The Women in White

A Novel

By: Sarah Pekkanen

Extrasensory perception.
The Gift.
A Sixth Sense.
Or something else….

In 1964, four remarkable young women at a prestigious university became the subjects of parapsychology experiments by a visionary scientist. On the cusp of a historic breakthrough, the women mysteriously vanished and the program was erased from history. Decades later, Riley Bell, newly divorced and desperate for a fresh start, accepts a caretaker job for an elderly widow named Betty. Riley steps into a home that is frozen in another era - no microwave, television, or cell phones, and Betty has never heard of the internet. Why has Betty lived in such profound isolation for so many years, and why does she need Riley now? As the story unfolds across two timelines - Betty’s 1960s era of 5 o’clock martinis and high-stakes experiments, and Riley’s quest to uncover the truth about the missing women - old secrets rise to the surface. And the only way to survive is to confront the mystery that has lingered for sixty years.

Critic reviews

“THE WOMEN IN WHITE is a swift, lean, compelling tale of preternatural suspense, disturbing in all the right ways. When the pursuit of knowledge is really the pursuit of power, things go wrong—which can be devilishly entertaining!” —DEAN KOONTZ

"THE WOMEN IN WHITE is prime suspense and intrigue. In the 1960s, four young women become tragically involved in psychic experimentation at a prestigious college. In the present day, a young woman, down on her luck, becomes the caretaker of one of the survivors. The full story unfolds with fascinating layers, and readers will be held captive until the last page." —CHARLAINE HARRIS

"This fun and fast-paced novel was inspired by real-life psychic experiments and academic parapsychology departments of the 1960s -- what a great setting for a creepy thriller! Imagine something like Mad Men with ESP and telekinesis. Sarah Pekkanen delivers a thoroughly entertaining story and made me believe the impossible." —Jason Rekulak, NYT bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding