The Spirit Engineer: Winner of the HWA Debut Crown Award A. J. West 9780715654514

'A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception, and power' DERREN BROWN

Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism, attending seances in the hope they might reach their departed loved ones.

William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting around the circle, voices come to him - seemingly from beyond the veil - placing doubt in his heart and a seed of obsession in his mind. Could the spirits truly be communicating with him or is this one of Kathleen's parlour tricks gone too far?

Based on the true story of Professor William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunted, twisted tale of power, paranoia and one ultimate, inescapable truth...

A. J. West was born in Buckinghamshire and went on to study English Literature at university in Preston, Lancashire before graduating to become a radio and television producer, news presenter and journalist at the BBC in London and Northern Ireland. During this time, he wrote for national newspapers and appeared on network current affairs programmes on radio and television. To find out more about the author visit: www.ajwestauthor.com

'A fiendishly clever tale of ambition, deception, and power' Derren Brown

'Is Goligher a fraud? Is Crawford himself a reliable narrator?... West answers these questions with ingenuity and invention' The Sunday Times

'I adored this book. Haunting, witty and deeply moving, The Spirit Engineer is surely set to become a gothic classic. I was instantly drawn into the mystery and swept along by the shocking twists and turns. A beautifully written novel' Jodie Whittaker

'A.J. West has history at his fingertips and writes brilliantly - so clever it makes your head spin! The Spirit Engineer is a work of true invention and drama that moves at a cracking pace from the very first page and keeps you guessing. A compelling and daring book' Jeremy Vine

'Such a deliciously creepy, unsettling read... a melancholic gothic triumph. Gave me all the same feelings as one of my most favourite books ever, Frankenstein' Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne

'Based on an absolutely astonishing true story, it kept me guessing right till the end' Frances Quinn, author of The Smallest Man

'Set in a historical moment where science and spiritualism meet, The Spirit Engineer is an ingeniously plotted debut novel' Sarah Burton, author of The Strange Adventures of H

'With a skilful misdirection that any Edwardian spirit medium would be proud to demonstrate, A.J. West soon turns the screw in this fascinating novel... Obsession builds until the stunning climax of the final shocking seance and its awful repercussions. Was William rights to be convinced? Did he prove ghosts exist?' Essie Fox, bestselling author of The Fascination

'It's clever, it's quirky, highly entertaining, but carries a chill as cold as the grave' Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily

'A marvellous and menacing gothic chiller, filled with secrets and soaked in atmosphere, in which the ghouls and fiends are not of the other world, but this one...' Neil Blackmore, author of The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle

'Dark, powerful and twisting - The Spirit Engineer will leave you wondering what is real and what is illusion' W. C. Ryan, author of A House of Ghosts

'A delight of a debut, an atmospheric and entirely gripping chiller that calls to mind the best of M.R. James and E.F. Benson, without in any way paling in comparison' Billy O'Callaghan, author of Life Sentences

'Gripping from the outset - A.J West immerses readers in the spiritualism of 1914 Belfast with great skill. A wonderful debut' Sam Hurcom, author of Letters from the Dead

'A spooky tale of frustrated ambition, hidden loyalties, and desperation, told with wit, charm and devastating twists. A gothic novel that also manages to make you laugh, even if you shouldn't' Jonathan Harvey, playwright

'A gripping, gothic story anchored in the political and spiritual chaos of Edwardian Belfast. Part horror, part history, The Spirit Engineer is a chilling and thought-provoking tale of exploitation, faith, deception, fraud, seances, hubris, and prejudice... accomplished and page-turning. Fans of Penny Dreadful and The Nevers will love it' Gareth Russell, historian and author of The Ship of Dreams