Deadly Spirits

Medium''s assistant - and reluctant sleuth - Maddie Pastore is shocked when her long-lost sister is accused of murder, in this twisty, atmospheric mystery set in 1920s Chicago.

Summer, 1924. Young widow Maddie Pastore has been working for fraudulent spiritual medium Madame Carlotta for nearly a year - if ''work'' you could call it. Investigating Carlotta''s clients, and attending seances as her shill, keeps Maddie and her young son Tommy fed and clothed, and she''s grown to love the kind, well-meaning spiritualist like family.

Still, Maddie - estranged from her abusive parents for over a decade - can''t help but wonder what fates befell her brothers and sisters. So when she lucks into two free tickets to a glamorous Chicago speakeasy and recognizes the star performer as her pretty little sister Sophie, she''s beyond delighted.

But before Maddie can meet with Sophie again, the telephone rings. It''s Sophie''s husband, calling in a panic to tell her that his wife is locked in the Cook County jail, charged with first-degree murder . . .

Enter a dark and deadly world of seances and speakeasies, populated by fake mediums, sultry singers and dangerous mobsters! An ideal pick for readers who enjoy glitzy Jazz Age mysteries with feisty female sleuths.