Book excerpt: The 1920s: a time of unprecedented belief in "spiritualism", or the practice of ostensibly communicating with the spirits of the dead. Into this milieau stepped Rose Mackenberg, a private detective trained by the great magician and escape artist, Harry Houdini. Her mission: to investigate and expose "ghost racketeers" who used magic tricks and psychological manipulation to con bereaved people out of their hard-earned cash. "Houdini's Girl Detective" is an illustrated anthology of Rose Mackenberg's original 1929 newspaper article series, detailing her sometimes hair-raising adventures exposing the chicanery of the ghost racket.