THE WOMEN IN WHITE by Sarah Pekken

4 stars

A dive into callous psychic tests in the early 1960’s by an ambitious male university scientist, Dr. Silas Trimble ultimately, destroying the lives of four young 20-something women. It casts a hugely negative light on the flurry of psychological experiments that gained popularity and notoriety in the 1960’s.

Dr. Tremble recruits undergraduates who show promise in guessing the symbols of 25 turned down cards. These young women include Betty Sadler, for whom Dr. Trimble is overseeing her husband’s psych doctoral. Dr. Silas also goes to other universities to recruit, including bringing one woman to his lab by recruiting her husband to a lucrative assistant coaching job. All these women embody 1960’s housewives, and find themselves unable to stand up to male authority, particularly when doing so could damage their husband’s careers. The women intensely bond as Dr. Tremble’s experimentation grows in intensity, cruelty and intrusiveness. It’s hard to bear witness.

In a parallel current day timeline that lacks the sharpness of the early story line, a young nurse’s aide gets hired by an elderly Betty who is recently widowed and wheelchair bound. Betty has been living as a recluse in a house frozen in the early 1960’s years, but now wants to find out what happened to her fellow test subjects and close friends after the experiments were disbanded. In looking into the past, threats to Betty’s safety reactivate.

A harrowing look at medical ethics gone awry, women’s rights denied, and the murky scientific testing of parapsychology.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for an advance reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.