“Although this book is a work of fiction, the quotes that appear in front of the chapters are all real and verifiable. Many of the cited journals and articles were kept in the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory, which existed as a distinguished part of the university from 1930 until 1965. Inside the laboratory, researchers conducted tests designed to measure the psychic abilities of college students and other volunteers.”
That’s from the Author’s Note of Sarah Pekkanen’s suspense novel "The Women In White." The story opens in present day when Riley Bell accepts a job as a caretaker to Betty, an eighty year old woman confined to a wheelchair inside her home for sixty years. Until her husband died she had had no contact with the outside world.
The story alternates between present day and 1964 shortly after Betty married Douglas, an assistant to Dr. Trimble, the head of parapsychology research. When Betty does exceptionally well on an ESP test, her husband convinces her to be one of Trimble’s test subjects. She is joined by three other young women and as Trimble insists they spend more and more time in experiments, they become close friends. Trimble’s obsession with his research takes an awful toll on the three women.
Back in present day, Riley promises Betty she’ll help find her three friends who she hasn’t heard from in sixty years and also to discover who is trying to resurrect the old experiments.
If you’re interested in parapsychology , then you must read "The Women in White" by Sarah Pekkanen.
