I’m sad to say I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as Penner’s first book, The Lost Apothecary. I was really excited about it given that it is set in one of my favorite time periods. And while I understand this time period was pretty revolutionary for people becoming freer in their thinking on relationships., I think there was too much of a focus on physical relationships in this book. I had a really hard time getting into the mystery of the book because so much of the side plots revolved around people exploring unconventional relationships. I actually put it down for awhile about a third of the way through. I just felt like it wasn’t going anywhere at that point.

An enjoyable read that kept me interested the whole way through. A different kind of book for me but one I enjoyed nonetheless. I particularly liked Sarah Penners depiction of Victorian London!

“May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium…”

My thanks to Legend Press for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The London Séance Society’ by Sarah Penner.

This historical mystery draws upon the popularity of Spiritualism during the late nineteenth century.

In 1873 Paris acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire is known worldwide for her talent in communicating with the spirits of murder victims and ascertain the identities of their killers. Her talents are highly sought after by widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris to find answers about her sister’s death. Yet to do so she must overcome her own scepticism against all things occult. When Vaudeline is asked travel to England to assist in a high-profile murder case, Lenna accompanies her as an understudy. The women team up with the powerful men of London’s exclusive Séance Society to solve the mystery. No further details to avoid spoilers.

This novel had a number of elements that appealed to me from its portrayal of Spiritualism, Victorian London, and its Gothic ambiance. I enjoyed Lenna’s personal journeys of discovery. However, I did at times find that the swapping between points of view interfered a bit with the pacing.

I appreciated Sarah Penner’s informative Author’s Note and the details about Victorian mourning customs and the various gentlemen clubs found in Victorian London.

Overall, this book was just fine but not memorable at all for me. I was initially intrigued by the setting and concept and I had very high hopes after The Lost Apothecary. I found the book on the slower side and despite the mystery, I wasn't compelled to pick it up frequently and was easily distracted. Unfortunately, this was a miss for me but I'm still looking forward to other books by this author.

A promising plotline with an underwhelming execution, though overall still enjoyable.

When first coming across The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner, many of my interests were immediately piqued. Historical fiction, mystery, ghosts and LGBTQ? There was much to look forward to in the book, but unfortunately it just didn't quite live up to my hopes and expectations.

The London Seance Society is set in the Victorian period in London, right at the height of spiritualism's popularity. Victorians were superstitious when it came to death, and so spiritualism, mediumship and anything to do with the afterlife were potentially profitable areas of work if you were able to pull it off.

The story centres around three main characters, Vaudeline D’Allaire, a famed medium, Lenna Wickes, a skeptic whose sister has been murdered, and Mr.Morley, who is the vice president of The London Seance Society. Vaudeline is a medium who specialises in cases where the deceased has been murdered, and it is through this that Lenna Wickes comes to know her. Vaudeline previously worked in London, but moved to Paris under mysterious circumstances, and so Lenna goes to her to learn her methods as an apprentice so she can host a seance and find her sister's murderer. Meanwhile, Mr.Morley contacts Vaudeline asking her back to London to solve the murder of the Society's president, Mr.Volckman, and so the pair return to London where threads become unraveled and truths revealed.

The story is written in a shifting two point of view perspective, between a third person POV from Lenna, and a first person POV from Mr.Morley. This switching POV I felt made the story very enjoyable, as it allowed us to witness the scenes unfolding in different ways, and tell us more about the past and the lead up of events to the present.

Though the book was overall a fine read, in the end it just felt a bit thin, and I found myself dragging through certain parts. The plot twists were not particularly exciting nor shocking. The characters also felt as though they weren't quite fully formed - sometimes heavy handed and sometimes not much at all. Lenna especially felt quite wishy-washy here and there. The LGBTQ side plot was also underwhelming and at time felt shoehorned into the story to create a grab at diversity without actually addressing it much.

The story does do a very good job at conveying the role of spiritualism and mediumship in the Victorian period, and her descriptions of customs and beliefs is the part of the book I enjoyed the most.

Therefor my review has ended up at 3 stars. A decent book, I am sure some will find it enjoyable, especially if they are interested in spiritualism in the Victorian period.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Legend Press for providing me with an ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Known worldwide for her talent in conjuring spirits of murder victims and solving crimes, Vaudeline is highly sought after. And Lenna is determined for her help to discover who murdered her own sister, despite her own reservations about the occult. When Vaudeline is called to London to deal with a high profile murder, Lenna goes with her as an understudy at the behest of the London Seance Society. But there's more to this case than they originally believe…

I absolutely loved this one! Dark, Victorian, Gothic and with LGBTQIA+ rep, it was the perfect mystery mixed with the paranormal and I can't say I've seen this story done before. It felt very original and kept my attention right to the end as I had no idea what to expect and where the book was going to go.

2.5 stars // This book took me awhile to get into. I’m glad I finished it, but it ended up being just okay. It follows a Victorian-era medium, her apprentice, and a man who helps run a gentleman’s organization called the London Seance Society. People are being killed, there are rumors that the Society is all a ruse, and the two women are trying to solve the mystery.

Lots of things were a little too convenient. Lots of people ended up not being who they said they were. Like I said — it was okay. I did like learning more about mediums and spiritualists in that time period!

Promising storyline, underwhelming execution.

When I heard that Sarah Penner was releasing a new book, I immediately knew I would be interested in reading it. After all, I did find The Lost Apothecary a fun and smooth read. The synopsis of The London Séance Society also seemed promising.

The start is immediately on point, dropping you in the middle of the story but at the same time giving you enough information to understand everything properly. The chapters are alternately told from 2 POVs, which also makes you get more insights into the story. Soon after, however, the pacing falls flat, the story is rather repetitive and fails to progress. Only at the very end does the pacing pick up again.

As for the characters, this book was a huge let-down for me. I could not empathise with any of the main characters properly because I was extremely annoyed with their personalities and mannerisms. Certain actions really raised a lot of question marks and red flags in my mind. Apparently, this was not the case with the characters, making them completely unbelievable. Besides, any trace of chemistry is missing from the romantic interactions in this book.

Content-wise then, there are several plot twists, but even these are really oddly worked out. Either they are super obvious, or 2 chapters before you suddenly notice that something is not right and it is already much too thick (no subtle build-up). The turnaround from trust to distrust, from good to bad, always happens far too abruptly. This book actually feels more like a debut than The Lost Apothecary, when you would just expect The London Séance Society to be much better developed.

So this book is based on a lot of great ideas and story elements, which have a lot of potential. You can also tell that the author really did do her research work on Victorian London and séances. However, the execution was rather disappointing for me.

I love the concept of The London Séance Society, but some of the magic was lost in the execution.

I mean, a murder mystery with sapphic séances? Sounds right up my alley. I’m not sure if The London Séance Society needed more editing or if I just struggled to focus, but the narrative seems to ramble in a way that was hard to focus on the details.

Something Penner does well is placing you in the spiritualism movement of Victorian England. The popularity of the movement and the controversy between ‘real’ séances and illusionists all come to life in this gothic story. I love the structure Penner adds into the process of holding a séance and the tug-of-war between belief and scientific fact.

I wanted to like Lenna and Vaudeline more than I did. While Vaudeline did have a little range, Lenna was very stuck in her role of logical science believer. And for someone whose profession is mired in skepticism, Vaudeline is awfully sensitive to criticism. Sure, some of her sensitivity comes from wanting Lenna to hold her in higher esteem, but she should have a much thicker skin than she displayed here.

There are some good twists and turns, the atmosphere is wonderfully gothic, and there are definitely good parts in The London Séance Society. It picks up steam as you go along and feels like an outright sprint in the end. Unfortunately, it just takes too long to get there, and parts of the narrative feel unnecessary or unexplored.

This book captured my attention from the very beginning and kept it until I turned the last page! I loved the themes of love, strong woman, romance, suspense and intrigue! I loved the setting in 1800's London and the imaginative writing and scene descriptions! It had so many twists and turns and made me feel like I was right there with the characters. I loved Sarah Penner's first book and love this one as well!

I loved this book so much!
The plot line is thrilling and engaging, between seances, ghosts, and murders. The character are compelling and well written.
My favourite thing however was the atmosphere. The Victorian London was brought to life in this novel and the representation of the history of the early spiritism was incredibly good!

This was a quick, entertaining read. I didn't know much about Victorian England's fascination with the supernatural so it was interesting. The time period was described very well, and I liked the murder mystery aspect of this book. Overall if you like historical fiction and mysteries, I would recommend this book. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The London Seance Society is set in 1873, high Victorian London, and follows Lenna Wicks as she tries to uncover the truth behind her sister's murder. Working with an internationally acclaimed spiritualist, Vaudeline D'Allaire, she embarks on an otherworldly adventure to bring about the downfall of quite an elitist Gentleman's Club, There are spooks, cliffhangers, and a little bit of romance in this wonderfully mysterious gothic tale.

I've been looking forward to this book since I first read about it a few months ago.It was a hauntingly good read, giving it a well-earned 4 star rating.

I absolutely adore the premise - I love spooky, dark mysteries and Penner delivers in spades. The characters are wonderfully crafted, the twists are unpredictable, and the dual POV and writing style are excellent at drip-feeding information that adds suspense...I loved it all. I actually nipped out to Waterstones and I picked up Penner's debut novel, The Lost Apothecary, I love her style that much!

The only slight drawback was the pacing. I did find it a little slow at certain points and there were a couple of instances where I felt flashback chapters were interrupting the flow of action just a little bit. These flashbacks were necessary to provide context, though, I just wonder if they could have been done a little differently.

I will absolutely by looking out for more from this author!

It is 1873. Victorian society is obsessed with death & spiritualism. Lenna Wickes came to Paris to become the apprentice of famed medium Vaudeline D’Allaire, but really wants to find out what happened to her sister. Vaudeline gets called back to London, one of the leading members of the London Séance Society has been murdered & although this is an all male society her expertise is required. The two women soon discover that all is far from well within the dark walls.

This book captured the age & the atmosphere very well. I felt I lived in Victorian London & it took me a while to get back to earth! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Lenna Wickes travels to Paris after the murder of her sister Evie for an apprenticeship with the famous medium Vaudeline d'Allaire. Vaudeline makes contact with spirits of deceased people who have been murdered in order to track down the killer. When Vaudeline receives a letter from a Mr. Morley to solve the murder of the president of the London Séance Society, a former friend of her, the pair return to London. And Lenna hopes to also learn the truth about Evie.

I enjoyed Sarah Penner's 'The lost apothecary' last year. 'The London séance society' is her second novel and has a very different theme that didn't attract me as much. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try and after the first chapters I already noticed I was totally into it.

This time it isn't a dual timeframe novel. Everything takes place in the 19th century in London and Paris. The novel opens with a seance in a chateau in Paris where Vaudeline and Lenna receive a letter from one of the key figures of the London Séance Society, Mr. Morley. Vaudeline has fleed London a year before but is now asked to return as Mr. Volckman - head of the society - has been murdered on All Hallows Eve, the same day as Lenna's sister Evie was found stabbed to death. We read alternately from Lenna and Mr Morley. Soon you realize that the two murders are linked so you try to solve a central mystery.

Although I saw some things coming, I thought it was a well-developed plot. The ending was a bit too elaborate perhaps. Penner's writing felt more mature now. And although there are supernatural things in the book again, it didn't bother me. This time, those powers were more concrete - in the form of ghosts.

I am definitely looking forward to another book by Penner as her first two novels are already very different. This one is definitely my favourite so far.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Really disappointed in this one. The storyline was strange and slow. I had such high hopes after loving the lost apothecary but this one was just missing the same magic. Found myself skimming the last 1/3 as I just didn’t care what happened.

The London Seance Society is a historical mystery by best selling author, Sarah Penner. I've heard her previous book The Lost Apothecary been talked about extensively so was very curious to dive into this one. Historical fiction is not normally a genre I read and I did find that the style of the book was a little hard for me to get into. In saying that while I personally think I'll stick to contemporary reads, I could definitely see why this author is widely praised. The writing is detailed so you can picture the settings but not so much that you feel it drags on. She creates very vivid and likeable characters and sets up a clever mystery that we want to know more about. I did like the themes of seances and the afterlife. This gave the book also have a gothic and horror vibe. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read this book.

After reading the Lost Apothecary back in 2021, I knew I NEEDED to read The London Seance Society.

The London Seance Society is about a group of mediums who perform Seances for the families of victims of crime. I.E Murdered victims. Leena, quickly becomes involved when her sister (an aspiring Medium) comes u dead. Leena then, knows what she has to do. She contacts no other than Vaudeline D’Allaire, The lady who once interned her sister, to perform a seance in order for Leena to find out what happened to her sister. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. In order for Leena to find the answers she so desperately wants, She might just have to become an intern for Vaudeline D’Allaire herself. However, Once Leena gets involved with the Seance Society, Things aren't as they seem. What actually happened to her sister?

I love Sarah Penner's writing and can not wait to see what else she has to offer us in the realm of story telling! Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to review this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

After having previously really enjoyed this author’s first book, The Lost Apothecary, I was so excited to be approved for an advanced reader copy of this book. However, it really fell flat for me. The pacing was very slow and I wasn’t invested in the story. Lenna was a likable main character and I enjoyed her POV more than the POV of Morley. I liked uncovering what happened to Evie and how she came to discover secrets of the London Seance Society, those secrets ultimately leading to her death. It was an interesting concept, but the execution didn’t quite hit the mark. Overall, this book was very mediocre. The writing was good and the tone made for a good book, in theory. I would pick up more books by this author, but this wasn’t my favorite.

I thought this was a wonderful paranormal murder mystery with a small amount of sapphic romance.
Lenna's sister was murdered so while seeking out the most renowned medium Vaudeline D'allaire to ask her sister from beyond the grave who killed her, but instead gets instilled as one of the students in the art of seance. While performing a seance in Paris the pair get interrupted with news of the London seance society head has been murdered too and could they return to London to assist in the Police investigation as solve the mystery.
This was such fast paced fun and constantly finding out new information I found myself swept up in the investigation too. Perfect for fans of murder mysteries on the lighter side, this was harmless fun and a wonderful addition to the cosier mystery genre