‘This thing has no defined shape. Whatever energy exists within it, it cannot settle on a shape. The strands of darkness curl out and then wrap back inwards. The bulk of the shadow becomes concave, then bulbous, the height building in on itself but lacking any skeletal structure to wrap itself around. There are no eyes, no clearly defined head shape. It is creating itself from darkness, like a swirl of ebony ink dropped into a vat of putrid water, spreading silently….’
Becky Moran has built a career claiming to talk to the dead. A successful clairvoyant medium, a Cambridge graduate with her own radio show ‘Medium Wave’ and a team dedicated to crafting the celebrity myth – because Becky Moran is a fake. Until, one night, something supernatural, inexplicable, breaks through live on air as she is broadcasting. Becky Moran discovers the paranormal is real, the dead can indeed speak and she is being pursued relentlessly towards a battle for her very survival.
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Medium Wave by Rose Zolock today. Many thanks to the author, publishers and Rachel Gilbey from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me and for my ecopy of the novel.
Despite being a confirmed sceptic I do enjoy reading paranormal fiction so was immediately drawn to Medium Wave and I wasn't disappointed. This is an engaging story with an intriguing plot which switches effortlessly between light and dark.
Becky Moran is a fake medium and as such would ordinarily be the villain of the piece but her empathetic nature means she retains her likeability even though she has spent years fooling the gullible or desperate. Her life takes a dramatic turn, however, when she touches a four hundred year old crystal which once belonged to Dr John Dee, Royal Astronomer to Elizabeth the First. Suddenly Becky really can see dead people - most just want her to pass messages on but there are also malevolent spirits whose simple phrase, "We are here", is utterly terrifying. Becky now has a gift which means she can bring comfort and hope to people - but she becomes increasingly aware that she may face a battle for her very soul...
Much of the book is concerned with Becky's efforts to adjust to her new awareness of the spirit world, and the reaction of her radio station colleagues to her revelations. As co-conspirators to her fakery, some are sceptical of her new-found abilities but others are convinced when she tells them things she couldn't possibly have known. This is just the first book in the series and I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the characters are developed in later books. I felt this was very much a plot driven novel and perhaps characters were described a little superficially - we read often that Becky wears her trademark Louboutins; Hugh drinks too much vodka; Aiden sports bow ties and a prodigious stomach and Sarah wears second-hand mismatched clothes (and clearly goes to the wrong shops, none of the used clothes I've bought have ever smelled of moth balls or mould!) - but don't necessarily learn what actually drives them. I'm sure there is more to come in later books though and it'll be fascinating to see beyond their physical traits and habits and to witness how the interactions between the team who work at Voice of Britain proceed following the shocking developments in Medium Wave.
Although the narrative is mostly quite light with a good mix of the humorous and poignant, there is an overlying sense of foreboding about the plot, and towards the end the tension increases dramatically as Medium Wave becomes a much more chilling book. I was genuinely surprised by the startling events that occur later in the novel and the little twist at the end means I'm intrigued to find out what will happen next. Medium Wave is a thoroughly enjoyable book which is a satisfying tale in its own right but also sets the scene well for further novels in the series and I look forward to even more paranormal excitement in the future.
Medium Wave is published by Caffeine Nights and can be purchased here. Don't miss the other stops on the tour, details are below.
About the Author
Her Irish grandmother first told Rose about the Banshee when she was just a small child. How the wailing sound of the spirit of the dead and dying could be heard when someone was about to pass.
It was family folklore that the women in the family had ‘the touch’, the ability to see spirits and other dimensions. Rose listened and grew up fascinated by those who claimed to have supernatural or psychic abilities.
Rose does not claim to have those powers. Take her to Venice in February when the mist swirls over the canals, walk by her side along the darkened streets of Greenwich Village in New York City in high summer, listening to a ghost walk tour guide tell the stories of death, murder and the unexplained – Rose would say those stories and our belief in them gives her a power to see into the shadows within our imagination.
As a journalist, Rose takes every opportunity to explore and investigate strange stories, myth and folklore. Living in rural Yorkshire, with a rich library of ghost stories and literary tradition, Rose also has a sceptical and forensic insight into those who peddle the stories which feed our imagination but of which we have yet found no proof. She has listened to the debunkers who argue against those believers who are convinced that sand the dark side exist.
Rose’s mind is open. Is yours?
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