Overview

Hazardous Spirits is set in 1923 Edinburgh. Evelyn Hazard lives a quiet middle-class life until her husband Robert claims he can speak with the dead. Drawn into the post-war spiritualist movement, Evelyn must confront secrets and fears. She wonders if her husband is truth telling, mad, or a fraud.

Writing & Voice

We found Salam’s prose luminous and richly atmospheric. The voice shifts between domestic scenes and eerie spiritualist gatherings, grounding the supernatural moments in everyday realism. The language balances historical detail with emotional precision, creating an immersive sense of place.

Content & Perspective

The narrative follows Evelyn’s perspective as her world tilts between love, doubt and the uncanny. Spiritualism’s appeal and its social circles are vividly drawn, and the story explores how grief from the war and pandemic shapes beliefs and relationships.

Themes

The novel explores belief and doubt, love and deception, and the lingering effects of collective trauma. It asks how the past haunts the present, both in memory and in the desire to connect with what we have lost.

What Worked

• Evocative historical setting in post-war Edinburgh.
• Rich, gothic atmosphere that blends mystery and emotion.
• Compelling central character whose doubts anchor the strange events.

Minor Quibbles

• Pacing occasionally slows in reflective passages.
• Readers seeking straightforward resolution may find ambiguity unsettling.

Final Thoughts

Hazardous Spirits is an atmospheric, emotionally rich novel we admired for its restraint, gothic mood, and thoughtful exploration of grief, belief, and intimacy.

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5