The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller

by Lucy Banks

Historical Fiction , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 17 Sep 2019

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.

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Historical Fiction , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 17 Sep 2019

Talking about this book? Be sure to tag it using #TheHangedMan #NetGalley

Description

London, 2017. A long-dead man—nameless, all but formless, not quite here but unable to move on—fights his way across time back to who he was. What happened to him? And what happened to the love of his life? His memories retreat like the tide, tantalizingly close but always receding.

Trapped in a foreign world of electricity and isolation, this nameless ghost is harassed in the right direction by a fellow spirit, his sole companion in the realm of the living—a circus fortune teller tethered to him by a tragic history of her own. In an atmospheric, meditative form that gradually unfolds across the preceding centuries, The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller unveils a layered and poignant mystery of family, lost love, and generational trauma. With insight and compassion, Lucy Banks gently but deftly probes the boundaries of memory, identity, and what it means to be human.

A melancholy meditation on love, grief, and mortality in the tradition of Shirley Jackson, The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller is a testament to the longing that comes over us in our lonely moments, when we shiver and feel the presence of someone near us in the dark.

A Note From the Publisher

Lucy Banks is the author of the Dr Ribero’s Agency of the Supernatural series, a professional copywriter, and co-host of review site The Book Scoop. She grew up in a haunted house, so she is drawn naturally to the strange, the curious, and the mysterious. She has a deep love for the classics that she fostered in younger generations by teaching English Lit to teens. She posts about writing craft and shares ghost stories from around Britain on her blog at lucy-banks.co.uk.

Advance Praise

"Banks’s debut marks the start of a promising urban fantasy series, something like Ghostbusters with a British accent." - Publisher's Weekly, The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost

"A thoroughly engaging read for anyone, whether new to the series or not." - Booklist, The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger

"Banks’s debut marks the start of a promising urban fantasy series, something like Ghostbusters with a British accent." - Publisher's Weekly, The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost

"A thoroughly engaging...

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781948705547
PRICE	$24.99 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 24 members

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Featured Reviews

Shanaya S, Reviewer

My Recommendation

This book was very good. It showed the effect of memory  and what it can do to you. It had several different aspects that kept my attention. I truly enjoyed reading it. Thanks for the chance to get to read it early.

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Brian J, Reviewer

My Recommendation

A fascinating yet horrifying concept of life after death. The spirit of a long-dead man wanders the ether in search of a wife he left behind after an early end. Slowly but inevitably he loses memories of a short life as he travels back from 2017 to the time of his death in the late 19th. century. Along the journey he encounters people he knew during his life although he struggles with the recollections.

From the outset this plot is fresh and engaging and although I would sincerely hope that it would never come to pass (in my case anyway, for there is a lot of torment with his soul) the theme is in a way, mesmerising. 
Just imagine.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for this ARC

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Krimsin K, Reviewer

My Recommendation

I am really not a fan of time jumping books, but in this instance it lent itself to weaving a delicate tapestry that becomes the heart of this story.  It looks you in and there are flashes throughout the book of the lives and deaths of the characters. It is a beautifully written, and once you realize the whole of the tale, heartbreaking. I actually had to revisit a couple chapters I didn't think too deeply on the first time through. It's packed with emotion and really captures the periods and attitudes of each.

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Monica S, Reviewer

My Recommendation

As soon as I started reading this I was completely intrigued by seeing through the ghosts eyes. I’ve read many books with ghosts in them and this was definitely a first. It was cool being transported through time with the main character but at the same time it was hard to get invested in the characters he was visiting since you didn’t spend much time with each one. Overall I enjoyed reading it and would like to check out more or Lucy’s work. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

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