The London Seance Society

Books | Fiction / Historical / General

3.7

(244)

Sarah Penner

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER March 2023THE ENCHANTING NEW NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE LOST APOTHECARY'GLORIOUSLY GOTHIC, DELIGHTFULLY ATMOSPHERIC SLICE OF VICTORIANA' DAILY MAILFrom the author of the intoxicating bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes an entrancing exploration of the blurred lines between truth and illusion and the grave risks women take to avenge the ones they love.May mercy be upon the man who finds himself the enemy of a vengeful medium...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. But as the women 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...A Most Anticipated title by: Good Housekeeping, Washington Post, E! News, Bookpage, CrimeReads, Readers Digest, Popsugar, The EveryGirl, Sunset Magazine and more.'A great choice for fans of historical European settings, the power of women, and the fringes of the paranormal' Booklist Starred Review'Steeped in suspense, mystery, and illusion' Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestseller of The Maid'Breathtaking' Pam Jenoff'Smart and seductive' Fiona Davis'An explosive, immersive, time-bomb of a novel' Laurie Lico Albanese'Mesmerizing, seductive and absolutely irresistible' Hank Phillippi Ryan

Buy now:

More Details:

Author

Sarah Penner

Pages

288

Publisher

Legend Press

Published Date

2023-03-21

ISBN

1915054141 9781915054142

Community ReviewsSee all

" ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4 I enjoyed a good bit of this book, the setting, set-up and themes were evocative and drew me in. Around mid-point my interest and investment faltered with the big twist (that didn’t make much sense) and then completely fell off at the interminable ending. Themes of gender equity and power dynamics are always appreciated by my feminist sensibilities, however it can walk a line in historical fiction leaning too much into my biggest pet peeve ~ anachronistic behavior and language which defy the social mores of the day. There is a lot of that here. I think I might possibly be the only one to care much about historical accuracy but seriously the entire brothel scene was ridiculous in this regard and took me right out of the story. Continuing that point the two main characters were actually pretty irritating to each other fictionally (and for me irl) so their sexual and romantic attraction seemed to have zero chemistry and come out of left field. As I recall The Lost Apothecary handled a lot these things somewhat better. But maybe that’s a fever dream since I think I enjoyed it more and remember it successfully conveying gender disparities of the time with women doing what they can to subversively tilt the scales. You can see that was the intent with this one too and I do look forward to future books by this author in anticipation of some pretty cool stories. "

Sher Free✌️

"Didn't realize this was a lesbian romance"

Ruth

"This was my BOTM pick and I loved it! Seances, murders, mystery, scandalous romances… this book had it all. It was a great read. "

Lianna Gelwicks

"Very interesting plot that had a few mysterious turns. It was a quick read that had mystery and romance. I'm becoming a Sarah Penner fan."

B F

Brittany F

"Really good! 4.5! Twists and turns and deceptions! Kept me guessing and on my toes I really enjoyed it! "

A C

Amanda C

"Not as good as The Lost Apothecary, imo, but still a fun little read. :) "

Sarah Albertson

"I am honestly very neutral feeling about this book, but I gave it a thumbs up because I ultimately did enjoy it, just not as much as I thought I would. On the surface, this book has everything I’d like: a queer protagonist, interesting concepts of the supernatural, and a mystery to solve. However, I found the meat of the book to be predictable and, as such, slightly boring. I guessed the two big twists of the book a while before they were unveiled, which led to me not enjoying the later half of the book as much as I should have. I felt like Lenna wasn’t very capable as a protagonist and it was frustrating to see her work things out in real time that I had figured out 100 pages ago. I did like that she (and the rest of the characters) worked within English society semi-accurately for the time period; for example, Lenna had no idea how to fight someone and acknowledged that several times. I wish the story had been as compelling as I had hoped, but, unfortunately, my hopes may have been a little too high with this one. "

L F

Lauren Fahrner

"Fast paced and a lot of fun. I definitely didn’t realize how fast I had gotten through it until I was done. "

Sandy

"I don't normally write reviews for books I didn't enjoy. I strongly disliked this book. I'm a patient reader, but this book is slow. I don't mind authors nudging the boundaries within historical fiction, but I think this one pushes that boundary making the story too unrealistic. It might have worked better with a more modern setting. That said, I wasn't a fan of Penner's The Lost Apothecary either. Not one to dismiss an author based on one book, I read this book. Nope, disliked this one even more. I guess Penner just isn't the author for me. 🤷‍♀️"

Cori Walters

"I adored Sarah Penner's first novel, but this follow up was a big disappointment. The first part is painfully slow. The overarching theme appears to be "strong independent women who don't need no men", but it falls flat when none of the characters, men or women, are particularly likeable or relatable. The majority of the men are either slow, lustful, greedy, or murderous, whereas the women are manipulative, self righteous, and/or vengeful. "

Kay

See All