THE HUMMING TOP

A foundling at four, a seer at six (and seven and eight), Dorcas, now eighteen, still has the top whose turning sets her mind spinning into the future--or, the past. Which makes her a convenient hired companion for rich old psych-addict Mrs. Abbott in the eyes of predatory niece Helen Culver, who wants Dorcas to ""see"" a way to safeguard her inheritance. Also assembled for the death watch are boozy bankrupt Bennett Culver, unctuous foster son Philip Neeve, a truculent housekeeper, and nephew Michael Lawrence from England, whose resemblance to Mrs. Abbott's vanished grandson threatens the others' chances. You have to feel sorry for Dorcas, who's uneasy about her powers anyhow and won't prevaricate. . . . But she does see what happened to Steven Abbott. . . and to his grandmother. . . and it almost happens to her. An ESPactular as hard to put down as it is to swallow.