This was such a good story. I think it will be a book club pick for many. Highly recommend this one!

I was really eager to read this since I enjoyed The Lost Apothecary so much! I always appreciate a good mystery combined with historical fiction.

The spiritualist movement in Victorian times has always fascinated me and I really appreciate the author’s note at the end giving more detail and even some fun recipes. I enjoyed that touch.

I liked the relationship between Lenna and Vaudeline and was hoping to have a little more depth from the characters. This book is a very slow burn and bordered on boring at times because I felt not a lot was happening. I appreciated the story but hoped for more action not as late into the plot.

The ending was solid and I was surprised by a few of the events that transpired but I was left a little underwhelmed. I still think it’s a good story and recommend it to historical fiction fans and those who have a general interest in the spiritualist movement in Victorian times.

The London Seance Society is a parallel narrative told from the perspective of both Lenna and Mr Morely, a member of the London Seance Society. Lenna is in the hopes of discovering the murder of her sister, whereas Mr Morley has asked Vaudeline to investigate the murder of a member of the society. Sarah Penner is excellent at bringing a story even more depth and understanding through the use of a multiple perspectives. I thoroughly enjoyed reading from both perspectives, and, it helped to understand the story further.

The book started off strong, drawing you straight into the world of the occult and supernatural. You are introduced to the main plot at the very first instance, however, the continuation of the tale was slow. I would have enjoyed the mystery part of the novel more if it was quicker to the punch. Nonetheless, the way Sarah Penner writes is a delight to read, she really captures the scenes and the personality of her characters throughout her writing.

One of the main reasons I gave this book a three star rating is purely because in novels of this parameter we are always introduced to a character, whether that be a main character or side, who is of logical and scientific mind but quickly is turned to the occult due to one incident. Having met people like this in the real world it is very difficult to sway them of their beliefs as they always have a way of justifying, regardless of what evidence you present. I wish this trope was used less in novels of this genre.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the overall plot of this novel. It was interesting, seductive and focused upon powerful women achieving what they want. I definitely recommend this book if you are interested in Sarah Penner and her works, she has a very beautiful writing style that is easy to read yet gripping for the reader.

This Atmospheric Victorian Novel pulled me in from page 1, it had all the elements that I love, especially secret societies. It is written in a dual POV system which follows our two main characters from different sides of the society. This helps the reader to understand all aspects of the patriarchal society which was evident in the Victorian Society. The writer handles the element of same sex relationship delicately and this is something which is building throughout the novel until the end when this comes to fruition. I love the way that Sarah Penner builds the characters in a layered way which helps us to see the flaws and strengths of them as the novel builds. In essence this is a story of how one person can take down a society with help from a previous character that has been murdered. It is a thriller type novel as you are reading about the take down of society while investigating the female main character's sister's murder. We have a mentor/mentee relationship which is built and this is put into questions as you investigate the murders with the main characters.

This novel will appeal to readers who love the Gothic Victorian London coupled with a creepy storyline of the paranormal aspects.

Having previously enjoyed The Lost Apothecary, I was excited to start this one. The London Seance Society is a brilliant story in its own right - a slow burn but one that sucked me in and I was excited to see where it went. I loved the dual point of view and each of the characters. Fab read, I'll be purchasing a physical copy when its released. Huge thanks for the arc of this one!

Much like Penner’s debut novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Delving into the stages and steps of seances and tie it in with a little bit of mystery and scandal. It kept me guessing the whole time. I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with. Quickly becoming an auto buy author for me.

In the best way possible, I'm lost for words! This was a fantastically gripping story with such great scene setting and description. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The London Seance Society" and all opinions expressed are my own. Loved the previous book "The Lost Apothecary". I did find this book a bit slower than the previous one. But it was another interesting storyline for us to read. This book has historical fiction, ghosts, mystery, suspense, murders, and more. I enjoyed reading this but I really like the other one better. Overall good book.

Powerful and winsome female mediums versus the London Seance Society, an obnoxious and misogynistic organisation full of dangerous charlatans, crooked businessmen, evil manipulators and coldblooded killers.

Sarah Penner has outdone herself with this gripping Victorian tale of deceit, death and vengeance. A terrific adrenaline-fueled journey into the world of spiritualism full of cunning, madness, mind-blowing twists and turns and blessed with a terrific cast of exquisitely drawn characters.

This delicious literay treat deserves to be discovered and enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Legend Press and Netgalley for this fabulous ARC!

After a good debut with 'The Lost Apothecary', Sarah Penner returns with a supernatural historical detective story set in Victorian London. It is told from the perspective of two characters; a young woman called Lenna, and a thirty-something man, Mr Morley. Lenna is apprenticed to a medium, despite being sceptical about the spiritualist movement, in the hope of learning to contact her dead sister and find out who killed her. Mr Morley is vice president of the London Seance Society, a respectable gentleman's club that performs seances and clairvoyancy. Morley is also looking for answers about a murder, in this case that of the club's president, and asks Lenna's teacher, Vaudeline, to act as the medium. Gradually the narrative unfolds until the eventual reveal of the fates of the two murder victims. There's plenty of peril and action, because of course there are people who don't want the truth to come out.

The two storylines come together well and Penner plays out the story with good pacing to reveal bit by bit what happened to each of the victims. It isn't exactly spooky although it does feature ghosts and spirits - they are presented in a factual way and not one that leaves you unsettled. The mystery is interesting and compelling and I didn't work it out although I did get to some of the 'reveals' a bit ahead of the characters. The second half is hard to put down and you want to keep reading through the denouement.

Penner's style is easy to read although it can feel a bit prosaic. For example, in a section where a spirit is revealing information to a medium, the spirit's narrative is given on the page, but then it is all repeated as the medium thinks about it - as if the reader hadn't just 'heard' it first hand. Is it assumed that the reader was too dim to have understood it from the perfectly understandable and factual account provided, and it needed repeating? Penner has a gift for thinking up unusual plots, but her presentation of them is workmanlike rather than exquisite. I'm not a fan of flowery narration and I'd rather a writer was too far this way than that, but it's still nice to have a bit of flourish in a book.

I've rated it four stars - a good, readable story that will be liked by those who enjoy the specific genres (non-spooky ghost stories, stories set in the Victorian era, or mystery stories), but lacks that extra 'wow factor' that would make it appeal to those who only dip into those genres. One for those who like substance over style, and who don't mind a bit of magic/supernatural stuff.

This one was a mixture of Historical Fiction, Mystery and paranormal. In the Victorian era people where obsessed by ghosts and the afterlife. Seances were popular as were taking family portraits which included a deceased member of the family. My attraction to this story was initially the HF aspect and then the Seance element. It delivered so much more than I first expected.

This was an intriguing murder mystery that provided some surprises. The story was told from two POVs, Lenna Wickes who is grieving her murdered sister, Evie and that of Mr Morley, a vice-president of the Seance Society. It also jumped from the present to the past, sometimes relating the same time period or event from the two different perspectives. This allowed the author to weave a story that slowly revealed the events of All Hallows Eve, providing just enough information to pique your interest without giving too much away. At one point I was sure of the conclusion and was almost lulled into a sense of disappointment knowing that all would be well and then the action ramped up, throwing everything I thought I knew into chaos.
Just as the fake Seances were full of illusions, so where the characters and the plot.

The author has researched the time period and the practices of the societies similar to the one in the story very well. I found the story very informative as well as entertaining. The details of how fake seances were conducted was particularly fascinating.

The characters in the story were a little quirky. This did match the plot and the subject matter nicely. The female characters were all strong, intelligent, stubborn, and capable, different from the socially conventional submissive types of the time. Seances were one area of society where females had dominance and therefore it was an apt profession for them and believable.

If you like Historical Fiction and murder mysteries with some paranormal activity, you will enjoy this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this. I haven’t previously read a book from this author but I will be doing! I enjoyed reading this, full of mystery and intrigue. Comes under the historical fiction genre so you are a fan of this genre, definitely give this a read! Plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested.

The London Seance Society was so much different than Penner's previous novel (The Lost Apothecary). We are in Victorian era London where we meet Lenna who is a scientist at heart but grieving the loss of her beloved sister. She is willing to put aside her need for scientific proof and delve into the world of spiritualism with her sister's teach and famous medium to try and get answers about how her sister really died.

This is a dual POV novel where we are captured by Lenna's drive to find the truth and the leader of a gentlemen's club to maintain their club's good reputation in the London society. The first half of the book is a bit slower as it sets the stage, drapes the curtains and adjusts the crepe ribbons as we prepare for a seance to bring us into the truth and facts,

I really enjoyed the plot of this one and how everything twisted together to make for a big bang of an ending. I am excited to see what else Sarah Penner creates.

Lenna has gone to France to train with famous spirtualist, Vaudeline after the death of her sister (who also was a student of Vaudeline). They are called back to London to perform a seance for the deceased head of the London Seance Society. However, things are not quite as they seem, and Lenna soon realizes her sister might have been mixed up with the society too.

I loved this one! I think it started out a bit slow (like when we were at the seance in France at the beginning, I was confused), but stick with it! Sarah Penner is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors after The Lost Apothecary and now The London Seance Society. She has a great way of weaving historical fiction in with a touch of fantasy, and creating characters. I didn't want to put this one down (and probably wouldn't have if I'd been reading it on a weekend night)!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for the review copy!

“The London Seance Society” by Sarah Penner is an interesting and suspenseful book.

This is a combination of a book of historical fiction and gothic literature. An interesting combination, which seems to work out fine.

In 1873 in Paris, something is about to happen. The spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire is known for her talent in conjuring the spirits of murder victims to ascertain the identities of the people who killed them. Lenna Wickes is in Paris to find out more about her sister’s death. Although, she doubts about spiritualism.

It sounds like a crazy story, and it sure is. But in a good way. Vey well written story.

The main themes of relationships, love and hope are perfectly written in this story.

If you liked “The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner, you will surely love “The London Seance Society” as well. Much of the same writing style and great plot.

Wow this is a gothic humdinger of a read and not only was it a brilliant it also had heaps of really interesting and fascinating information.
The story is told by two characters Lenna Wicks who I has become an apprentice to the well known spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire and is trying to find out more about her sisters death and also Mr Morley who is vice president of the London Seance Society and that for me worked really well.
I really enjoyed this book I loved the atmosphere of Victorian London, seances and tales of false props being used and ghosts being conjured up by fake mediums it was fascinating to read of the trickery that was used. The story has a bit of everything an excellent mystery, weird and wonderful happenings, fabulous characters and add to all that some romance….. well what more could you ask for !
So a fabulous read , entertaining throughout I loved it and would highly recommend it as one not to miss.
My thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book, and the beginning was promising. It is 1873 and Lenna Wickes is a trainee spiritualist with Vaudeline D’Allaire. Lenna’s sister, Evie, was found murdered in the garden of her parents small hotel and, although she is not a believer, she is looking for answers. Evie was fascinated by spiritualism and her interest has led to Lenna turning to D’Allaire, a medium famed for conjuring the spirits of murder victims.

D’Allaire left London after suspecting fraudulent activity in the London Séance Society. The story then switches to London and Mr Morley, the Vice-President of the Society. Morley writes to D’Allaire, asking her to return to London as the President, Mr Wolckman, has been found murdered. Lenna travels back to London with her and soon discovers that Mr Morley knew her sister, Evie, leading her to question his possible involvement and motives for asking D’Allaire to return to the city.

There is much soul-searching by Lenna about her sister, her friend, who also died too young and with whom she was secretly in love, and about women’s place in Victorian society. However, much of the storyline felt a little dragged out and the finale, when it came, felt something of a let-down. In the opening scene, there is a whole build-up to a séance in a deserted chateau and then a messenger arrives with a letter, breaking the spell. I feel that breaking of the spell happened just too often for me to want to stay with it and the beginning should have warned me of possible disappointment. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I really enjoyed this one! I'd really hoped I would, as I loved Sarah Penner's first book, but it was really good to have it confirmed!

I loved the historical setting, in Paris and London in 1873, and the feminist overtones of the story.

The two character perspectives were fascinating - I'd expected Lenna's perspective, but from reading the synopsis, I'd expected the second perspective to be Vaudeline. However, it was actually Mr Morley, which was certainly an interesting one to follow.

Lenna was a great character to follow. With her naturally scientific and logical brain, her scepticism towards the seances was really interesting, along with her eventual acceptance of them due to her experiences. There was also her emotional links, due to her sister's unsolved murder, and her desire to exact justice to the person who killed Evie.

I found the plot to be intriguing, yet a little bit disjointed. Because there were so many flashbacks to previous events that were introduced as memories, it was sometimes a little difficult to follow, as you'd be invested in a scene, the perspective character would retreat into their memories, then suddenly be back in the present. I would have rather had separate chapters of previous events rather than the memory flashbacks, but I did get used to the style by about 25% in.

However, the reveals were perfectly timed, and I enjoyed the rollercoaster this book took me on.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I'm looking forward to whatever else Sarah Penner puts out into the world!

Nothing i love more than a good story around ghost. Add in murders and mystery and fun characters and i am completely sold. This one is a super fun read, i do think it started abit slow but once i got into it, i was hooked.

I would like to start by thanking NetGalley, the publisher, the author and everyone involved in allowing me early access to this ebook. I’m always grateful for every early access I’m conceded but this one was extra special, as I was wishing to read this book since I’ve known it was coming out.

TW: murder, rape attempt, descriptions of blood and wounds

I loved so much “The lost apothecary” that I knew I didn’t need to read the synopsis to want to read Sarah’s next book and this is still true after finishing this one. I don’t know what Sarah will write next, but I already know I want to read it.

This is historical fiction, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea (but really, what genre is? We are all so different and appreciate different narratives that is very unlikely for a book to please everyone) but I encourage everyone to give Sarah a try, either with this book or with the first one. Sarah’s historical fiction narratives are also very empowering towards women, which is something I tend to enjoy in fiction. I know that reality back then was different, but there’s so much we don’t know about women’s realities that we can guess some of the female empowering movements had ancient roots, with little acts of rebellion. I’m rumbling a lot, but I hope this will give you the curiosity to try Sarah’s books.

In “The London Séance Society” we follow a medium, Vaudeline, and her apprentice, Lenna. Vaudeline is known for doing séances of murder victims to try and catch their murder. Lenna has recently lost her sister and wants to know who is responsible for her death, hence she joins Vaudeline in an effort to learn the séance art.

The first half of the book is very slow paced, which worked very well in establishing the setting for the narrative. There’s this dark vibe of ghosts that reminded me a little of gothic novels, which I enjoy a lot, so it was a very pleasant read in that sense. Then, there’s the murders and the overall mystery that adds the suspense from thriller books, which I also enjoy a lot. I feel like the setting was so well achieved that, by the time the mysteries started to being revealed, we, as readers, are so involved in figuring out what happened that can’t put the book down. I don’t say everything was a huge surprise, which might be a consequence of the slow paced narrative, that gave me time to figure out how things would unfold, but it was, for sure, very nice to see all the pieces fall into place at the end.

This review will also be available on my Goodreads profile and, later on, on my Instagram account - @cat.literary.world