Mediums, ghosts, spirits, séances, closure for the living and the dead. This book draws you into the realm of Victorian spiritualism. When everyone was infatuated with the dead. You have to be careful because there are people who claim to be able to contact the dead, when in reality it is a show of tricks. How can you tell the difference between the real and the fake. The London Séance Society helps to rid the London streets of the Con artists, or they are supposed to be. When the highly esteemed medium Vaudeline, flees London for the safety of Paris. Many question what has happened, why did she flee? When her protege Evie and the president of The London Séance Society are found murdered on All Hollows Eve. They are left wondering what is occurring behind the elusive closed doors of the society.

After her sister Evie's death. Lenna is left doing the one thing she never thought she would do, training as a medium under Vaudeline. But she must find out what has happened to her. As Lenna and Vauldeline try to uncover the truth, both their lives hang in the balance. You will be twisted here and there, uncovering each new piece of the puzzle as they are led blindly into the fray. Trying to decipherer who is behind it all.

I loved the atmospheric settings. Ranging from a crumbling, abandoned château, the dank, dark recesses of a basement, a brothel, and wherever a person may have passed onto their next life. Vaudeline and Lenna are charismatic characters that brings richness to the story. Both are strong, forward thinking, and definitely not meant for their time. The story starts off slow, building with speed. I was lost for a bit, but I did find my way and thought the last half of the book was fantastic! Thank you to Sarah Penner and Park Row for my gifted copy of this ghostly read.

I’m so sad that I didn’t like this book. After not liking the ending of “The Last Apothecary”, but generally liking the book enough, I badly wanted to love this one to renew my hopes for Sarah Penner’s work.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do it for me at all. The story felt forced and weirdly crafted. While I enjoyed the third person POV for Lenna and Vaudeline, Mr. Morley’s POV was weak and way too informative for a potential mystery to take place. It was a way to tell both sides of the story, but it just left nothing to the imagination, nothing for the reader to speculate or even to create red herrings.
The ‘plot twist’ reveal at 50% was not surprising at all, didn’t give me a single note of having been well developed and was written in almost a childish manner - “it was me”. It made me roll my eyes. In a way, it took away any possibility for me to enjoy the actual reveal near the end. There were so many petty misunderstandings between the characters and Lenna was reaching to conclusions that were basic accusations without even thinking about them in the first place.
The London Seance Society ultimately made me cringe several times, in particular in the epilogue, which was a disappointment.
I believe I won’t be reading this author again in the future. I am sure this book will find its audience, but it was not me.

Thanks NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Park Row for the advanced reader copy for this book in exchange of my honest opinion.

The fascinating premise of a Gothic mystery in Victorian London had me intrigued. Ms. Penner has obviously done her research into the very real societies of the time. Having lived in London in the nineties, the description of centuries old gentlemen clubs was incredibly detailed and accurate and I appreciated the sense of place which immersed me into the era.

Unfortunately the pacing of the novel did not work for me. I found the first and third person narratives to be distracting and somewhat repetitive which slowed down the plot and became at times, frustrating. Maybe I’ve just read too many thrillers lately and anticipated where the twists would come in, and I forecast the who-done-it elements in advance.

I am a fan of Ms. Penner’s previous novel The Lost Apothecary and look forward to her future books. This review will not be published on my positive-only platform on Instagram, out of respect for the incredibly difficult job of getting a story onto the page and into the hands of readers. I am certain it will hit the mark for other readers. It was just the wrong book for me at this time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I felt like the only active reader who somehow didn't read THE LOST APOTHECARY, so I knew that I wasn't going to miss the boat on Sarah Penner's second book. THE LONDON SEANCE SOCIETY is moody, mysterious, and atmospheric, it is also a pretty bad ass story of Lenna, a young London woman determined to find answers surrounding her sister's death. It is also in some ways a coming-of-age story as Lenna's relationship with clairvoyant opens up not only the spiritual realm to her but strong parts of her self as a woman with desires. It is a fiercely feminist story with alternating narration and was enjoyable start to finish.

It is 1873, and Lenna Wickes is looking into the mysterious death of her sister Evie. She joins forces with acclaimed medium and spiritualist Vaudeline, who has experience conjuring the spirits of murder victims to help widows and investigators discover who killed them. The two become involved with the powerful men of The London Seance Society and some of the more sordid sides of the spiritualist movement of Victorian England.

I love historical fiction set in Victorian England, and the gothic premise, with spiritualists and the seances that were so popular during that time, really appealed to me. The Victorians had some strange and fascinating superstitions about death, and this book was well-researched. The Author's Note at the end is especially interesting. In it, she mentions The Seance Society was loosely based on "The Ghost Club," an actual Victorian-era paranormal investigation group with famous members such as Arthur Conan Doyles, Charles Dickens, and W.B. Yeats. 🕯️

This was atmospheric, with dual POV, sapphic romance, intriguing characters, and some eerie and suspenseful moments. But there are some pacing issues in the middle slow down the story. However, the story picks up signficantly in the last quarter and comes to an unexpected conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to review this ARC.

It's 1873 and both Lenna and Mr. Morley are looking for a murderer who is somehow connected to the London Seance Society- and they both offer their point of view. Lenna has taken a job with Vaudeline, the seeress her sister Evie was working for when she was killed. Mr Volckman, the head of the Society was murdered on the same night. This is a complicated one to explain but suffice it to say that Penner does a great job with the atmospherics and she's a good storyteller. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕃𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕟 𝕊é𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕥𝕪
𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫
Historical Mystery
352 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

Leena vows to find out who killed her sister, and she does that by becoming a student of Vaudeline D’Allaire, a spiritualist who performs seances to help bring justice to the murdered. Leena’s sister studied under her before her death, bringing the story full circle.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

I love this book! It deals with death, the paranormal, woman’s oppression, intelligent women, a mystery, and some sly characters. I couldn’t wait to see what would happen when I picked up the book. Were Vaudeline’s seances real? What really happened to Leena’s sister? What the heck was she up to before her death?

I love the whole spiritualist aspect of the story. It also hits on the issue of fake seances, which were common in 1873. These imposters used a few tricks and made some easy money. In this story, they take it even further.

There was a group of men who belonged to London’s Seance Society. As I read about their building and surrounding property, the images in my head were eerie and fascinating. This society was elusive and exclusive. Women were not allowed on the premises. It was exciting when some still managed to find their way in. I was rooting for the female characters of this story throughout the book.

The men infuriated me, and that feeling worsened as the book continued. Although common then, their behavior and thoughts about women burned me up. Thank goodness times have changed!

The plot was mysterious, the setting authentic, and the ending surprising. I thoroughly enjoyed The London Seance Society.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

I squealed when saw Sarah Penney was coming out with a new novel. What made it more exciting was that it involved ghosts, seances and murder.

This story is set in 1873 with Lenna is an understudy to a famous medium Vaudeline in Paris and wanting to find who murdered her sister Evie who was also an understudy.

The other POV is Mr. Morley who reaches out asking for Vaudelines’ help to do a seance to find out who murdered the president of The London Seance Society.

We soon find out things are intertwined in these two murders and trying to figure out who is telling the truth.

I really enjoyed this story and lived up to my expectation of how much I liked The Lost Apothecary. I can’t lie I was scared if this second novel will be as good or a fluke but no worries needed and Sarah has given us another fun historical fiction story.

I also loved the authors notes that included the recipes and some history too.
Thank you New Galley, Park Row, and Sarah Penner for a eARC copy of this novel to review.

I didn’t love the characters or enjoy most of the novel, I did like the last 20% of the book. I couldn’t stop reading and had to know how things ended. If you love historical fiction and ghost stories will really enjoy it. Fans of Penner’s first novel, The Lost Apothecary, will not be disappointed.

The London Séance Society is fraught with tension and populated by strong-willed women who are unafraid to challenge societal norms. This gothic mystery is both intellectually stimulating and alluring. This captivating and delectable read kept me up late into the night as I eagerly turned the pages to unravel the mystery.

I was very excited to read this book, as I also loved The Lost Apothecary that Penner wrote. This story is set in the late 1800s, the Victorian Era, and focuses on the spiritualist movement. In this time of history, seances were a more common event, and several women served as mediums.
This story focuses on experienced spiritualist Vaudeline and her understudy Lenna. The women are summoned to Paris conduct a séance to help explain a murder.
This book is a wonderful mix of history, mystery and the unknown. I found myself immersed in this world and fascinated by it all.

I don’t believe in ghosts or mediums but it’s fun to read about them, especially in Victorian England when it was all the rage.
It’s also a murder mystery with plenty of detection that kept me busy.
One character just gave me the creeps and one of the victims turns out to be a bundle of surprises, actually two of the victims.
Penner gives a brief overview of Victorian mourning customs and they loved to lay it on thick.
Get ready for some conjuring!

I really enjoyed The Lost Apocathery so I was excited to read another book by this author, but unfortunately this one wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped. I read [book:A Dreadful Splendor|59856066] about ten months ago, so maybe Victorian spiritualists in London are going to be the new thing?

This started out strong but I felt like some things were pretty obvious (though there's enough twists to keep you reading and entertained) and I was ready for it to move along. However, it did prove to be a quick and entertaining read.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Last Apothecary and was so excited to be approved to read and review The London Seance Society. Although, it took several chapters to really get into the storyline, I understand the need to so much detail and foundational writing. Once the story got to about 60%, it was a full on fast paced roller coaster ride until the end. All the various storyline and elements came together. Some twists were predictable but also rightfully so as you were led there and the story is all the better for it being this way. However, there were some elements that were not predicted and made me think “gosh how didn’t I see that coming?!?”
I’m not an huge fan of historical fiction but I love how Sarah Penner always writes intelligent, insightful, and strong women as her main characters.
Overall, I enjoyed The London Seance Society (gorgeous cover, is it not?!) and recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row for the opportunity to read and write a review for this book.

I enjoyed the premise of this one and will purchase and recommend to my high school students. Mystery + supernatural is often a hit, and the historical element is a fun setting. Will recommend to readers who enjoyed Anatomy (Schwartz) and Chloe Gong’s books. Thanks for the advance read!

I really enjoyed The Lost Apothecary, so was eager to read the next book from Sarah Penner, and it didn't disappoint. It started as the story of a spiritualist and her understudy going to attempt to solve two murders in 1870s London, but it ended up being so much more. I found the exploration of the Spiritualist phenomenon in the Victorian era fascinating, along with the roles of women in society, and attitudes toward courtship and sexuality. And I can't deny loving a good revenge tale. Don't miss the Author's note that gives even more interesting information. Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance digital copy!

Thanks to Park Row for the copy of this book!

The Lost Apothecary was a “like” more than a “love” for me, so I wanted to give Sarah’s next novel a try. Plus, seances! This was also a “like” for me - I enjoyed the mystery with twists, feminist themes, seance talk, and dual POV. This book is perfect for people who love Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie and want that with some spirits, brothels, and LGBT themes. I definitely recommend to that crowd - it’s just not a genre that’s usually a favorite for me!

It took me several chapters to really get into this book
The whole idea of seances and all that entails I find interesting. I knew having seances were really popular in Victorian England but never really thought about someone being an understudy for it.
This was a twisted story and really more suited for October reading. I thought it was good
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

2.5 stars

I thought the concept of this book was very intriguing, but I found the actual story to be lacking. I really struggled to get through the first half of the book and then I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, and though I kind of liked Lenna and Vaudeline and was happy for Lenna in the end, there wasn’t enough substance to most of the character for me to root for them in any way. I was a little shocked by the ending and didn’t reallyyy see it coming but at that point I had only just felt like I was interested in the story. So overall, not something I would recommended. I think some people may be interested, but not the people I talk to regularly about books.

This was a DNF for me

I couldn’t understand how the random times were connected and it jumped too much for my liking