Immersive and compelling . . . The Mesmerist will linger long after you turn the last page. NPR

Before hypnotism, there was Mesmerism. In 1894 Minneapolis, spiritualism of every stripe is all the rage, and women are dying under mysterious circumstances. When a new guest arrives at the Bethany Home for Unwed Mothers, refusing to speak, the stories of unexplained deaths seem unconnecteduntil Faiths suspicious reticence sets the house abuzz with whispers of dark magic.

Abby, the Bethany Homes treasurer, thinks the rumors swirling around Faith are nonsense, but she recognizes the danger of a good story. Abby tasks Faiths roommate, May, with tracing Faiths path to the Bethany Home. Desperate to end her year at Bethany Home engaged and on track to her happily-ever-after, May begins digging into Faiths shadowy background. But the more May learns, the more shes forced to question the dubious motives of everyone around her, and as the body count rises, May must reevaluate her future, and which lies shes willing to tell, for whom. Inspired by a true crime that rocked the nation, Caroline Woods reimagines a classic American story through the eyes of three unforgettable women.