It’s 1873, and on the outskirts of Paris, France, a seance is about to commence in the eerie confines of an abandoned chateau. Leading the seance is acclaimed spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire, who has a talent for bringing forth murder victims, in order to discover the person responsible for their deaths. Not unnaturally, D’Allaire is very popular both with grieving widows and investigators alike.

Lenna Wickes has come to Paris as an understudy with D’Allaire but she’s also here to discover who killed her sister Evie, but unlike Evie, Lenna is rather sceptical about the afterlife, never mind contacting the dead.

After the seance, D’Allaire’s services are required in London by the London Seance Society, to solve a high profile murder, and accompanied by Lenna, the two will find themselves in extreme danger as they battle some of the most powerful men in London, because Lenna is determined to avenge Evie’s death, regardless of whether that person yields power or not.

Victorian London is brought deliciously to life in this creepy gothic storyline, and especially the popularity of spiritualism, it’s simply oozing with atmosphere. It’s eerie, full of suspense, with a little romance thrown in for good measure, not to mention some salacious propositions!

I love the paranormal vibes, sapphic relationship and murder mystery set in Victorian era vibes. This was highly engaging and I really liked the ambiance of the book. I can’t wait for people to pick this up next year!

The London Seance Society was my first time reading a book by Sarah Penner, I really enjoyed the writing style. I liked the story line and the follow of the story, I can't wait to share this book with the readers a Yooneek Books.

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but I jumped at the chance to read this as I'm a lover of anything to do with the occult.
This book was a treat, murder, mystery and ghosts.
London in 1873 Lenna's sister is murdered and her goal is to find out how, who and why.
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be interested in reading more of Sarah Penner's work.

I really enjoyed this one!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Park Row Books for my advanced copy of The London Seance Society!

What I Loved-

✨ The Cover- Stunning.

✨ The Atmosphere- Amazing.

✨ The Dual POV.

✨ The History.

✨ The Characters.

✨ The Mystery.

Why this wasn’t a Five Star Read- The beginning of the novel moved very slow for me. It took me a minute to get into.

Overall- highly recommend. I cannot wait to see what this author puts out next.

Wonderful in evetry way

Gothic and compelling

Lovely scenes and scary ones at the seances!

Good writing and an overall exciting plot which I felt part of.

What a good story!

I loved the characters and the plot of the story, I will definitely be reading more from this author.

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

Thank you Netgalley and Legend Press for an arc ebook for an unbiased review.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Apothecary, and so was extremely excited to read this arc.

Lenna's sister Evie is killed. Up until then, Lenna Wickes was driven by a belief in the sciences, and most certainly not by something she had considered to be meaningless and irrational.
Now, Lenna travels to an abandoned château, where she asks the renowned medium, Vaudeline D’Allaire, to see if she can get answers about Evie's death. Despite becoming Vaudeline's understudy, Lenna still finds it hard to accept séances as anything other than exaggerated parlour games.
From the château, we then end up in London, where at the bequest of Mr Morley, Vaudeline accompanied by Lenna, travels to try and find a killer.

I won't say more, as it might verge into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, there are layers of complexity and connection that not only were surprising to me as we went along, but could easily become too entangled, and yet Sarah manages to weave them nicely.

Engaging, vivid and once it got past an initial slow buildup, was superbly paced. Murder and mystery aren't always something that can be pulled off, yet here it works. From the abandoned château to Londons Séance Society, we are drawn into a world that is rich with the right amount of gothic vibes. We have some romance, and usually, in the kind of setting such as this it would annoy me, yet it isn't the focus here, and so blends into the background without distracting you from the book's true purpose.

I am so tempted to just give 5 stars, but I felt the pacing was just a tad too slow initially, and that pulls the star off. Well more of a ½ star. Others could easily give it 5 stars, and I wouldn't have any qualms about them doing so. In one way I feel almost disappointed in not giving it 5 stars myself. Argh, the dilemma! lol

Certainly a book I will place onto my bookshelves once released, and have no problem gifting or recommending it to others.

4/5 stars 🌟

Welcome to the world of the occult, romance, and death.

Vaudeline is known throughout the world for her skill in conjuring the spirits of murder victims in order to ascertain the identities of their killers. An esteemed spiritualist, she had solved several of Europe's most baffling murder mysteries.
Lenna, Vaudeline's apprentice, would have to learn the art of séance herself in Paris, then return to the site of Evie's death with the hope of conjuring her sister's spirit on her own. These ghosts were victims of violence, and they are gone too soon. They'd been murdered, every one of them. And worse, their killers had gotten away.

Could women find their voice, their power, and their mission in the 19th century, when men were in charge?

The lively female protagonists, who are not only looking for the killer but also their passion, are perfectly described in this historical fiction.

Good read.

I loved The Lost Apothecary and I picked this without reading the blurb and was hoping for a similar read. Unfortunately it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I found it to be a very slow burn read. I didn't particularly connect to the characters which didn't help with the enjoyment of the book. I really wanted to enjoy this book, so maybe I will revisit post publication. The writing style was perfect, the subject was interesting so it wasn't all bad

A well written story about 19th century London and the prevalence of seances at that time. It's not something I've ever had any real interest, or indeed belief in, but nonetheless an intriguing murder mystery. Lenna is determined to find out what really happened to her sister Evie - who murdered her and why. For me, the story got better as the novel went on and I loved all the twists that kept unravelling. A good read and and a postcript from the author, at the end of the book which gives loads of interesting facts about how funerals were conducted, mourning periods etc, during those times.

I seem to be in the minority with this but the beginning was too slow and I just couldn't get into it, ultimately making it a DNF for me. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity though.

This was a fun read that kept my attention. I really enjoyed the Lost Apothecary so I wanted to read this right away. I liked the independent, head-strong female characters and learning more about the spiritualism fad at that time. I had heard a little about it before, and the interest in seances, mediums, etc., so it was interesting to have it incorporated into a story. I liked the comparisons between London and Paris society, including the different ways same-sex relationships were considered. The description and actions of the men's club added to the interest of the story, and I liked the author's note at the end out the existence of the club and others like it. The mystery of the story was good, and it unraveled at a good pace with some clues that kept me guessing. I can see this being a good mystery book club selection. The author's additions at the end were a nice touch- the mourning practices of the time, including a few recipes, were unexpected but welcome. I would recommend this title to anyone who likes historical fiction, is interested in spiritualism, the occult, tarot, etc., or LGBTQ+ characters. I'm sure my library will purchase this title in print and ebook/eaudiobook.

In Victorian England, Lenna Wickes is apprenticing with renowned medium Vaudeline D’Allair to find out what happened to her sister Evie, who was killed under mysterious circumstances on Halloween night. Through alternating points of view, we follow Lenna and Mr. Morley, the Vice President of the Department of Spiritualism in the London Seance Society, as Lenna uncovers what happened that fateful night.

This is a mystery set in 1873 Paris and London, with women making their own way despite the limitations of Victorian convention, ambitious and avaricious men, and, of course, seances. It’s atmospheric and interesting, taking us into worlds such as a select London gentlemen’s club, a brothel, and a chateau. The sisters’ relationship plays a strong part in the plot, as does Evie’s growing relationship with her mentor Vaudeline. Other themes are the tension between science and the supernatural, between reason and emotion.

While the story feels a little slow in the beginning, it picks up further in. Some surprising twists add originality and intensity in the second half of the novel, and there are some strong suspenseful scenes, climaxing in a seance that reveals the murderer. At times, however, I can still feel the authorial strings on the plot. There’s also some stereotypical tendency toward good, loving, and brave women vs evil, scheming men. It seemed as if the characters would be more complex at points during the novel, but ultimately it resolved in a more black-and-white (less interesting) way.

Still, this is an enjoyable read for anyone interested in Victoriana, Spiritualism and seances, gothic novels, historical fiction with empowered women, and lesbian/queer re-visioning of 19th century stories. I recommend it.

I enjoyed this! Ghosts , mediums , murder mystery? Sign me up. Sarah really knows how to take you back and time and slowly unwind an exquisitely beautiful gothic tale.
The suspension and tension was well done and had me flipping through until the final page.
I have yet to read her other works, I've had the lost apothecary sitting on my shelf and after reading this I'll be diving right in.

Thank you netgalley for providing me an arc for an honest review.

Magical realism, spirits, and murder from the author of THE LOST APOTHECARY.

Sarah Penner's sophomore novel is atmospheric and full of dark magic, with a writing style that has matured and seasoned from her debut. The plot lines felt better-controlled, and the plucky investigative heroine was given greater depth. I liked the book's LGBTQ+ representation, and enjoyed the extra content at the end, which explains more about mourning rituals and even includes some recipes.

I thought the plot's pacing could've been a little quicker; at times there was a lot of filler, observations of surroundings or characters' thoughts that could've been trimmed down, but I enjoyed this one overall and look forward to seeing how the author's writing style continues to evolve.

Thank you to Park Row Books for the gifted ARC! THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY releases March 21!

Overall I really enjoyed this book, and I loved that the ending really kept me on my toes, there were so many twists that really surprised me.

I thought that the book was quite slow until the end when it all really picked up the pace. I also thought that a lot of thoughts were repeated which felt like space filler, conversations and scenarios were not realistic (after a violent fight were unrealistically calm), and that more attention could have been given to the relationship between Vaudeline and Lenna which, I felt like, was forgotten about frequently.

I really enjoyed Sarah's writing style and I thought the storyline was fantastic. I don't think anyone could have guessed what would happen in this book! All the characterisations were really well-developed and, again, kept me on my toes. The changes between POVs was really great, and it was really smart that the reader knew what happened before some of the other characters because of the POVs. I love the additions at the front and end of the book, they're really unique, and Sarah's acknowledgements at the end was beautiful.

I would really recommend this book. I haven't read Sarah's debut novel The Lost Apothecary before, but I'm really interested in reading it now!

Thank you again NetGalley, Sarah Penner and Legend Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review has been posted on Goodreads.

Ok this book was super interesting. Really great historical fiction with a dash of suspense. I loved the overload of information on witchy stuff, I've never been a part of one or really even know what goes on in a traditional seance, but I absolutely loved getting immersed in the medium culture. I really enjoyed this one. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

A really decent mystery novel - wrapped up in alchemy and apparitions but really a mystery at its core. I enjoyed Lenna as a protagonist, I was always willing her to find the answers about her sister. Weaving the seance element into it worked well, always moving the plot forward while creating a spooky atmosphere. I did find the shifting perspectives a struggle to follow at times but overall enjoyable.

I received this from netgalley in exchange for a review.

Sarah Penner has written an intriguing historical murder mystery combined with spiritualism and ghosts that I really enjoyed. I loved Lenna and Vaudeline, and how their relationship evolved as they learned more about each other. I was glad Lenna took the steps to not being afraid to explore their relationship and that at the end, it seems they will be happy together for some time.

The main plot of the book revolves around the non-connected murders of Lenna’s sister and the head of the London Seance Society - a men’s group that performs seance’s to help London’s grieving community. But are they connected? Is that really what the group is doing? I enjoyed how the plot unfolded until the ultimate reveals - enough of surprise and also expected items to make reading this enjoyable.