Thank you HTP Books & Park Row Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of The London Seance Society in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Park Row Books / Harlequin Audio
Published: March 7, 2023
Summary:
From the author of the sensational bestseller The Lost Apothecary comes a spellbinding tale about two daring women who hunt for truth and justice in the perilous art of conjuring the dead.
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…
My thoughts:
I absolutely fell in love with Sarah Penner’s writing with her debut novel, The Lost Apothecary, so I was thrilled when I heard she had another book coming out. And once again I have to say, she has a winner with this cover – isn’t it just stunning?
It’s no secret that I have come to love historical mysteries, so I was quite eager to get my hands on this one. I loved the gothic undertones this one had and while the spiritualism was a bit out there for me, I did very much enjoy the mystery of finding out what happened to Lenna’s sister. I love books set in London and I think the author does a great job setting the time and place – we learn quite a bit about what a woman’s place was in society during the 1870’s and I really appreciated how the author worked this into the story.
This is a slow-burn mystery and I felt that there were just enough twists and turns to keep me engaged and wanting to know how it would turn out. I think if you like the supernatural and spiritual world, you might enjoy this one a bit more than I did – that world just isn’t really my cup of tea. The mystery and intrigue, however, is what kept me going. And the atmosphere – this book is steeped in Victorian-era elements and I loved that!
I liked this one, I just didn’t love it. But I am looking forward to reading whatever comes next from this author.
Audio thoughts:
I loved that there were two narrators for this – a female and male narrator. Both narrators – Lauren Irwin and Alex Wyndham – were new-to-me but I thought they did a great job bringing this story to life. Their pacing and intonation was spot on and I enjoyed listening to this one.
