The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

[Tricia]

The London Séance Society is an atmospheric historical mystery that tackles the dark side of the séance craze that ran through London during the Victorian era. Lenna Wickes has traveled to Paris to apprentice under Vaudeline D’Allaire, a spiritual medium who specializes in helping families of murder victims discover who killed their loved ones. Lenna is not a believer herself, but she is there to try to find answers about the murder of her sister Evie, who had been immersed in the world of séances and had herself studied with Vaudeline. The two women are brought back to London after the head of the London Séance Society, an all male club, is found murdered. As with Penner’s previous novel, The Lost Apothecary, the story is grounded in the difficult plight of women in this culture, and the ways in which things like poverty, social class, and in the case of this book, sexuality, and even grief, made women particularly vulnerable. I found the story of the London séance phenomenon fascinating, and I enjoyed the supernatural aspect of the book. A satisfying read.