Book Review | The Spirit Engineer by A.J. West

Belfast, 1914. Since the sinking of the Titanic, spiritualism has become increasingly popular. Many families attempt to contact the spirits of their loved ones lost at sea. Engineer and skeptic William Jackson Crawford finds himself involved when he discovers his wife is seeking help from a medium to contact her deceased brother. His disbelief turns into shock when unexplained incidents happen during the seances. He soon becomes consumed with proving that ghosts are real. But is he right, or is this the work of a fraud?

The water whispers from rockpools, slaps between legs of sharp stone. I listen for voices, but there is only the sea. 

The Spirit Engineer is based on the true story of William Jackson Crawford and his relationship with medium Kathleen Goligher. It’s a tale of a man’s slow descent into obsession and how that affects the people in his life. I’ve never read a story set in the aftermath of the Titanic sinking. So I thought that angle is pretty interesting and made it more harrowing.

This book is driven by William so your enjoyment depends on how much you like him as the protagonist. I found him to be a tricky character that unfortunately treats everyone around him badly. A large part of that is due to societal expectations at the time and the way men viewed their position at home and at work. What initially comes off as humorous soon turns frustrating because he constantly pushes his views on other people. His behavior escalates into violence and even sexual abuse, which made it hard to be in his corner. The tragedies in his life help explain why he is the way he is, but they do not excuse his actions.

The book tries to balance both sides of the spiritualism argument by providing substantial evidence and enough skepticism on the other side (including from Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini!). The séances scenes are pretty chilling. They kept me guessing as to whether the spirits are real. William’s family gets their shares of moments though they faded into the background when the Golighers come into play. What felt unconvincing is why the characters kept letting William do whatever he wants with them, including using physical restraints. I wish the book had shown more of the Golighers’ motivations. But the ending is a gut punch where the reveals took me by surprise.

I appreciate how much research the author had done for the book, including meeting Crawford’s descendants. The result of the research can be found on the author’s website. If you’re looking for a disturbing, morally complex historical horror about spirits, souls, and séances, The Spirit Engineer is one to look out for.

CW: child death, physical violence, sexual abuse

I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes.

About the author: A.J. West

Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva