The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner Published by Harlequin on March 7, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Historical / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Historical, Fiction / Occult & Supernatural, Fiction / Women
Pages: 329
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: NetGalley
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.
1873. At an abandoned château on the outskirts of Paris, a dark séance is about to take place, led by acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire. Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them, she is highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.
Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death, but to do so, she must embrace the unknown and overcome her own logic-driven bias against the occult. When Vaudeline is beckoned to England to solve a high-profile murder, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. With shared determination, the women find companionship that perhaps borders on something more. And as they team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery, they begin to suspect that they are not merely out to solve a crime, but perhaps entangled in one themselves…
Written with intoxicating suspense and sultry prose, The London Séance Society is an entrancing tale that blurs the lines between truth and illusion, and reveals the grave risks women will take to avenge the ones they love.
"Penner brings history to vivid life in this atmospheric and evocative whodunnit." —Nita Prose, author of The Maid
Named a Most Anticipated book by Good Housekeeping, Washington Post, Bookpage, CrimeReads, Readers Digest, Popsugar, LitHub, E! News, Goodreads, and more
My Review
I must say that I was absolutely thrilled to receive this book because I loved The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner so much and have recommended it to others. I feel that she writes historical fiction really well and I am eager to read more by this author.
The idea behind this book I found to be very intriguing and I was eager to learn more about the story. The book follows two women: one who is a medium and teacher, the other who is her understudy, and the sister of a woman who was murdered. Vaudeline D’Allaire is the sought-after medium of the time in London and Paris. Her focus is to bring back murder victims to identify their killers and solve the case. Lenna Wickes is Vaudeline’s understudy and also the sister of murder victim Evie. The story is told through the viewpoints of these women along with Mr. Morley the Vice President of the London Seance Society and friend of murder victim Mr. Volckman who also happens to be the President of the Society.
Lenna and Vauldeline I found to be particularly brave women, especially during the time period of 1873. Vauldeline with her urge to discover murderers and Lenna with her drive to discover who killed her sister. Both of these women were very driven and passionate characters. They were both willing to go the extra mile to find the information they were looking for. These women had to stay undercover at points in this story by dressing in male disguises so as not to be discovered by other society members. Females were prohibited to be in such societies during this time period. So the sneak factor for these two women was a serious thing.
This story I found to be a page-turner for sure with all the sneaking around, investigating, stories of the victims (multiple victims I did not mention), and the discovery of what Evie was really up to before she was killed oh, and how she died. Epic. I also found the seances to be creepy but maybe that is just because I do not tend to read things with too much creep factor due to being a bit of a chicken. I did really enjoy the fact that along the way you discover things about the characters that you were not expecting. Not all things seem as they are at first glance.
I was very pleased with the way things ended and was left not wanting any more from the story. I think Sarah Penner did a great job with this book and I strongly encourage others to read it. If you are looking for strong women, sapphic romance, murder, and mystery then this book is for you.
Trigger Warnings:
- Murder
- Sexual Assault
- Grief
- Death
- Violence
I just want to say thank you to Netgalley for this digital copy of The London Seance Society book by Sarah Penner. I received this book in return for my honest review and opinions. Everything I have included in my review is entirely my own.
Publication Date March 7th, 2023