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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

A fascinating true story of trauma, spiritualism, psychology, and national fear. I really enjoyed this look into the 1930's obsession with supposed hauntings, and why people were so desperate to believe in the existence of life after life at this time (and beyond). Summerscale does a great job of setting the scene, showing a nation on the verge of war and how current events influenced the interest in the paranormal.

I really enjoyed the quirky cast of characters, from Fodor, a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and devoted parapsychologist who's desperate to prove that Fielding's case is a true haunting, to Alma herself, a housewife with a dark past who may or may not be faking her experiences. Summerscale depicts their strange relationship and how they fed off of each other, with Fodor's obsession with Alma's increasingly strange case growing.

I love stories of the supernatural and The Haunting of Alma Fielding is a fascinating look at a poltergeist haunting drawn from the investigator's own notes. I'd highly recommend the audiobook for this one, the narrator does a great job.