
Lenna Wickes travels to Paris after the murder of her sister Evie for an apprenticeship with the famous medium Vaudeline d’Allaire. Vaudeline makes contact with spirits of deceased people who have been murdered in order to track down the killer. When Vaudeline receives a letter from a Mr. Morley to solve the murder of the president of the London Séance Society, a former friend, the pair return to London. And Lenna secretly hopes to also learn the truth about Evie.
I enjoyed Sarah Penner’s ‘The lost apothecary‘ last year. ‘The London séance society‘ is her second novel and has a very different theme that didn’t attract me as much. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try and after the first chapters I already noticed I was totally into it.
This time it isn’t a dual timeframe novel. Everything takes place in the 19th century in London and Paris. The novel opens with a seance in a chateau in Paris where Vaudeline and Lenna receive a letter from one of the key figures of the London Séance Society, Mr. Morley. Vaudeline has fleed London a year before but is now asked to return as Mr. Volckman – head of the society – has been murdered on All Hallows Eve, the same day as Lenna’s sister Evie was found stabbed to death. We read alternately from Lenna and Mr Morley. Soon you realize that the two murders are linked so you try to solve a central mystery.
Although I saw some things coming, I thought it was a well-developed plot. The ending was a bit too elaborate perhaps. Penner’s writing felt more mature now. And amthough there are supernatural things in the book again, it didn’t bother me. This time, those powers were more concrete – in the form of ghosts.
I am definitely looking forward to another book by Penner as her first two novels are already very different. This one is definitely my favourite so far.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Have you read anything by Sarah Penner?