"Enjoyable contemporary drama"

Miriam Kaminsky is a phone psychic who works out of her house in the New York area. Her husband pharmacist Rory owns Mirror Pharmacy, which is suffering financial troubles. Her teenage daughter Cara is a high school senior. Miriam actually has powers and her readings are quite accurate, but her two family members are ashamed of her work and skill. Coupled with her deceased mom feeling the same way, Miriam hides her talent.

As her trust in her gift wanes due to family reaction, Miriam goes on TV to make money. Her efforts alienate her further with her husband and daughter. When their daughter turns up missing, only Miriam can find her if she listens to her deceased grandma Bubbie and believe that her skills are real. If she fails to trust herself, Cara could die from exposure.

This is an enjoyable contemporary drama with a touch of late suspense and a ton of intriguing paranormal activity. Fans will appreciate the dilemma confronting Miriam as she so much wants her loved one, living and dead, to appreciate her talent, but when no one except Bubbie does, her confidence is impacted. Except for a final unnecessary clip showing Cara's boyfriend as a womanizing rat, this reviewer foresees that readers will take immense pleasure in following the exploits of MIRIAM THE MEDIUM

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 30, 2004

Summary

MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is the story of a smart, funny, modern day Long Island woman with a gift that heals other lives, but causes rifts in her own. She works at home as a phone psychic to preserve her anonymity and protect herself from her colorful, demanding clients. Woven throughout are scenes from her past--her beloved old world Russian grandmother who inspired and taught her how to commune with spirits, her wanting-to-be-modern mother who feels Miriam's emerging gift is the worst thing that could ever happen to her and does everything in her power to stop it. But Miriam persists, growing up psychic, despite the trouble her gifts cause her, and happily marrying a young pharmacist, Rory, a scientist who nevertheless accepts her for who she is, and what she can do. Soon, however, sparks fly. Miriam's disapproving mother dies, leaving her still yearning for her mother's support, love and approval. Rory's got his own business, but he's getting buried under a mountain of bills, and his feelings about his wife's gift are beginning to change. While he desperately needs Miriam to up her readings to help their cash flow, Miriam's impromptu readings of his customers (and psychic suspicions about a shady staff member, Eddy) are turning customers away. Their once perfect marriage begins to fray. But Rory isn't the only family member at odds with Miriam. Miriam's daughter Cara grows up bathed in the surprises and pleasures of having a psychic mom. She's desperate to have her mother's gift, and when she can't, she looks for an identity of her own, finding it at sixteen with a hoodlum on a motorcycle. But when Cara runs away with the boy, all Miriam's psychic gifts will be called into question. Can she find her daughter and save her marriage? And can she make peace with her mother's spirit? MIRIAM THE MEDIUM is a book about finding your true identity, about family, and longing, and the way the past weaves through the present.