Beyond Black

The story revolves around the strained relationship between two women. Alison, a warm, empathetic lady who makes a living from talking to the dead, and Colette who is her hard-headed assistant. Both characters are so well-drawn that they're likable and sympathetic despite all their obvious flaws.

This is a strange book. A mixture of satire, ghost-story, horror and comedy. The reason it works is that the two central characters are so real and compelling.

One of the great things about this novel is the way that Hilary Mantel treats the world of the medium. She gets a lot of comedy from it, but she never dismisses it entirely. Alison is part entertainer, part therapist and part artist. The art of mediumship it seems is very close to the art of the novelist. It involves imagination and empathy. But Alisons experience of the otherworld is more unsettling that she lets on to her clients and slowly her frightening "spirit-guide" and his friends close in on her until she is forced to confront certain secrets from her past.