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The possessions : a novel / Sara Flannery Murphy.
In an unnamed city, Edie works for the Elysian Society, a private service that allows grieving clients to reconnect with lost loved ones. She and her fellow workers, known as "bodies", wear the discarded belongings of the dead and swallow pills called lotuses to summon their spirits-- numbing their own minds and losing themselves in the process. Edie has been with the company for five years, an unusual record. Her success is the result of careful detachment: she seeks refuge in the lotuses' anesthetic effects and avoids personal contact with her clients. But when Edie channels Sylvia, the deceased wife of Patrick Braddock, she becomes obsessed with the glamorous couple.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780062458322 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 354 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017.
- Copyright: ©2017.
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Psychological thrillers. Psychological fiction. Suspense fiction. |
Available copies
- 6 of 6 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 0 of 0 copies available at Sechelt/Gibsons.
- 0 of 0 copies available at Gibsons Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 6 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
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- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2016 December #2
*Starred Review* Murphy's sublime debut is immersive from page one, when we meet Edie, a "body" at the Elysian Society who channels deceased loved ones thanks to a drug known as the "lotus." Edie has worked for the society for five years, enjoying the anonymity it gives her as well as insulation from the demons of her past. Then Patrick Braddock walks into her life, hoping to make contact with his wife, Sylvia, who drowned a year ago while they were on vacation. Edie is immediately taken with Patrick and becomes fixated on him and his relationship with Sylvia. Soon she finds a way to see him outside of work, and she makes a connection with the couple who joined Patrick and Sylvia on their fateful vacation. But as Edie insinuates herself into Patrick's life, she starts to see the cracks in what she assumed was his happy marriage to Sylvia, even as she becomes more consumed by her desire for him. Murphy expertly blends the dual mysteries of the circumstances surrounding Sylvia's death and Edie's own tragic past with suspense and sf-tinged mystery in a complex novel that is both unforgettable and impossible to put down. Copyright 2016 Booklist Reviews. - BookPage Reviews : BookPage Reviews 2017 February
Playing host to the other sideSara Flannery Murphy's debut novel, The Possessions, is an addictive, slow-burning mystery that fuses classic noir with the intrigue of speculative fiction. Controversial and unregulated, the industry for "bodies"âwilling hosts to spiritsâis in high demand, and Edie is one of the best. She excels at the evacuation of her body, making room for other souls in carefully metered-out sessions with her clients. But Edie's careful decorum dissolves upon the assignment of a new client, Patrick, who is desperate to spend time with his deceased wife, Sylvia.
As Edie's longing for Patrick grows, her desire to share more of her time and body with Sylvia reaches new heights. When Edie decides to investigate the supposedly volatile nature of Patrick and Sylvia's marriage and her untimely death, major secrets are uncovered.
Inspired by Victorian spiritualism, The Possessions is recommended for lovers of speculative fiction, noir or gritty mysteries. With its focus on intriguing, beautiful women and the variety of tragedies that befall them, the novel also recalls Hitchcock. Murphy ensures compulsive page-turning until the past and future of each character is unveiled, and the crescendo of that reveal is heady and satisfying.
This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Copyright 2017 BookPage Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2016 November #2
In Murphy's debut novel, people can reconnect with the dead through the Elysian Society, whose employeesâknown as "bodies"âare temporarily possessed with the help of a drug called a "lotus."Eurydice, or Edie, as she is better known, has worked as a body for five years when she meets Patrick Braddock, who wants to connect to his beautiful late wife, Sylvia. From the beginning, she finds herself strangely drawn to Patrick but also to pictures of Sylvia, and when Patrick breaks protocol and gives her many of Sylvia's possessions to use during her channeling, Edie is unableâand unwillingâto refuse. As Edie falls deeper into lust with Patrick, she can't let go of Sylvia, whose spirit seems to have taken possession of the corners of her soul and body, and she continues to investigate the mysterious circumstances that surround Sylvia's drowning. Meanwhile, a highly publicized murder turns out to be connected to the shadowy Elysian Society. The novel's power lies in a careful balance between concealment and explanation. For example, it isn't until Edie watches one of the other bodies channel a dead spirit that we as readers understand how the process works and, more important, how the bodies act when they're channeling. The psychology is endlessly fascinating, and there should have been a chance for deep exploration of grief's clarity and its selfishness. The weakness is Edie herself. She often references her plainness, the fact that her personality has a certain blankness that better allows her to channel others, but this blankness also renders the narrative voice both emotionless and self-righteous, so it can be hard to connect to and feel sympathy for the character. Imaginative and original, this is a novel that should have resonated more deeply. Copyright Kirkus 2016 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - LJ Express Reviews : LJ Express Reviews
[DEBUT] The Elysian Society is a discreet service that enables people to contact dead friends and relatives. This is not done through séances or Ouija boards, but instead employees, called bodies, take a pill that allows the dead to possess them for a set amount of time. Eurydice has been with the society for five years, using the possessions as a way to remove herself from reality for large parts of each day. When Patrick Braddock wants to reach his wife, Sylvia, whose death may not have been as clear-cut as he makes it out to be, Eurydice's detachment crumbles. Growing obsessed with the Braddocks, she begins to break the rules meant to keep her safe. At the same time, a local murder may reveal the dark side of the Elysians. This poignant tale is a study of grief and obsession told by a person who will do anything to forget while surrounded by those who refuse to move on. Verdict Murphy's imaginative debut is a haunting ghost story and a thrilling mystery that will engross readers until the final page. [See Prepub Alert, 8/26/16.]âPortia Kapraun, Delphi P.L., IN (c) Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2016 November #1
Behind the reassuringly bland facade of the Elysian Society, dramatic, distressing, and sometimes dangerous scenes play out daily as the bereaved seek to communicate with their departed loved ones, in Murphy's suspenseful supernatural-tinged debut, set on the gritty side of an unnamed U.S. city. The bridges between the living and the dead are people referred to as bodies, such as the young woman known as Eurydice (aka Edie), who after ingesting pills called lotuses can summon these spirits. The work perfectly suits emotionally guarded Edie, who apparently wants nothing more than to lose herself after a traumatic past, which only gradually emerges. But her carefully maintained shell starts to crack when she begins sessions with Patrick Braddock, an attractive lawyer, whose stunning wife, Sylvia, drowned 18 months earlier under suspicious circumstances. As Edie finds herself sexually drawn to Patrick and experiencing disturbing flashbacks, which seem to come from Sylvia, her efforts to investigate what happened that night at a lake outside the cityâand its potential connection to a recently discovered Jane Doeâland her in very real jeopardy. Those ready to buy into the author's premise will be rewarded by a beautifully rendered, haunting page-turner. Agent: Alice Whitwham, Alice Whitwham Agency. (Feb.) Copyright 2016 Publisher Weekly.
