The Spirit Engineer

Death is a beginning...

1914. Belfast is gripped with an obsession for spiritualism, but will William reveal this fascination as mere fantasy or will he be entranced by the voices beyond the veil?

Belfast, 1914. Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, high society has become obsessed with spiritualism through seances that attempt to contact the spirits of loved ones lost at sea. William is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sat around the circle something happens that places 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?

This early 20th century gothic set in Northern Ireland contains all the mystery and intrigue one might expect from a Sarah Waters novel. Deftly plotted with echoes of The Woman in Black, readers will be thrilled to discover West's chilling prose.

Based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford and famed medium Kathleen Goligher, and with a cast of characters that include Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, The Spirit Engineer conjures a haunting tale that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

About the Author

A.J. West was born in Buckinghamshire and not very comprehensively educated at a comprehensive school in Newport Pagnell. Growing up, his teacher parents read him stories by Bylton, Milne, Dahl, Lewis, Lawrence and Graham and he found a passion for old-fashioned tales that mixed fear and fun. He 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, where his fascination with William Jackson Crawford's story began.

After a characteristically strange twist in events he became a television personality, appearing on the Big Brother TV show before embarking on a new career as a PR and communications director. During this time, he has written for national newspapers and appeared on network current affairs programmes on radio and television.