Although it didn’t play out like I was expecting, this 1920’s story highlighted the turbulence of tragedies just past (WWI and the Flu Epidemic) and the importance of being true to yourself and your initial gut instincts. It shed a compulsively readable light on how we fool ourselves at times and the fine line between supporting our partners desires and hobbies and letting them take over us to an unhealthy degree.

Also, this story shows that in a relationship, each person has a myriad of selves that it takes different circumstances to bring out.

At times I disliked each of the main characters and wanted to scream at them both!

The book is eerie and with every page you feel like something is waiting just beyond to creep out and startle you. But is it only your own mind?

Favorite Quote:
““You’ll break your mother’s heart, Evelyn,” he said.
“I’m sorry.” Evelyn’s lip wobbled. But what about my heart? she wanted to say. Mama and Kitty were allowed to have feelings in every direction, but nobody worried about her. Even Robert. Her job was to hold everything steady, for all of them, and they took it for granted she wasn’t going to develop emotions and start demanding her own accommodations.”

I was really hoping by the book description that I would like this book, but unfortunately that was not the case. I found the elements to be lacking something that I can not quite put my finger on. I found it hard to enjoy this and hard to get into the story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me. I thought I would because it has all the elements I love in a book, and the blurb made it sound like a novel right up my alley. Maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace for it, but I don’t think that was the problem since I’m always in the mood for a dark, gothic story. So I blame it on the pacing. The time the author spends setting up the story it’s way too long. If you are 100 pages into a book and still nothing really gripping happens (plot wise) you still, in some cases, rely on the characters. Not the case with this book. The main character, Evelyn and her doubts about his husband sudden interest in spiritualism, are so shallow that it makes it difficult to empathize with her.
I think though that the author did a great job with the historical research and the atmosphere that she created.

Good read! I did have some difficulty with the time period setting. I had to look some things up because I didn’t know what the author was referring to. That’s pretty much my only complaint. The imagery was great, good character development and story line. And the ending made me wanting more!

Thank you Netgalley and Tin House for access to this arc.

There is so much that I enjoyed about “Hazardous Spirits.” The characters are interesting, the setting and period details are wonderfully done. It’s got subtle humor. There’s a great slowly growing gothicky goodness to it. Watching Evie and Robert’s marriage strain and risk cracking due to the plot raises the tension. But then came the end. I’m not quite sure what to do with the end.

I usually don’t care for books that drop me into dark and swirling plot waters that I don’t have a clue as to how deep they are and if “here be monsters” in them. For this story, I was willing to go along for the ride to find out more. The setting is nicely laid out with enough period detail to set me in this time and place. There’s enough but not a pile on just to show how much research was done. Well done. But there’s also the feel of the time from the prewar years through to now when the country is grappling with the loss of a generation of young men and the grief that goes along with that. As one former soldier tells Evie, “It’s a land of ghosts, now. For the rest of us.”

At first Evie is embarrassed by Robert’s claims. What will the neighbors think? What will her family think? Her father might have torpedoed the family finances but they still have some social standing and he’s not thrilled with the thought of a son-in-law who talks to spirits. No, that just won’t do as the family has also had (gasp) a divorce and mother couldn’t stand any more scandal. Until Robert comes to his senses, they won’t be associating with Evie and her husband. Evie’s younger sister Kitty stings Evie with what Evie sees as (milder) disapproval. Well, at least Evie won’t have to feign interest in her niece now as Evie is not maternal at all.

As Robert delves into the world of spiritualism, Evie is at first worried about what people will think – her apple hasn’t fallen quite as far from the family tree as she might wish. Then as she sees him in action, she begins to wonder if Robert really can contact the dead. Robert is working with a child medium genius who knows things that Evie can’t fathom how Clarence would know in any other way. When Robert also manifests similar talents, Evie is on the edge of being convinced and also worried about her past coming to light from a spirit who knows what happened.

The story is more women’s fiction and self discovery. Evie’s is the only POV shown and there were times I felt for her and times I felt like shaking her. She can be self centered, glass-(more-than)-half-empty, ready to believe the worst, irritating, and delighted to latch onto the social world of Bright Young Things who are following the fad for spiritual mediums. She acutely feels the loss of the status her family once had and suffers agonies of embarrassment when she thinks Robert is going to do or say the wrong thing. Watching the idle rich be idle and silly also got up my nose a time or two.

I wasn’t sure what the final verdict would be on Robert’s “gift.” Robert seems guileless and genuine but then, wouldn’t fake spiritualists act that way? His child mentor gives Evie creepy vibes at times but he’s a child and Evie isn’t thrilled with those. I also got tired with the references to how Evie’s gastrointestinal system (53 references to her stomach and 4 to her bowels, yes I counted) behaves when she’s stressed and the pace of the middle section dragged a bit. Then came the end which left me with that feeling you get when you’re going downstairs and accidentally miss a step. Is there a sequel planned? Or are we to guess what will happen after the last sentence is spoken? I’m honestly not sure. B/C+

This is a very tense book about how otherwise clever people find themselves in circumstances that force them to consider whether or not things they know can’t be true, might possibly be true. There are so many compelling facets of interwar life explored in this book-spiritualism, of course, but also the ways the class divide did and did not disappear, women’s expanding sphere of influence, generations of wealth destroyed all at once, and the way new technology changed daily life. Evelyn’s journey from begrudging acceptance to fervent belief to disillusionment is so painful and so believable. The final scene made me gasp audibly.

It's the 1920s and Evelyn is a housewife married to a sweet man named Robert. They live a very normal life . Robert suddenly comes out to Evelyn with the news that he can communicate with the dead. Evelyn is horrified about this news. She wonders if it's real and if it is what secrets might be revealed about herself.
You see Evelyn's sister Dolores has died from the flu and she knows things Evelyn doesn't want revealed. Evelyn tries to control Robert and make him normal but in the end he tells her he is going to go on this spiritual journey with or without her .
Robert and Evelyn get hooked up with a spiritual circuit and start booking parties with aristocrats. Evelyn knows she was meant to hob nob with these people and loves the parties at first. Always in the back of her head she is wondering if it's real and will her sister reveal herself.
I liked this book and the view of what life was like after the war and the Spanish flu epidemic. This book has a bit of a gothic vibe which is nice. I do wish it had a bit more of the lingo I would have imagined was used. This book is definitely about the spiritualist movement .

Historical fiction with a gothic twist. Anbara Salam's writing is spellbinding! I was drawn to Hazardous Spirit's premise, but I wish that the book was more conclusive and tied some ends. Worth a read!

An intriguing look at the Spiritualism movement of the 1920s. Set in Edinburgh this is all about Evelyn who has a secret-a child she bore out of wedlock- from her husband Robert, Problem is, Robert has recently realized that he can speak to spirits. Will her secret remain safe? There's a fair amount of side eye social commentary about Robert's clientele and societal mores of the time, all of which adds to the atmospherics. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

The synopsis for Hazardous Spirits instantly captured my interest: ghostly spirits, mediums communicating with them, a Gothic vibe all around, set against 1920s Scotland? It sounded spooky and fascinating. And at first, this book delivered. The first half has all the vibes and strange plot that I’d anticipated, along with a dry humor and an unexpected unfolding of events. But at a certain point, the glamour wore off.

Evelyn is a frustrating main character. She’s always a bit too anxious and overly concerned with everyone’s opinions of her and her husband, Robert. His apparent ability to communicate with the dead and, moreover, his involvement with other spiritualists doesn’t sit well with Evie or her family. They’re all quite judgmental, and although Evie’s feelings on the matter fluctuate, she starts to feel tedious and like she’s not progressing.

My biggest issue with Hazardous Spirits is all the questions it builds up without offering enough answers. Evie seems to have major secrets around the death of her elder sister, Dolly, a few years prior, and she’s adamant about not communicating with her spirit. What is Evie hiding? What might Dolly’s spirit reveal? Then there’s the matter of Robert’s medium abilities: Is it true, a lie, or a symptom of madness? Even details about Evie’s past—another man, a pregnancy, details of Dolly’s life—are oddly vague. It’s like looking at a scene through a fogged up, dirty window. We get a sense for things, but nothing ever comes fully into focus.

The book’s ending leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t want to spoil anything… and with that ending I’m not sure that I could anyway. That last sentence?! Come on!

Don’t get me wrong: I actually enjoyed most of my time reading this. It has great atmosphere, and I liked getting to know about the spiritualist movement of 1920s Edinburgh. But the last third of the book lost the plot, and by the final pages, I knew there wasn’t enough time to wrap everything up. So it was thrilling setup for a rather dissatisfying end.

Hazardous Spirits is great for its vibes and subject matter, but it feels unfinished. (Or rather, its lack of a solid ending only reinforces the indecisiveness of Evie’s character.) While there is a lot I enjoyed about it, it’s ultimately a bit disappointing due to its lack of answers.

Hazardous Spirits was an interesting take on the Victorian novel and spiritualism. I liked the characters overall but didn't feel tied to them. I liked the bit of humor sprinkled throughout as well.

First and foremost, I greatly enjoyed the author's writing style. She was very descriptive, her words ornate. The plot and premise of the book snagged my interest initially. Spiritualism in the Victorian age! Plus, I love supernatural/ghosty tropes such as mediums and spirit sightings. You got me there!

Unfortunately, I do feel like this book fell flat. The characters felt quite one-dimensional to me. Our main character, Evelyn, is essentially what is a pearl-clutch. It was really disappointing as I was hoping for something more, especially because of the insight the reader has on her backstory (no spoilers)! I nearly DNF the book but saw it through so I could give a proper rating. I was a bit bored all the way through. Each character is quite static and we're supposed to feel and care for them even though the reader has barely anything to grasp onto.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me the opportunity

I received this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Although I was intrigued by the premise of this storyline, I did not find our protagonist engaging after I sat down to read this. I completely understand the difficulties that would have affected our protagonist with her husband potentially hearing the voices of spirits, but I found the pace of the story too slow and her preoccupation with elements that might influence their standing in society, to be a bit tiresome. I'm also not as much of a fan of horror or supernatural novels, so perhaps I was not the ideal audience for this story. Likely to be a good read for audiences that are looking for this type of storyline.

Judgmental, annoying people being judgmental and annoying for a few hundred pages. The repetition became tiresome very quickly.

DNFed after the first chapter. I knew pretty much immediately this was not for me, or not what I was looking for, but I did finish the chapter in order to have fuller thoughts about it.

By no means do I think this is a bad book, but it was immediately jarring to read. My expectations were way off because of the “gothic” descriptor and the cover. I thought it would have the writing style of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or Leech by Hiron Ennes. Instead it has a much lighter, sillier tone, like Jane Austen (and I do like Austen, that’s not meant as a jab). It’s just not at all what I expected or was looking for. I think the description and the cover do not set the right tone, but that’s just me!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

All vibes, no plot. Or characters. At least that's how I felt 40% of the way through, and by then you really need something to move forward.

"In 1920s Edinburgh, Scotland, Evelyn Hazard is a young, middle-class housewife living the life she's always expected - until her husband, Robert, upends everything with a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead.

The couple is pulled into the spiritualist movement - a religious society of mediums and psychics that emerged following the mass deaths of the Spanish flu and First World War - and Evelyn's carefully composed world begins to unravel. And when long-held secrets from her past threaten to come to the surface, presenting her with the prospect of losing all she holds dear, Evelyn finds herself unable to avoid the question: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman, or - most frighteningly - is he telling the truth?

Cloaked in the moody, beguiling backdrop of twentieth-century Scotland, Anbara Salam's Hazardous Spirits brings a sparkling sense of period detail and dry humor to the life of a young woman whose world is unsettled by mediums and spirits, revealing the devastating secrets that ghosts from the past can tell when given the voice to do so."

Oh, ghosts ratting out your crimes? That's fabulous!

I had high hopes for this spooky season read. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the description. I found it to be more about the inner workings of the two main character’s marriage rather than spiritualism or the occult. Had the description been worded as such I probably would have skipped this one. If pushed for a rating, I would say 3/5.

Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam puts the reader in the years just after the first World War, after the population has been battered by both the war as well as influenza. So many people have been lost, instantly, healthy and young people taken in the very prime of their lives. This, naturally, led to an uptick of Spiritualism, where the survivors were left to grapple with their grief and seek answers pertaining to the Unknowable.

Robert Hazard, an accountant who sat out the war due to his health, startles his wife Evelyn one day in late autumn by announcing that he can speak to and hear spirits. She is horrified, and seeks out a doctor, who assures her everything is fine and that if it continues, he may be going crazy, a fraud, or it could all be real.

Evelyn is deeply concerned with her husband picking up spiritualism, as she frets about what other people will say or think almost as much as she worries that her deceased sister will bring forth a message that will ruin Evelyn's life. Evelyn has to choose whether to encourage her husband or forbid him from what brings him happiness, and as the days progress, she finds herself torn between believing it nonsense and hoping that it may be true for the comfort it could offer to those who have lost loved ones.

This sort of book is right up my alley--spiritualism, historical fiction (I generally prefer 19th century, but this is close enough)--yet I didn't love it as much as I could have. I found Evelyn to be a grating character in many instances, vacillating back and forth, crying and running about. It also seemed a little hollow to me, like I was waiting on a precipice of something huge that never came. It's an enjoyable enough book, though, and would be perfect to read during October for Halloween.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hazardous Spirits is an interesting moment in time when the spiritualist movement began to take hold in Scotland thanks, in part at least, to Arthur Conan Doyle. This story is a fascinating push-pull of beliefs by the main character Evelyn who is married to a man that suddenly becomes a star in the spiritualist society, which includes no shortage of the wealthy, flamboyant, eclectic, and eccentric characters. This is juxtaposed nicely to her traditional, upper class family that has had its ups and downs.

Throughout the book Evelyn is challenged in her beliefs of what is appropriate behavior, what is the cost of living a life of excitement, and if she can continue to keep her secrets when the only person who knows them has died. While this creates a lot of tension, it doesn't necessarily create an interesting plot or driving narrative. Evelyn takes one step forward, two steps back, etc. but is in constant (and somewhat exhausting) turmoil.

While I enjoyed the time and place of this novel - and the descriptions of the wonderful fashions of the period - it was a bit of a story that went nowhere, literally leaving us on unsettled ground in the final sentence.