One of my magical sisters gave me this for my birthday and I really liked it. I prefer my murder mysteries cozy and this was; and I found the Countess to be intelligent, calm, and believable.

Lots of fun! ( )

I was not impressed with this book. Many years ago, I liked her Mrs. Pollifax series, but this one just seemed to be a bunch of short stories about her and the policeman. Everything seemed just too conveniently easy, and I could guess what would happen way ahead of time. ( )

Madame Karitska is an exotic and interesting woman. She has set up her business in an apartment in a not-so-good neighbourhood, an apartment chosen due to the colour of the door.

Madame Karitska offers her clairvoyant service, paired with a good dose of common sense, to those who need it, once such person being Detective Lieutenant Pruden. The two for an unusual partnership and this book contains the stories of their meeting and later cases they work on.

Madame Karitska has the ability to see danger that may be in the future or the past of a person’s life. This ability helps in the case of the brutal murder of a young girl, the avoidance of death for a boy and other cases.

Detective-Lieutenant Pruden is skeptical at first, but comes to believe in her ability.

It’s an enjoyable read of mystery with a touch of humour. ( )

Although I first came to love Dorothy Gilman’s writing through her Mrs. Pollifax books, when I stumbled across the two Madam Karitska books I was immediately enchanted! If you’ve never read any of the Mrs. Pollifax books I recommend you do so immediately and in order - while they stand alone, they are greatly enriched by starting at the beginning since they do build on the prior books. Start with “The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax”.

Both Mrs. Pollifax and Madame Karitska are ‘Originals’ - a term that used to be popular to describe a person who is a bit unusual or odd, in the best sense of the words. In Madame Karitska’s case, she is a Countess who is Clairvoyant (uh, pretty obvious from the title). We meet her when she is experiencing a change in her life - moving to a new apartment in a slightly shabby part of town after leaving her job making hats. She has never used her clairvoyance commercially, but something has told her it is time to do so. She has had a rich and interesting life, both dirt poor and extravagantly wealthy, and has arrived at a turning point. This is where her story begins in this book.

These books are ones you can count on to distract you when you need something to escape to - something that reminds you of the good in the world. While they are not all sweetness and light (not remotely saccharine), at least for me they renew my faith in people.

They are easy reads - they flow well and the characters and environments become very real. These are books that I have read over and over through the years and love them every time I do. I wish there were more! I fully recommend them - particularly during this “shelter at home” time that is stressful to so many. ( )

This novel is a lot of fun, a light read despite some nasty scenarios, but Gilman used a light hand in describing these episodes. The book reads more like a set of short stories, but there are connections now and then to previous characters and of course the Countess and Pruden (the policeman) appear through out. I'm happy to give it 4 stars. My one niggle was related to one of the episodes which felt so unfinished: we're not given a dénouement, but that is a small issue. The stories are a delight. They just don't flow or connect as much as I expected. ( )