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Rob is a professional skeptic. He makes a living debunking psychics, channelers, mediums and other frauds. One day, his employee, Kildy Ross, urges him to go see Auriaura Keller, who channels a spirit named "Isus", but she won't tell him what's so different about this woman. They go, and, what a surprise! In the midst of the usual New Age b.s. from this so-called spirit, a second voice interrupts, calling the proceedings "hokum" and Keller a "snakecharming preacher". What the heck is going on?

As they attended in their own names, and being known in their profession, Keller appears at the office and blames Rob for what has happened. In the midst of her ranting, she again begins to talk about "quacks and crooks". But it's her reference to a trial in Dayton, and "boobus Americanus" that causes Rob to realize she's spouting H.L. Mencken. Why would she fake channeling the skeptic's skeptic? And is Kildy in on it? Is she "a beautiful, calculating woman who seduces the hero into helping her with a scam"? Or is it real? And if it's real, what a can of worms!

A very engaging, clever and amusing novella.

- Rob is the editor of a newspaper dedicated to exposing all things “supernatural” as hoaxes, and has an enthusiastic employee (the only employee) in Kildy, a beautiful ex-movie star, who’s quit the life and started working with Rob because she was disgusted with the Hollywood world. When they encounter a spiritualist who seems to be inadvertently channeling the famous journalist H.L. Mencken, Rob and Kildy work together to try and expose her as a fraud. Funny, fast-paced, with a bit of romance. A delightful read… ( )

I wanted to like this book, since the premise is good: a skeptic and his hot actress assistant bust a fake clarvoyant.

Try as I might, I just couldn't like it. The ending of the book is just...wrong. Not wrong in a gross or sleezy way, but wrong philosophically. It undercut the entire premise of the book.

The rest of the book isn't well-written enough to make up for it. I really liked her Domesday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, but this one don't cut it.

On the plus side, it introduced me to the writings of H.L. Mencken" ( )

Professional skeptic Rob is taken by Kildy, former movie star and now his employee, to a session with a medium who seems to be unexpectedly channelling the spirit of journalist H. L. Mencken. Rob is determined to prove the medium a fake - but doing so may lose Rob more than he bargained for.
I enjoyed this - it has a similar tone to my favourites of her other works, such as Bellwether.
This novella is available online :
at Asimovs.