The Hanged Man
By P. N. Elrod
P. N. Elrod, a prolific author of vampire fiction, steps out in a new direction in The Hanged Man, the first part of a projected trilogy of novels dealing with the alt-Victorian adventures of Alexandrina Victoria Pendlebury, stalwart feminist and “Reader” in Her Majesty’s Psychic Service.
As a Reader, Alex has the ability to “sense the emotions of others and the residual of emotions they leave behind.” This is particularly useful as a forensic tool, as she can go over a crime scene and psychically reconstruct what happened.
A murder on Christmas Eve, however, sets a series of explosive and supernatural events in motion, involving Alex in the schemes of a mysterious secret society employing bands of ghostly assassins. Stuffed with unexpected and weird happenings, this is a treat of a book that both entertains and sets the hook nicely for more.
Alex on SF 