The London Séance Society: A Novel by Sarah Penner

Available now

CW: a comprehensive list can be found on The StoryGraph

From the Publisher:

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. With shared determination, the women find companionship that perhaps borders on something more. And as they 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…

Reader Friends, this book is absolutely captivating! It’s lushly written with interesting and engaging characters and the setting is well developed and richly described. Penner does a great job of keeping you guessing with both the mystery behind Evie’s death and an even broader mystery that encompasses nearly everyone in the story. It truly has a little bit of everything: a mystery, a love story, betrayal, the supernatural, and some good ol’ female rage. It’s a book that I wanted to make time to read and I still find myself, weeks later, thinking about the characters.

Once again, this is a Book of the Month pick that I held on to for way too long; although I’ve come to consider these my “Break in Case of Emergency” books. This was from Mach of 2023 and since I enjoyed The Lost Apothecary so much, I knew it was going to be a good one.

If you’d like to add this gorgeous book to your shelf, you can click on the cover above for more ordering information. If you’re interested in Book of the Month, that I use my own real money on, you can use my referral link to get a great deal for yourself, and a free book for me. As always, check your local library for these gems and recommend the title if they don’t carry it.

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