Sally Emerson’s compelling novel takes the reader into a dark labyrinth of physical danger and spiritual terror.

Jennifer Hamilton is alone again – alone in the big house she and her husband bought together, alone after six years of marriage. Overwhelmed and appalled by her reaction to her husband’s desertion she turns to a spiritualist who seems ready to listen. But as she is drawn out of her painful reality into the disturbing fringes of the occult, Jennifer starts to wonder if she has made a big mistake…

This is the last of six titles re-issued by Quadrant in 2021 to bring Sally Emerson’s gripping novels to a new generation.

My Review

Originally written in 1983, Listeners doesn’t feel particularly dated. However, Jennifer’s husband Martin’s expectations do. After six years of marriage, they have drifted apart, one of the reasons being that she cares too much about herself and her career, and not enough about looking after his needs. I found him boring, selfish and pompous and I cannot understand why she is so upset. I’d be glad to be rid of him.

Jennifer gets to keep the house, which is far too big for her, but she could sell up and buy a smart penthouse flat with the money. However, at the moment she is so devastated that she sinks into oblivion, unable to pull herself out of the black hole she has fallen into.

So she goes to visit her ‘friend’ the spiritualist Mrs Maugham, a strange character if there ever was one. Jennifer is seeking spiritual guidance, but is she being drawn into something far more dangerous? Is her very life under threat? Because Mrs Maugham and her brother Stephen, together with clairvoyant Lily and hospital worker Mike have some very strange views about passing over to the ‘other side.’

In the meantime, Jennifer’s mother Sarah, who left her father Edward many years previously, has returned, suffering from cancer. She’s an interesting character and Edward still loves her in spite of everything.

I much preferred the second half to the first when the author really upped the pace and Jennifer has pulled herself together and is trying to discover what’s going on

I think it might have been a good idea to make it clear that this is set in the eighties, or bring it up to date with laptops and mobile phones. At no time could I pinpoint when it is set.

About the Author

Sally Emerson is the award-winning author of novels including Heat, Separation and Second Sight and an anthology of poetry and prose. She lives in London. Her website is  www.sallyemerson.com.