The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller

by Lucy Banks

A dead man—nameless, all but formless, not quite here but unable to move on—fights his way back to who he was. What happened to him? And what happened to the love of his life? His memories retreat like the tide, tantalizingly close but always receding.

This anonymous ghost is harassed in the right direction by a fellow spirit, one of the few who remain—a circus fortune teller tethered to him by a tragic history of her own.

A haunting novel of the supernatural, The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller is a testament to the longing that comes over us in our lonely moments, when we shiver and feel the presence of someone near us in the dark.

Genres: Fiction, Paranormal, Ghosts

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2019

About the author

Lucy Banks grew up in provincial Hertfordshire, before fleeing to the wilds of Devon, where she now lives with her husband and two boys. As a child, she spent a disproportionate amount of time lurking in libraries, and prowling car-boot sales to feed both her hunger for books and her book collection. It's fair to say that she's bypassed being a bookworm, and become a book-python instead. Today, most of the available space in her house is stuffed to the brim with literature, which is just the way she likes it.

Regular forays into fictional realms at a young age created a desire for more, and she soon began to create alternate realities through writing. After teaching English Literature to teens, she set up her own copywriting company and turned her love for the written word into a full-time career. However, the desire to create never went away, so Lucy turned her insomnia into a useful tool--penning her novels in the wee small hours of the night and the stolen moments of the day.

Reviews

[Gail C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on the information provided in the book’s description, I was expecting more of a mystery type novel. Instead, this is closer to being a ghost story, calling up images of a shadowy afterlife where there is thought, but nothing substantial that can be touched.

As the book opens, the narrative is told from the ghost’s point of view, describing a lonely, depressing existence where he attaches himself to a living human being, unsure of what is drawing him to the individual. As the book progresses, it becomes somewhat of a pattern that the ghost is drawn to sad and troubled individual as he follows first one and then another across the century.

The ghost’s companion for most of his ghostly wanderings is a long-dead fortune teller. She points out to him that he is getting more and more forgetful and it is important that he remember his past. Initially, the reader does not know what has drawn these two people together, but it is easy to fall into the expectation that this is part of the mystery that will be solved through the story.

Alternately, the book has chapters of a family living in the late 1800’s. Again, there is no explanation as to the relationship of this live family to the ghost, however, I arrived at the correct conclusion within the first few paragraphs of the chapter where this family is introduced. The ghost’s story begins in 2017, and travels backwards in time while the family’s story begins in 1877, and travels forward.

Eventually, the stories meet closer in time, and the reveal of how each of the central characters relate to one another is provided if the reader hasn’t already figured it out. The reader who will enjoy this reveal the most is the one who is invested in who these people are and what brought them to this place and time.

Overall, the novel was fairly depressing to me. There was little relief from the lonely existence of the ghost, especially when the reader comes to understand that he is bound to this existence for eternity. There are other ghosts who appear briefly and move on, but that is not to be his fate, nor does he have any understanding as to why he is sentenced to this existence for all of time. The only relief from his loneliness is through the fortune teller’s companionship as she is also fated to this ghostly existence on earth.

This book may appeal to readers who enjoy ghost stories, particularly ones that are laden with a misty-feeling atmosphere. Because I knew almost immediately who the various characters were and how they related to one another, there was basically no mystery within the book for me, and I was disappointed at the way the book ended. My thanks to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced digital read copy of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Kajree Gautom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was the blurb that intrigued me the most about this book, apart from the simple and gorgeous cover. And the story definitely did not disappoint.

The book starts out slow and steady, and at first it did confuse me a lot. But what I enjoyed right from the first page was the lyrical writing and the beautiful imagery. Reading from the POV of dead persons was just added spice!!!

I loved the mystery aura that the author created in the story, with the characters. We don't directly know the MCs names but that's the interesting part. At first, I thought everything was just a culmination of episodes but it is only later in the story that things start to make sense.

The whole story is clever and beautiful, and I agree that it is not everyone's cup of tea. While it is slow, the book also tend to go deeper into the questions of love and death and afterlife, and what we would do for the ones we love. The ending was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with the e-arc of this book. All views expressed are fully mine.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love macabre ghost stories. And this definitely isn’t one of them. Even though the main character is a ghost for most of the story, it’s really about his journey to finding a way to enjoy his existence.

It wasn’t creepy. It wasn’t at all macabre. It was a little slow and I didn’t care for most of the characters. Even though it wasn’t for me, I gave it 3 stars because it was a thoughtful book that I think some people will appreciate.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[BookNerdsBrainDump · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hanged Man And The Fortune Teller, by Lucy Banks

Short Take: Existence is futile.

(*Note: I received an advance copy of this book for review.*)

It occurs to me that a lot of my reading lately could be summed up with the word “overheated”. I’ve been reading a lot of thrillers in which the stakes are high, the romance is steamy, and the main character’s life is on the line at all times.

So I wasn’t really sure how to feel at first about Lucy Banks’ The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller, because, for starters, the protagonist is already dead. We first meet The Ghost (his name is never given) in an internet cafe in 2017, as he watches a tortured young man compose email after email, trying to win back the love of his life. The Ghost doesn’t really understand the technology, but he remembers love, and it’s through his no-longer-existing eyes that we experience relationships through the last 140 years - good, bad, and in some cases, very ugly.

He’s accompanied by another spirit, the enigmatic fortune teller Agnes. She remembers everything of life, while The Ghost remembers nothing - not his name or hers, not his wife or family, and nothing of his death.

Hanged Man is narrated entirely by The Ghost, but in two different timelines. We get to see his life in the last year or so leading up to his death, interspersed with his experiences from the present day backwards, as he finds himself tethered to various living people. He has no idea why or how he becomes attached to them, and as more time passes from his own death, he remembers less and less.

Slow-moving but written in a captivatingly poetic style, the author has pulled off one of the more fantastic tricks I’ve seen recently: a main character/narrator defined by an almost complete lack of traits. The Ghost can feel discomfort or sadness when in close proximity to the living who are feeling those things, but he has no emotions on his own behalf, no memories from which to draw reactions, only a vague sense of the person he was, a faint idea that he had a wife who he would like to find.

And after reading so many great thrillers populated by desperate, passionate characters, there is something soothing about the ghost’s detachment - a metaphysical cool hand on my sweaty little nerd-brow.

The only less-great part was a scene where our Ghost observes a famous historical event. Sure, the timeline works, and when reading a story whose narrator died 140 years ago, a certain suspension of disbelief is necessary, but Hanged Man really works best when it’s focused on the small private moments that make up a life (or an afterlife). Seeing, for example, the effect of WWII bombings on a family works, but just watching something more tabloid-y, not as much.

Finally, I’ve never seen the Thames, but I hope it’s a lot cleaner now, because if not, I’m sorry, London. I live in the Rust Belt which has its own form of funk, but that stuff going on over there was straight nasty.

The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and a cup of tea, of course)

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of an odd little story. I liked it, it is well written and has a beginning a middle and an end...but not very engaging. The end was anticlimactic and I already knew all that was "revealed."

[Jessica Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still torn on this one, to be honest. I loved quite a lot of the descriptors, the pacing, the language. The author is really gifted, but I also became so frustrated with the conclusion. I'm not sure what it was exactly, but I felt like I was wrapped up in the author's talent with words but couldn't keep my focus on the plot. Maybe I wanted more of a mystery since that's what this was categorized as, whereas to me, it read more literary. I just felt let down at the ending. Still, I can't deny the author is an extremely talented wordsmith.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely liked the storytelling format. I liked how the book started from both ends of the story and worked its way forward (and backward). It gave the reader a chance to piece the story of this man's life together on their own, and I did find myself flipping back to different chapters to figure things out. The book keeps revealing things until the very end-- and that's probably my favorite part.

There were some things I didn't like, though, and the biggest criticism I have about this book is how it handles some of the characters.

There is a woman, Elizabeth, that the main characters do not think very highly of-- but the level of their dislike isn't really justified. They keep calling her an awful woman, but she never proved herself to be. Yes, she was rude and made bad choices in life, but she was never mean or spiteful towards anyone else. She just pushed everyone else away while she self-destructed. If anything, she didn't think very highly of herself and it ultimately led to her end.

Also, I wanted to know more about Frank. According to Elizabeth he got involved in something darker, but she never said what. I kept waiting for this to come back around to the 'Frank' that Bernadette dated in the 60's, who just happened to have the same appearance and personality as the Frank from the main character's life. I spent too much of the book waiting for some sort of supernatural element to show up and explain Frank's extended life span, since it was such a great lead-up and all the other hints that had been dropped like that were picked up and worked in-- but that one never was.

We never know what Frank did that finally got him money, or even how he died. The ghost never visited him after death, either. He just fades away from existence, even though the ghost doggedly follows every other member of its family through hundreds of years and many generations. It doesn't make sense to me that he wouldn't even check in on Fred every once in a while.

Other than these things, I really did like the story. I liked digging into the ghost's past with the fortune teller, and how everyone was interconnected. I liked seeing what the ghost thought of the present, and reading about his memories of the past. I loved the characters, and the love story was very sweet.

I will definitely be reading more of this author's books!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an original and absorbing read. Lucy Banks has pulled off a difficult feat in portraying the experience of a nameless ghost whose memories are at first weakening, then gradually coming back into focus with the help of another ghost, The Fortune Teller. The sense of being neither dead nor alive, floating unseen through the lives of still living loved ones and other characters who bring with them something more sinister and unwelcome is so well portrayed that I found myself believing that such a form of ghostly being could really exist.

The book is part love story, part gripping mystery, part exploration of grief and its effects. The plot ranges over different time periods and Banks manages the tricky task of a complex structure to bring us a multi-layered work of fiction. Suspense builds as we grow to wonder about the ghost's past and the events leading up to his death. The ghost's family, especially his brothers and wife are well drawn characters, who continue to rouse our curiosity as he watches them after his death. The relationship between him and the Fortune Teller also moves and develops despite their unembodied existences.

Of additional interest is the detail that marks out the different time periods. Most of the story is set in London during Victorian times. But as the ghost's memories begin to return, we move from present day 2017 back and forward to 1877 via the era of the Suffragettes, post First World War, during the Second World War and encompass a visit to 1969. The many changes are seen through the ghost's perspective as he witnesses, for instance, steam overtaken by electricity and the damage to the city's houses during the war.

The ending is satisfying without being too neatly wrapped up. Who knew the life of a ghost could be so involved?

[Annette Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ghost story with a difference, The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller by Lucy Banks may start slowly but it builds to an emotional finale. The book follows the story of a nameless dead man as he travels through time in an attempt to remember who he was , what happened to him and what happened to the woman he loved? As he tries to uncover his past, he is patiently guided by another spirit, Agnes, a young fortune teller whose fate is tragically tied to his.
Throughout the book, the ghost is drawn to various tragic or troubled people, but cannot explain why. Meanwhile the reader gradually learns the story of his life and death in a series of chapters set during the late 1800's which follows the story of one family. While it is not initially obvious that this is the ghost's story, or which of the living characters he is, all is eventually revealed. These chapters form the spine of the story and give an anchor point for the chapters where the wandering ghost is trying to figure out his past. The non linear timeline took a little getting used to, but soon makes sense. The writing is beautifully descriptive and atmospheric.
As I mentioned, this is a sombre, slow burn of a book, one where it is definitely about the journey rather than the destination , and as such may not be to every reader's taste but I enjoyed it.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit different from Banks' other works I've read. It still delves into the paranormal, but this is a bit more on the historical fiction side. This follows a ghost throughout his afterlife as he is trying to remember what happened to him and he is looking for his wife. Surely their love would tether her to this world as it has him, right? He is accompanied by Agnes, the ghost of a women he met during his life, and she tries to remind him of his life and why he keeps visiting the people and places he does.

This book jumps around from our main characters current time as a ghost, then back in time to when he was alive, and many years in between when he was alive and after his death. The timeline is not linear and the story is slowly told through the time jumps. We learn why the ghost is drawn to the people he is drawn to, what happens to his family, and how he died. These things unfold overtime as you jump around from the 1870's, 2017, and all over the 1900's.

This is a story of love, loss, family, and the human condition. Unlike Bank's other books I've read this stayed pretty serious throughout. The ghost is drawn to people with sad, painful energy and the feel of the book is fairly somber. Banks tells a good story, but I prefer linear timelines, and I prefer her other works that have a bit of comic relief. This was just a bit too sad for my liking.

[Lael Braday · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ghost is in a purgatorial state, believing that if he can just remember, he can move on. The fortune teller, his companion in spirit—literally—assists him in filling in his memory. As the story progresses forward and backward throughout his life, Dear Reader meets the ghost’s family, connections that come and go in his mind, bringing emotions forth that yet again obscure memories. Reference to the ghost as the hanged man portends his metaphysical status, and the conclusion is satisfying in its complete lack of resolution potential, possibly the best ending in fiction. It’s a beautiful thing when an author leads the way to the only inevitable conclusion through a pathway that could only have happened that way, maintaining the integrity of the characters’ personalities. Banks at last evokes compassion for a man who had few redeeming qualities in life, an impressive feat. I received this excellent story of beautiful writing from the publisher Amberjack Publishing through NetGalley.

[Shandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of a strange story, and I'm not quite sure how to rate it. Lucy Banks definitely has a great way with words, and mostly kept my interest. Every now and again, though, it would drag a bit. The puzzle of figuring out what happened to the unnamed protagonist and his family was intriguing, and also the question of how the fortune teller was involved. Sometimes the moving back and forth in time was a little frustrating, though, as I wanted to keep going with the part of the story that just ended! :)

I think altogether, I give this book a solid 3.5 stars, and parts of it were definitely 4 stars. If you like books that take time to ponder philosophical questions of existence, and wend their way through a mystery perhaps a bit slower than many books do these days, this is the ghost story for you! I enjoy Lucy Banks' paranormal mystery series a lot, too.

[Anya Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read other offerings from Lucy banks before, this was a change from the norm. An interesting tale that follows the progression of a ghost trying to remember the woman he loves but also follows him through time in his journey. It was much less kitschy and gimmicky than her previous works which I appreciated however it wasn’t quite as catchy either. If you’re looking for something with time travel, think about checking it out!

This ebook was provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Annarella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Doctor Ribero Agency and had high expectations for this book even if I tried to keep an open mind.
Unfortunately I think that some of the traits that I appreciated in the other books were missing and, even if I found the book well written and the character development interesting, I couldn't connect to this book and it failed to keep my interest.
I will surely keep on reading Lucy Bank's books but this one isn't my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As soon as I started reading this I was completely intrigued by seeing through the ghosts eyes. I’ve read many books with ghosts in them and this was definitely a first. It was cool being transported through time with the main character but at the same time it was hard to get invested in the characters he was visiting since you didn’t spend much time with each one. Overall I enjoyed reading it and would like to check out more or Lucy’s work. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Jill Elizabeth]

I enjoy Lucy Banks' Ribero agency books, although I must confess that I found the last one nowhere near as much to my taste as the first two. I was looking forward to this one, because it sounded so different - unfortunately, the difference played out in a very slow and rather tedious way for me and I simply could not find my way into the story... Everything felt too vague and undefined and the characters just never drew me in.

[Alex Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucy Banks reveals the versatility of her writing with this beautiful, very original, slow burner. This book differs from her previous work as it is more lyrical and thoughtful than the humour and action of the Dr Ribero series. Personally I really enjoyed the change of pace, and the structure of the story was interesting and different. As ever, Banks's characters are superbly brought to life (and death!). One to curl up by the fire with on a cold winter's day.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant ghostly read. I was totally captivated in this other atmospheric world. Events unfold slowly and makes you think of what may be. Such was the beautiful descriptions I could really visualise where it all happened and thoughts have stayed with me. For someone who’s looking for something a bit different!

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book. The Hanged Man and The Fortune Teller is the first book I have read from this author.

London, 2017. A long-dead man—nameless, all but formless, not quite here but unable to move on—fights his way across time back to who he was. What happened to him? And what happened to the love of his life? His memories retreat like the tide, tantalizingly close but always receding.

[Ruth Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read Lucy Banks before and this was different to her usual books. I found it a little slow and I found the characters hard to feel involved with. It just wasn’t for me, but I like the author’s other work much better.

[Amanda]

Generally speaking, I'm a big Lucy Banks fan. This one just wasn't for me. Sorry, Lucy!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

[chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful concept, and a fascinating examination of forgetting. It just never quite grabbed me at the sentence level.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hanged Man and the Fortune Teller focuses on a ghost, existing through time, as he loses and subsequently tries to regain his memories.

My first thoughts on this concept is that it is horrifying. If I had to continually exist I would prefer to do that with my memories intact instead of not knowing who I was or how I got where I was. As I got further into the story I started to like the narrative structure even more. In the beginning I was confused with the time skips but about halfway through the book I realized that the author was trying to connect the ghost's life with the beginning of his afterlife. So despite my confusion, that setup worked well for the story Lucy Banks is trying to tell.

As for characters, I wasn't super enthralled with any of them, but I did enjoy the Fortune Teller and her story. I really didn't see her backstory coming!

[Beej Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating yet horrifying concept of life after death. The spirit of a long-dead man wanders the ether in search of a wife he left behind after an early end. Slowly but inevitably he loses memories of a short life as he travels back from 2017 to the time of his death in the late 19th. century. Along the journey he encounters people he knew during his life although he struggles with the recollections.

From the outset this plot is fresh and engaging and although I would sincerely hope that it would never come to pass (in my case anyway, for there is a lot of torment with his soul) the theme is in a way, mesmerising.
Just imagine.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for this ARC

[Queen of Kings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really not a fan of time jumping books, but in this instance it lent itself to weaving a delicate tapestry that becomes the heart of this story. It looks you in and there are flashes throughout the book of the lives and deaths of the characters. It is a beautifully written, and once you realize the whole of the tale, heartbreaking. I actually had to revisit a couple chapters I didn't think too deeply on the first time through. It's packed with emotion and really captures the periods and attitudes of each.