Not since 'Truly, Madly, Deeply' has anyone portrayed ghosts with such frightening everyday personas as Hilary Mantel in Beyond Black - I was captivated by this book from the moment I started it and spent the whole time trying to make my husband listen whilst I read bits to him, just to show him how well-written and thought-provoking the story is.

I'm not going to re-tell the story or events there-in because I absolutely hate 'spoiler' reviews, all I'll say is that the book is the story of a medium, Alison Hart, who is unconventional by the standards of her medium colleagues - in that she's not actually a fake, she does indeed have the 'second sight' required of the trade.

Mantel's exploration of what this actually means in terms of an 'ordinary' person being tuned into both the real world (earth-side) and the spirit world (air-side), against a backdrop of daily and domestic life, the need to earn money, childhood secrets and world events is both shocking and insightful. It's hard to know how Mantel can write such an exploration without the combination of a very strong spiritual side and a very strong cynical one too!

The story, like all Mantel's books, is character led and is exceptionally well-crafted. The way Mantel discusses the suburban goings-on of Hart's locality shows her keen wit, artfully observed and passed on to the reader: seriously, this could be a snapshot of a suburban estate near you - just add a medium into the mix and see what happens!

But as well as the attention to setting and minute detail, I felt there was a real discussion going on about prejudice at many levels and this, along with the wealth of character and plot detail, makes Beyond Black a great choice for a book club read, particularly if you want to introduce something a little different into the book club circle. I heartily recommend this book.