Set between New Orleans, Manhattan, the dream state, and memory, SAINTS IN THE SHADOWS begins with Maud Strand sleepwalking from her apartment in Manhattan to the Chinatown police station in February in her bare feet and pajamas. She's had prophetic dreams since she was a child and now they've started again in Manhattan.
Maud Strand, a New Orleans to New York transplant, is mourning the loss of the her father in a car accident. Maud has a secret from that day, a secret buried so deep in her psyche that she can't even remember it, but it's running her life. She's drifting in New York when she meets Lina Sandor aka Madame Budska a physicist turned psychic-to-the-elite. Madame Budska's clients are a billionaire hedge fund manager, a political kingmaker, a TV celebrity, and a crazy Princeton professor. Is she a "real" psychic or a charlatan? Actually, she's a bit of both, and she's also very kind.
After a few months' acquaintance, Lina asks Maud to take over the Madame Budska business while Lina goes off for what she calls "the big reveal." She trains Maud to "listen until you hear", "look until you see." It's the acts of listening and watching, and the dreams she has from those experiences, that help Maud unlock her mind and remember the secret that has kept her adrift in grief.
Maud Strand, a New Orleans to New York transplant, is mourning the loss of the her father in a car accident. Maud has a secret from that day, a secret buried so deep in her psyche that she can't even remember it, but it's running her life. She's drifting in New York when she meets Lina Sandor aka Madame Budska a physicist turned psychic-to-the-elite. Madame Budska's clients are a billionaire hedge fund manager, a political kingmaker, a TV celebrity, and a crazy Princeton professor. Is she a "real" psychic or a charlatan? Actually, she's a bit of both, and she's also very kind.
After a few months' acquaintance, Lina asks Maud to take over the Madame Budska business while Lina goes off for what she calls "the big reveal." She trains Maud to "listen until you hear", "look until you see." It's the acts of listening and watching, and the dreams she has from those experiences, that help Maud unlock her mind and remember the secret that has kept her adrift in grief.
My Review:
This was a really good book. It is one of those books that you don't really know what you are getting into (especially with this cover), but once you start reading you are happy you are. I lost my dad and I could relate to Maud and her loss. I could understand her wanting to move. There are also the visions that Maud gets and how she refuses to deal with them. Then Maud meets Lina.
Lina is a great character to read about. She is kooky, and steals from her neighbors. Her clients are famous and well known, which is a bag of worms by itself. Lina is a physic and goes by Madame Budska. Her two identities mirror the differing identities of her clients. I would love to have Lina as a neighbor, and would definitely have fun.
As Maud learns the ropes of Lina's business she starts to learn about herself as well. The reader is taken on a journey of discovery and loss. They are some parts in the book that could have been written better, like the ending was not really elaborate. However this just makes me want a sequel even more. This was a fun read, and I would love to read more from this author. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was giving a copy to review from the author, however all opinions are my own.
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