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The Gift.
A Sixth Sense.
Or something else….
In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history.
Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era - no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet.
Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now? As the story unfolds across two timelines - Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women - old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
Jami Denison:
When I was fifteen, my father and I went to the Edgar Cayce Museum while we were on vacation in Virginia Beach. Edgar Cayce was a self-proclaimed clairvoyant and a founder of the New Age movement, and his museum had stations where people could test their own abilities. For a lark, Dad and I played a game where he picked a card and I tried to guess which card he was holding. I didn’t receive any visions or hear a voice whispering in my ear, but I guessed the majority of the cards. Maybe the museum set it up that way as a joke. In any case, I never heard anything back from them.
I hadn’t thought about that day for years until I picked up Sarah Pekkanen’s latest novel, The Women In White. Those cards play an important role in the author’s latest thriller.
When Riley Bell takes a job as a caretaker for paraplegic elderly new widow Betty, the connection between them is immediate. It’s like Betty knows things without Riley having to say anything. Even though Riley is bemused by Betty’s life and home—both of which seem stuck in the 1960s—soon the widow trusts her enough to tell stories about her past. And what stories they were.
In 1964, Betty’s husband worked for a parapsychology researcher at Marquis University. When Betty gets all the cards right in the card test, Douglas brings her to Dr. Trimble—a decision that will change many people’s lives forever.
Trimble brings Betty together with three other women who seem to have cognitive abilities, experimenting on them and strengthening their gifts. But Trimble is a hard task master, and his demands wear them down. After the experiments ended, Betty lost track of her friends.
Now elderly Betty wants to know what happened to them. And as Riley researches the past, it becomes clear that there are still people out there who want to continue what Dr. Trimble started.
Extra-sensory perception is an intriguing topic, and Pekkanen peppers her book with quotes from real studies on the subject, grounding the narrative in reality. The 1960s sections are filled with women who have no greater purpose than serving their husbands, who smoke and drink during pregnancy because “being calm is good for the baby.” Having been taught that their only purpose is to serve men, Betty and her friends are unable to fight back when Dr. Trimble’s demands become unreasonable and dangerous. Reading how they routinely put their own needs last, even as they were being given tools to grow their abilities, was heartbreaking.
Riley, Betty, and her friends all come across as earnest, sweet women, and the reader roots for them to strengthen into their own power. Sadly, that does not happen. The present-day sections follow routine thriller plot points, with Riley dealing with her own issues as she closes in on what happened to Betty and her friends.
In today’s world, where people can bet on the Superbowl coin toss and celebrities’ wedding dates, there are myriad options an author can take when writing a thriller about ESP. I admit I was a little disappointed about the track Pekkanen took. It felt predictable rather than surprising. (On the other hand, maybe it’s just hard to surprise me. The cards, after all.)
Still, Pekkanen deserves applause for introducing an element normally found in fantasy or science fiction and dropping it into female-led suspense. I just wish she’d let her women take their abilities and run.
Melissa Amster:
I always enjoy a Sarah Pekkanen thriller and I couldn't get enough of her latest, The Women in White. It takes "psychological thriller" to a whole new level.
I will just say that I was horrified and appalled by what was happening to the women in this novel. There are a lot of twists and turns and Sarah kept me guessing the entire time. I didn't know what to expect. The story was full of mystery and intrigue. I was trying to figure out why Betty still lives a 1960s lifestyle. That aspect made me think of the movie Blast from the Past.
Silas Trimble was horrible. I hated him so much. I wanted to reach into the book and communicate to the women to get away from him as soon as possible!
One part of the novel felt a bit far fetched to me, but I definitely didn't see it coming either.
Sarah did a lot of research for this novel and it shows. I found the women's abilities to be fascinating, especially since I've had many psychic moments (enough that one of my friends calls me a witch).
You will find yourself devouring The Women in White if you like a good thriller as much as I do. It is so addictive! Some parts of the story made me think of The Book Club for Troublesome Women, even though they are totally different novels altogether. Having said that, fans of historical fiction who also enjoy thrillers will appreciate this one.
(Trigger warnings below. May contain spoilers.)
Betty (1960s): Oona Laurence
Betty (present): Sally Field
Riley: Margaret Qualley
Kathleen: Isabel May
Ivy: Sadie Laflamme-Snow
Helen: Emma Myers
Dr. Trimble: Paul Dano
Douglas: Robert Capron
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TW: loss of baby, kidnapping, sexual harassment, gambling addiction, paralysis, postpartum depression
8 comments:
Yes
I never have.
No I haven't.
No, I haven't.
No
Yes!
Not yet…
I haven't and I'm jealous of those who have!
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