Review: Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

I'd wanted to read this for a long time and am so glad that I finally got round to it. The writing is excellent, really thought-provoking. The characters are odd but interesting. Alison is a medium and clairvoyant, making her living by using her gifts. She teams up with Colette, a rather sad, organised lady who doesn't seem to know what to believe, who works as her manager/assistant. I've seen the characters described as unlikeable in other reviews, but I thought that they both earned the sympathy of the reader (they got mine, anyway). There's something very real about this book - I don't mean the ghosts, I mean the way it presents life. The ending is very telling in that respect, but I don't want to give it away so I'll say no more!