appears to proclaim that his death was not suicide, and that he was murdered. Daisy searches for a way to share this info with her best friend, police detective and skeptic Sam Rotondo, without revealing its source. In the meantime, while hobnobbing with her upper-crust clients, she investigates Eddie’s claim on her own. With charm, wit, and plenty of smarts, Daisy is a winning protagonist and, backed up by equally delightful supporting characters, should be in for a long and popular run.