The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen [Book Review]

Four women, a parapsychology experiment, and a house frozen in time. The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen is a dual-timeline mystery with very questionable science.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

A live-in caretaker for an elderly woman who’s spent decades cut off from the modern world? Sure. Fine. Totally normal.

Except Betty’s house has no television, no Wi-Fi, and a rotary phone as the only way to call anyone. That feels less like charming old-fashioned living and more like the point where I’d start wondering what I signed up for.

The Women in White mixes parapsychology experiments, buried secrets, and the uncomfortable question of what happens when scientific curiosity turns sinister. I liked it, with one big reservation about which timeline held my attention.

Four Women, One Very Questionable Experiment

In 1964, four young women are recruited into a parapsychology research program at a Virginia university. Dr. Silas Trimble leads it and is convinced they may be capable of something extraordinary. Then the women vanish, and the program is erased from the record.

In the present day, Riley Bell is newly divorced and looking for a fresh start when she takes a job caring for Betty, an elderly widow living in near-total isolation. It doesn’t take long for Riley to realize why Betty has spent so much of her life hiding.

The book is inspired by real research once done at Duke University’s Parapsychology Laboratory.

And yes, this is exactly the kind of setup that makes me suspicious of everyone.

The Problem With Thinking You Own People

My favorite part of the book is how it separates studying someone from controlling them. Dr. Trimble is fascinated by these women’s abilities, and he seems to believe that gives him a claim on them. He also assumes they’ll be grateful and quiet.

That’s what makes it unsettling. The paranormal elements almost aren’t necessary. The real danger is someone with authority deciding another person’s autonomy is inconvenient.

The Women Are Stronger Together

The friendships between the women were some of my favorite scenes. They’ve all been dismissed or made to feel strange for their experiences, and finding people who understand gives them support and, most inconveniently for the people in charge, information.

It’s much harder to convince someone she’s imagining things once everyone starts comparing notes.

I Wanted More of the 1960s

My biggest issue is that I wasn’t equally invested in both timelines. The 1964 storyline pulled me in with the women, the experiments, and the growing sense that Dr. Trimble’s interest was turning dangerous. So whenever the book jumped back to Riley, it felt like someone had changed the channel right when things got good.

I understand why she’s there. Her investigation gives the mystery its structure and lets us uncover the past piece by piece. I just wanted her to move a little faster so we could get back to 1964.

A Slow, Creeping Kind of Unease

Sarah Pekkanen is good at making you feel like something might be wrong before you can explain why. Betty’s house is odd and then slightly more odd, and more, and more, and… you get the point. Then you realize Riley should have asked more questions before moving in.

The same slowly growing discomfort we feel as the story continues mirrors how the women feel about the experiments they are enduring. The most disturbing idea is that someone can change the course of your life, walk away, and leave you carrying the consequences for decades. No supernatural powers required.

Final Thoughts

The Women in White is an engaging mystery with just enough paranormal uncertainty to keep things strange. I wish I’d been as invested in Riley’s storyline as in the 1960s chapters, but the historical mystery kept me turning pages. I’d recommend it, especially if you like dual-timeline mysteries and scientists with suspiciously flexible ethics.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy. All opinions are my own.