Secrets of the Monarch

Allison DuBois's unique work as a medium--someone who can communicate with the dead--has been popularized by the hit TV show "Medium." Yes, there's a real woman behind the show, and DuBois's third book focuses on examining death so we can better understand life. While DuBois's "ghost stories" are interesting, especially when she describes collaborating with police to catch two Arizona serial killers, the attempt to turn them into a personal growth narrative comes off as forced. Narrator Renée Raudman is believable as DuBois, and her sweet, feminine voice matches DuBois's sense of optimism. But the timbre of Raudman's voice coupled with DuBois's cliché-ridden advice makes this work sound more like a Hallmark card than a meaningful guidebook. J.T. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

September 3, 2007
In her new book, author and spiritual medium DuBois (who inspired the NBC television series Medium) looks to those who have passed-whom DuBois can sense, contact and communicate with-for lessons on how to live, following the example of monarch butterflies who take "several generations... to secure the survival of their future families." Using personal stories of family and work-speeches, book tours, consulting and meeting one-on-one with people and their dead relations-DuBois attempts to demonstrate the very real power that the dead hold over the living, and vice-versa. Unfortunately, for every fascinating story or innovative idea-assisting on a serial murder case, "living two or three lifetimes in one"-there's any number of pointless tales ("For example, I appeared on a game show called 1 vs 100 on NBC..."), stale observation ("taking risks is what legends are made of") and hoary cliches ("Don't spin your wheels," "remember what the road to hell is paved with"). The conversational style is easy to read but employs lots of cute rhetorical florishes; though it will probably please DuBois devotees, and provides some sound material for those interested in the life of a professional ghost whisperer, anyone else will find this meandering memoir less than inspiring.