What do you think?
Rate this book
Madame Karitska #1
The Clairvoyant Countess
Madame Karitska has a style all her own—a rare blend of psychic power, an exotic past, and an uncanny gift for common sense. As a psychic to the public, Madame Karitska has seen a lot.
But when a chance encounter with Detective-Lieutenant Pruden of the Police Department catapults her into the unforseen, she must use all of her resources to keep danger--and death--at bay....
But when a chance encounter with Detective-Lieutenant Pruden of the Police Department catapults her into the unforseen, she must use all of her resources to keep danger--and death--at bay....
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
255 people are currently reading
994 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Gilman
120 books759 followersDorothy Edith Gilman started writing when she was 9 and knew early on she was to be a writer. At 11, she competed against 10 to 16-year-olds in a story contest and won first place. She attended Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and briefly the University of Pennsylvania. She planned to write and illustrate children's books. She married Edgar A. Butters Jr, in 1945, this ended in divorce in 1965. Dorothy worked as an art teacher & telephone operator before becoming an author. She wrote children’s stories for more than ten years under the name
Dorothy Gilman Butters
and then began writing adult novels about Mrs. Pollifax–a retired grandmother who becomes a CIA agent. The Mrs. Pollifax series made Dorothy famous. While her stories nourish people’s thirst for adventure and mystery, Dorothy knew about nourishing the body as well. On her farm in Nova Scotia, she grew medicinal herbs and used this knowledge of herbs in many of her stories, including A Nun in the Closet. She travelled extensively, and used these experiences in her novels as well. Many of Dorothy’s books, feature strong women having adventures around the world. In 2010 Gilman was awarded the annual Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Dorothy spent much of her life in Connecticut, New Mexico, and Maine. She died at age 88 of complications of Alzheimer's disease. She is survived by two sons, Christopher Butters and Jonathan Butters; and two grandchildren.
Series:
* Mrs. Pollifax
Series:
* Mrs. Pollifax
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 259 reviews
December 23, 2015
I simply love Dorothy Gilman. She has an absolutely lovely way with language and her characters are always so human yet somehow also just that little bit more - more conscientious, more thoughtful, more thought, more human - than the people one encounters in everyday life... Perhaps I'm a relic, but I love that her books are stories - not plot contrivances designed to deliver violence or sex. There are always pertinent and relevant life lessons tucked away inside her dialogue, but they're delivered with such a deft hand and in such cheeky and also somehow casual ways that they never feel like lessons until you finish reading their sentences - then the simple truths they uncover just jump out at you. I miss the days when stories could be simple yet thoroughly complex through nothing more than the exigencies of human interaction. She manages to remind me of days gone by without waxing sentimental or getting maudlin. Madame Karitska is a worthy successor to the delightful Mrs. Pollifax, and if you haven't yet met either, you simply must resolve that with all expediency... :)
April 5, 2015
I'm not sure what to say about this book... It is quaint, and charming, and truly comfortable. If it had been written today it would have been put firmly into the paranormal mystery category, and it would have a much brasher heroine and be all around more of what we expect. But this book was written before cozy Paranormal's were a thing, which is quite possibly the thing I love most about this book. Either that or the very palpable atmosphere, the transportation to another time and place that it has. I loved visiting the world of the Clairvoyant Countess I took my time with it reading one little bit at a time savouring the slower, quieter, more confident world that she lived in.
This is not really a novel. It's more like the portrait of a relationship between Madame Karitska and Detective Pruden, written as a series of short stories or snippets gathered up here and there from where their lives begin to overlap. It's almost a collection of short stories, but it's not really that either. If you are looking for one storyline that builds in tension, has a climax and then a denouement and an ending, you won't find that here. But if you are looking for something interesting and different, you will definitely find that.
You know, more than anything this reminds me of the mysteries I would read as a kid (probably written around the same time as this book) where the hero would solve a whole series of small cases, with some threads weaving through and between the short stories, meant to take you along for the ride seeing if you could spot the clues... Though, with this one I actually found myself underlining certain sections... I'm pretty sure there's more Universal wisdom than mystery tucked away in this book.
This is not really a novel. It's more like the portrait of a relationship between Madame Karitska and Detective Pruden, written as a series of short stories or snippets gathered up here and there from where their lives begin to overlap. It's almost a collection of short stories, but it's not really that either. If you are looking for one storyline that builds in tension, has a climax and then a denouement and an ending, you won't find that here. But if you are looking for something interesting and different, you will definitely find that.
You know, more than anything this reminds me of the mysteries I would read as a kid (probably written around the same time as this book) where the hero would solve a whole series of small cases, with some threads weaving through and between the short stories, meant to take you along for the ride seeing if you could spot the clues... Though, with this one I actually found myself underlining certain sections... I'm pretty sure there's more Universal wisdom than mystery tucked away in this book.
July 9, 2015
This one had been sitting on my Audible purchased shelf for a while so thought I'd tackle it. Interesting protagonist, and well-crafted stories, and one that might be better heard than read as the narrator does a good job with the voice of Madame Karitsa. Sorry the sequel isn't available as an audiobook, but I've ordered a print copy. Written in the 60's, so folks call from pay phones with urgent messages, as well as mention of a guest bring a "portable television set" to a party for a special viewing (Madame doesn't own one herself).
December 21, 2021
Entertaining book featuring Madame Karitska who will make a believer out of any skeptic when it comes to things hard to understand in the psychic realm.
January 7, 2014
More than one cohesive story, this book is more like a chain of short stories loosely connected by common characters and a few events, rather like the old TV shows where each episode stood alone. But the book does not hand you the stories all nicely wrapped up in 22/44 minutes. The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying, as if the author had been interrupted, or perhaps realised that she was up to her deadline and just mailed off what she had to the publisher.
As far as the stories themselves go, they're pleasant fluff which reflect the fascination with psychometry, psychics helping the police, and "transcendentalism" which marked the mid 70s and later birthed the New Age (same old stuff, new wrapping). The line between "white" and "black" magic is clearly drawn, the goodies are good and the baddies are very, very bad. There are a lot of memes of the "we use only 10% of our brain power" type; two characters use up an inordinate amount of effort trying to turn pages with their minds. I suppose it's a skill, but unless both arms are in plaster, I don't see much point.
I wonder if the author envisaged a series of CC books, starring the young boy as the sorceress' apprentice. Having read and enjoyed the Mrs Pollifax novels and hugely enjoyed A Nun in the Closet I will admit to being a tad disappointed with this excursion.
As far as the stories themselves go, they're pleasant fluff which reflect the fascination with psychometry, psychics helping the police, and "transcendentalism" which marked the mid 70s and later birthed the New Age (same old stuff, new wrapping). The line between "white" and "black" magic is clearly drawn, the goodies are good and the baddies are very, very bad. There are a lot of memes of the "we use only 10% of our brain power" type; two characters use up an inordinate amount of effort trying to turn pages with their minds. I suppose it's a skill, but unless both arms are in plaster, I don't see much point.
I wonder if the author envisaged a series of CC books, starring the young boy as the sorceress' apprentice. Having read and enjoyed the Mrs Pollifax novels and hugely enjoyed A Nun in the Closet I will admit to being a tad disappointed with this excursion.
April 7, 2017
At first, I was not sure if I would get into this book or not. However, only a few pages later I discovered that I was fully engaged in the story and appreciating the protagonist, Countess Karitska.
I found Karitska to be an intelligent, resourceful character who had lived through good times and hardships, and who had thought through who she is as a person and become comfortable with what she learned. The more I read, the more I liked this character.
Additionally, I appreciated the development of the other 'supporting' characters in the book - Detective-Lieutenant Pruden, Gavin, and Faber-Jones - each with their own outlooks and hurdles and each growing over time as they interact with Karitska and with each other.
Finally, I found that I really got into the story itself. I am unused to books of this type, where rather than having a single, over-arching, murder/set of murders (by the same person(s)) to solve, there are instead in this book a series of smaller plot lines, with individual crimes to be solved. Gilman was quite successful in this format as I found each mystery interesting and keeping of my attention. The sum of these mysteries was greater than the parts because throughout Gilman deftly threaded the stories of Madame Kartiska and her friends to tie it altogether.
Overall, a solid read. I will read the next in the series and have to same am sad that there seem to be no others.
I found Karitska to be an intelligent, resourceful character who had lived through good times and hardships, and who had thought through who she is as a person and become comfortable with what she learned. The more I read, the more I liked this character.
Additionally, I appreciated the development of the other 'supporting' characters in the book - Detective-Lieutenant Pruden, Gavin, and Faber-Jones - each with their own outlooks and hurdles and each growing over time as they interact with Karitska and with each other.
Finally, I found that I really got into the story itself. I am unused to books of this type, where rather than having a single, over-arching, murder/set of murders (by the same person(s)) to solve, there are instead in this book a series of smaller plot lines, with individual crimes to be solved. Gilman was quite successful in this format as I found each mystery interesting and keeping of my attention. The sum of these mysteries was greater than the parts because throughout Gilman deftly threaded the stories of Madame Kartiska and her friends to tie it altogether.
Overall, a solid read. I will read the next in the series and have to same am sad that there seem to be no others.
August 20, 2009
Just reread this book for the I-don't-know-how-many times (I entered 12 in the field provided for such things, but I suspect it's much more than that). I first read The Clairvoyant Countess when I was 12... I'd just come off my dystopia phase (plowing through every piece of classic dystopian literature I could find) and I was having fun bouncing through the Subject card catalogue, using keywords as a method for finding new books, which is how I landed on this one (at the time, I was mostly hunting for SF&F dealing with psychic phenomena).
Mostly, it's a wonderfully light and fun book. Definitely dated to the era in which is was written, but not so much that it becomes inaccessible to the modern reader. It's essentially a series of connected short mystery stories and I'll admit that it always leaves me wishing we'd gotten something with a little more depth... the book is really much too short, when it comes right down to it.
Worth picking up if you've never read it, especially since it's a nice quick read.
Mostly, it's a wonderfully light and fun book. Definitely dated to the era in which is was written, but not so much that it becomes inaccessible to the modern reader. It's essentially a series of connected short mystery stories and I'll admit that it always leaves me wishing we'd gotten something with a little more depth... the book is really much too short, when it comes right down to it.
Worth picking up if you've never read it, especially since it's a nice quick read.
May 15, 2023
2019 reread via Recorded Books audiobook:
Despite the fact that I don't really believe in clairvoyance, I love Madame Karitska! This novel is actually more of a series of connected short stories, most of which blend mystery with 'human interest' (as the journalists call it). Certain aspects of the stories are now dated - looking for and using payphones for example - but as someone who remembers the 1970s, this doesn't bother me.
Despite the fact that I don't really believe in clairvoyance, I love Madame Karitska! This novel is actually more of a series of connected short stories, most of which blend mystery with 'human interest' (as the journalists call it). Certain aspects of the stories are now dated - looking for and using payphones for example - but as someone who remembers the 1970s, this doesn't bother me.
February 13, 2018
Ah, the ‘70’s. Madame Karitska, in straitened circumstances but confident that all will be well, begins taking psychic readings in a new apartment. She is full of the power of the understood self, is gentle and nonviolent but not naive, and ends by surrounding herself with police detective Pruden, Gavin the young psychic, businessman Faber-Jones, and a few other men (all men, so odd) and solving or sniffing out crimes. I miss books so certain of the untapped potential of the human mind, but I very much blame them for the current situation of the world when characters can say “Frankly, I think we’ve had an overdose of rational minds in the world lately...They seem to create as many problems as they solve” and we are expected to have some sympathy with that. Madame Karitska feels much like the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and I can use the balm to the soul at the moment. I also long for a time when a businesswoman in a book could spend exactly 0 minutes marketing herself and still manage to survive, now that we are all expected to market ourselves nonstop and enjoy the process. I enjoyed this much more than the first time I read it, despite my greater skepticism.
Read
December 10, 2016Enjoyable light read as a police detective slowly sheds his disbelief working with a clairvoyant.
August 19, 2022
This book reminded me of the time when G-rated meant for general audiences. Although the book is intended for an adult audience I would be comfortable listening to it on a road trip with kids. It's entertaining and wholesome. Madame Karitska, a kind hearted, spiritual psychic, helps to solve several mysteries with a skeptical Detective Prudence. This could easily have been made into an episodic television series in the 70's or 80's. As for the 2020's it would need considerably more of an edge.
February 11, 2025
Just wasn’t my style.
August 7, 2025
Madame Karitska is a psychic - she has lots of feelings and thoughts just pop in her way and lucky for a certain Detective Pruden who has cases pending she comes in handy. This is the first book. . .but I predict they will hook up. Or at least I hope they do. (She will loosen him up, and he will bring her down off her high horse. That's MY prediction.) All this fun takes place in NY.
January 11, 2025
A cozy read with morning coffee.
June 16, 2013
One might call this an urban fantasy, with its psychic heroine. But she and a few other psychics are the fantastic element; more fantastical elements are suggested to be psychosomatic. Also, the heroine is certainly getting on in years; it takes place in the 1970s or thereabouts, and she was a refugee from the Russian Revolution, albeit as a child. (I've got to admire the deftness with which her back story is brought to life and yet left in the background as not relevant. Also the chief thing I notice now that I didn't when I was in my teens and first reading it is how 1970s it was. The prices get me particularly.)
But her stories here opens with her dreams of a brownstone with a sign in the window -- Madame Karitska, Readings. She happens on the brownstone itself five minutes aftere the landlord has put up a sign saying an apartment's for rent, and rents it. And the books wind on through an interlacing series of stories traced back to her readings.
A major thread in the book starts when she is consulted by a young woman. Reading her ring, she thinks it was worn by a woman who was murdered by poison, and her client says it was her mother's, who died of a heart attack. Reading her wallet, she warns her against the person whose letter is in it. When the woman is murdered, the police find her note about visiting Madame Karitska, and Lt. Pruden visits. She gives him a tip that seems absurb, and tells him that his father will, after all, live. He visits her with questions, she calls on him when police intervention is appropriate, and she steers some investigation the right way.
Other things these threads include involve a man whose marriage is unhappy, a song about a romance through reincarnations, a man who rescued his wife from a death camp, a spy and treacheous murders, the stealing of crosses, an attempt by the Syndicate to take over ice cream trucks, an alleged wicked witch and poison, and an early prediction of Madame Karitska's about Lt. Pruden coming true.
But her stories here opens with her dreams of a brownstone with a sign in the window -- Madame Karitska, Readings. She happens on the brownstone itself five minutes aftere the landlord has put up a sign saying an apartment's for rent, and rents it. And the books wind on through an interlacing series of stories traced back to her readings.
A major thread in the book starts when she is consulted by a young woman. Reading her ring, she thinks it was worn by a woman who was murdered by poison, and her client says it was her mother's, who died of a heart attack. Reading her wallet, she warns her against the person whose letter is in it. When the woman is murdered, the police find her note about visiting Madame Karitska, and Lt. Pruden visits. She gives him a tip that seems absurb, and tells him that his father will, after all, live. He visits her with questions, she calls on him when police intervention is appropriate, and she steers some investigation the right way.
Other things these threads include involve a man whose marriage is unhappy, a song about a romance through reincarnations, a man who rescued his wife from a death camp, a spy and treacheous murders, the stealing of crosses, an attempt by the Syndicate to take over ice cream trucks, an alleged wicked witch and poison, and an early prediction of Madame Karitska's about Lt. Pruden coming true.
March 13, 2023
4.5🌟 From the very first page of Clairvoyant Countess, I was amazingly drawn into the world of Madame Karitska and her "readings". I love all things about the paranormal and psychic phenomenon, so this book was perfect for me. I love the informal and easy writing style of Dorothy Gilman and I adore her Mrs. Pollifax series (which I need to continue with very soon!).
This book is arranged in a very interesting way, too. As you read, it seems like a collection of short stories that include both Madame Karitska and Detective Lieutenant Pruden involved in some sort of mystery. But, the stories flow together so nicely that there is no "choppy" or abrupt feeling when you end one story (organized by chapter) and start another.
What impressed me the most was the author states simply that this woman is a psychic and doesn't spend any time trying to convince or explain to the reader. The fact is plain and simple and Dorothy Gilman is confident that the reader will accept this about her main character without any qualms. I know I did!
It's similar to the idea of a television. Before television was invented, you would not be able to explain to someone what it was or how it worked because they would have no prior knowledge or framework to accept such an idea. The person would think it was crazy, inconceivable or perhaps even "witchcraft". It's the same with physic abilities. Just because we can't understand how it works or why some people have this ability while others don't doesn't mean that the skill does not exist or that it's some kind of trickery.
Anyway, I loved this book and I can't wait to read the next book in this duology. Madame Karitska is a new favorite character of mine and I love that she is kind, hard working, practical, open-minded and clever. Plus, she's middle-aged and I adore books with "older ladies" as the main character. I highly recommend this book!
This book is arranged in a very interesting way, too. As you read, it seems like a collection of short stories that include both Madame Karitska and Detective Lieutenant Pruden involved in some sort of mystery. But, the stories flow together so nicely that there is no "choppy" or abrupt feeling when you end one story (organized by chapter) and start another.
What impressed me the most was the author states simply that this woman is a psychic and doesn't spend any time trying to convince or explain to the reader. The fact is plain and simple and Dorothy Gilman is confident that the reader will accept this about her main character without any qualms. I know I did!
It's similar to the idea of a television. Before television was invented, you would not be able to explain to someone what it was or how it worked because they would have no prior knowledge or framework to accept such an idea. The person would think it was crazy, inconceivable or perhaps even "witchcraft". It's the same with physic abilities. Just because we can't understand how it works or why some people have this ability while others don't doesn't mean that the skill does not exist or that it's some kind of trickery.
Anyway, I loved this book and I can't wait to read the next book in this duology. Madame Karitska is a new favorite character of mine and I love that she is kind, hard working, practical, open-minded and clever. Plus, she's middle-aged and I adore books with "older ladies" as the main character. I highly recommend this book!
December 30, 2013
Very episodic, meaning there's no feeling of closure when you finish it, which isn't a big deal but always bugs me when the book was categorized as a mystery.
Light hearted fluff confronts and hopefully dominates ugly realities. This is a world where a boy can psychically predict and psychically witness his father's murder/suicide of his whole family (parents and three siblings), then within a few weeks the deaths have no impact except how he makes use of his orphan status to get away with stuff at school, and the reader is supposed to see him as a normal, healthy kid.
Obviously, a book that does not improve with thought. :p But it doesn't ask much thought, either, moving sprightly along from one incident to the next, the heroine collecting characters around her and generally improving the lives of those she touches. If you enjoy Mrs. Pollifax, and like the idea of real psychic powers, you'll likely appreciate this.
Light hearted fluff confronts and hopefully dominates ugly realities. This is a world where a boy can psychically predict and psychically witness his father's murder/suicide of his whole family (parents and three siblings), then within a few weeks the deaths have no impact except how he makes use of his orphan status to get away with stuff at school, and the reader is supposed to see him as a normal, healthy kid.
Obviously, a book that does not improve with thought. :p But it doesn't ask much thought, either, moving sprightly along from one incident to the next, the heroine collecting characters around her and generally improving the lives of those she touches. If you enjoy Mrs. Pollifax, and like the idea of real psychic powers, you'll likely appreciate this.
August 4, 2016
Enjoyed this quick read -- a woman with a flamboyant past sets up shop as a clairvoyant in Trafton, NJ ... and things happen. She meets a police detective and slowly he is won over to believing in her clairvoyance. A series of cases, but not short-story like -- some people from each case remain in the story, and move forward. The main character is interesting, and the characters surrounding her are interesting ... and the psychic element adds another world of understanding. The ending was more abrupt than I would have liked ...
April 1, 2011
Madame Karitska has psychic powers and a good deal of common sense. There are many cases that she helps Detective-Lieutenant Pruden solve. It's good fun in a rather old worldly manner. I enjoyed revisiting this book from the 1970's and may read Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax series too. Now that I am a grandmother too, Mrs. Pollifax would be even more fun than when I first read of her adventures in my youth.
October 20, 2012
Published in 1975, this book was a departure for Dorothy Gilman from her more popular Mrs. Pollifax series. The main character, Madame Karitska, has extraordinary powers. She is a psychic, who uses her gift to help detective-lieutenant Pruden solve several baffling crimes. Saving lives and setting things right comes naturally to the Countess, Madame Karitska. I enjoyed this retro excursion and would recommend it as a very good light read.
June 3, 2019
I loved this book about a countess living in a city in Massachusetts who is earning her living giving readings. She is far from a charlatan and in short order convinces a local detective of her skills. In my opinion however, the best thing about Madame Karitska is not her clairvoyant ability but her unfailing kindness and concern for others. I highly recommend this book as an example of human love and kindness in action.
abandoned
October 18, 2024Abandoned at 75% I was dragging myself through this book hoping it would get better - it didn’t. Once the clairvoyant decided that it was going to be interesting to view a spiritualist exorcise the evil spirits out of a man, who had “died” by a voodoo curse, I abandoned the audio. This audiobook was not worth using a credit on, and is nothing like the engaging Mrs. Pollifax series.
February 11, 2010
An intriguing book that was entertaining and attention holding. It took me a while to figure out the time period the book was set in, but that missing information did not impair my enjoyment. I look forward to finding more of this author's books.
February 15, 2011
AS many others have stated, a collection of short stories with a common set of characters. Definitely has the same feel of Mrs. Pollifax, I can tell they were written by the same author. Love Mrs. Pollifax, but like Madame Karitska. It's a light read, but I will read the sequel.
May 6, 2018
I am a huge fan of Dorothy Gilman. I think she fell short on her two Madame Karitska mysteries. I have just reread both of them. I believe I enjoyed them more the first time. Perhaps some books aren't meant to be reread.
Read
July 11, 2015Some cute little vignettes about a psychic who uses psychometry to aid a police officer in solving crimes. Each one of them could have easily played out into a separate mystery rather than what was really a group of short stories about the psychic.
January 4, 2011
Another book where Gilman goes in a different direction than I thought she would. Also, it's different from her other books in style. I enjoyed it and I'll have to look up the sequel.
June 21, 2021
Extremely enjoyable. Madame Karistka is a very different person from Mrs Pollifax but charming and more along the mystery side of things instead of the resonate asking with occult and paranormal.
July 10, 2024
4.5 rounded up
I loved the author's Mrs. Polifax series - true comfort food - so when I saw this book in the Audible Plus catalogue I immediately added to my library. There are only two books in the series and the second is not available in audio, so I just ordered the Kindle edition.
Here our heroine is Madame Karitska. This book is a series of linked short stories that show her growing professional relationship with Detective Lt. Pruden, as he slowly becomes to believe in and rely on Madame Karitska's clairvoyant abilities. As the stories progress, teenager Gavin and investor Faber-Jones become assistants.
The book was written in 1975 and it is a treat to regress to the world when payphones were hugely important!
I loved the author's Mrs. Polifax series - true comfort food - so when I saw this book in the Audible Plus catalogue I immediately added to my library. There are only two books in the series and the second is not available in audio, so I just ordered the Kindle edition.
Here our heroine is Madame Karitska. This book is a series of linked short stories that show her growing professional relationship with Detective Lt. Pruden, as he slowly becomes to believe in and rely on Madame Karitska's clairvoyant abilities. As the stories progress, teenager Gavin and investor Faber-Jones become assistants.
The book was written in 1975 and it is a treat to regress to the world when payphones were hugely important!
April 6, 2020
Dorothy Gilman has written another interesting, enjoyable and easy read on a subject that I knew very little about, psychic power. Madame Karitska, is a wonderful character with a charming manner, and as I read, I hear her calm voice and clear, thoughtful reasoning. The book seems like a series of short stories with Madame Karitska and Detective-Lieutenant Pruden investigating numerous murders, poisoning, kidnapping and nefarious adventures. As with all of Dorothy Gilman's books, there are several reoccurring characters offering assistance in solving the mysteries.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 259 reviews