Caught in a Trance by David Fitz-Gerald transports readers to Wilmington, New York in 1849, where the scenery is breathtaking, restless spirits hover, and dark secrets lurk.
Moses Munch grew up in Wilmington, his happy childhood turning into a content adult life as a loving husband, devoted father, and caring friend to many. He dabbles in the transcendental, using his spiritual connection as an aid in guiding others through their troubles. But he is about to learn that sometimes even the best of intentions can lead to terrifying consequences. When an innocent curiosity becomes an obsession, he might lose his friends and family forever. Who will be able to help, when the person who tried to save others is now the one who needs saving?
Moses Munch’s whole family is devoted to helping others. They want to bring joy to those around them and are the first to act when others are in trouble.
Moses’ wife Lovina is a caring matchmaker, spreading happiness throughout the community. Their thirteen-year-old son Silas aspires to serve God, assisting the town’s Reverend Hammond in his work. He is a very mature teenager, wiser than many adults. Moses’ mother is secretly aiding black slaves to freedom through an underground escape route. Moses works through the art of what he calls “trancification”. He uses hypnoses to guide people on a spiritual journey into their previous lives, in search of understanding and peace.
When a neighbor arrives in town, he threatens to destroy this Wilmington’s tranquility. Bartholomieux has just moved to Wilmington and is disrupting families, ridiculing hypnotism, and threatening Moses’ marriage. What is in this man’s past life that drives him? Moses is determined to stop Bartholomieux’s machinations, but he struggles to find a way to do so.
Curiosity becomes a nagging ache within Moses.
He enjoys joining his mind with those he helps in, entering trances and traveling into their spirited universe. Moses seeks a way to travel into his own past, and eventually uncovers it. What he discovers is entrancing, and he begins participating in these hypnotisms more and more. What once was an aid for others becomes an addiction, and one day Moses becomes lost in a trance. He cannot save himself, stuck between his past and his present. Though he reaches for his loved ones, the distance is too great. And while he is caught, Bartholomieux works against him.
Author David Fitz-Gerald offers the fifth book in the Adirondack Spirit series, an engaging and touching story.
He beautifully describes the setting and shows the consequences of addiction, not only for the person addicted but also for their loved ones. Caught in a Trance is a unique look at the subject because instead of an addiction to drugs, Moses is addicted to his mystical practice. Fitz-Gerald skillfully weaves the emotional impacts of Moses’s addiction throughout the plot.
Scenes in the spirited universe show artful settings and reveal mystical secrets, keeping the reader enthusiastically turning pages. In the mundane scenes, Fitz-Gerald’s historical research and characters shine. The members of the Munch family show courage as they face their everyday problems, and rely on family loyalty to keep them afloat even in the darkest of times. Readers will root for these characters, and wonder the same question: will Moses ever find a way back to his present life?
Growing up alone on the streets of Saint Louis in the mid-1870s, nineteen-year-old Samantha Davis has had to fight for everything.