By Kaylie Seed
The London Séance Society begins in 1873 Paris with Lenna Wickes participating in a séance as an understudy to Vaudeline D’Allaire, a spiritualist and medium. Lenna has always viewed herself as skeptical but decides to work with Vaudeline after her sister Eve, who also trained under Vaudeline, was murdered in London on All Hallows’ Eve. When Vaudeline is asked to come to London to investigate the death of Mr. Volckman, the president of the London Séance Society, who had been investigating fraudulent practices within the Society and was murdered the same night as Eve, both Lenna and Vaudeline head to London. The pair is determined to help solve both murders and figure out if there was a connection between the two deaths.
The London Séance Society is written in two alternating points of view: Lenna in third person and Mr. Morley, the vice-president of the London Séance Society, in first person. Overall, the characters are fleshed out well and help add to the overarching mystery. The beginning of the story really hooks the reader with its atmospheric feel, but as it continues the narrative becomes repetitive and drawn out to the point of redundancy. Readers will likely feel more invested in the plot once they reach the halfway point and as the ending nears, may find themselves not wanting to put the book down.
As readers finish The London Séance Society, they may be left with more questions than answers. While Penner has done an excellent job at portraying the Victorian era, the overall plot is lacking, but readers who have an interest in the occult may find this an enjoyable read. Something that I suggest readers do once finishing the book is to read the author's note at the end. I do not want to give anything away but Penner does talk about Victorian beliefs surrounding spiritualists and also has some surprises that readers will enjoy.
Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.