The London Séance Society

By: Sarah Penner

Narrated by: Lauren Irwin, Alex Wyndham

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

"An atmospheric and evocative whodunnit steeped in suspense, mystery, and illusion."—Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

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. 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…

Written with intoxicating suspense and sultry prose, The London Séance Society is an entrancing tale that blurs the lines between truth and illusion, and reveals the grave risks women will take to avenge the ones they love.

"Penner brings history to vivid life in this atmospheric and evocative whodunnit."—Nita Prose, author of The Maid

Named a Most Anticipated book by Good Housekeeping, Washington Post, Bookpage, CrimeReads, Readers Digest, Popsugar, LitHub, E! News, Goodreads, and more

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Sarah Penner (P)2023 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Overall it was just okay

Great concept. But the story got ridiculous at a point near the end and I almost quit the book. I stuck it out and finished but would’ve been fine walking away.

The characters are corny

The voice actors make the narrative seem very over exaggerated. For once, I think actors who are slightly more monotone could have made the plot more understandable

London Sèance Society Review

I really enjoyed this book. The story was great, and so were the characters. I enjoyed the way that the story unfolded with all of the twists and turns.

Riveting

Another stellar book by Sarah Penner. I could not stop listening. Her blend of real Victorian/Spiritualist history with a compelling plot and memorable characters is compelling.

Good

This was another good book by Sarah Penner. I especially enjoyed the research and information about spiritualism. The characters were interesting and there was enough shift in the plot to surprise me.

The romance in my opinion was overdone. I don't remember romance as being a central theme in The Lost Apothecary so I was surprised that it was in this book. I am not sure it added anything to the story. I personally found it gratuitous and distracting.

The Lost Apothecary was such a great book I feel somewhat disappointed with this. It was good but it was not in the same category as her first. I was anticipating so much more.

Delightful Victorian mystery

I enjoyed this. Love the male narrator, I could listen to him all day. Enjoyed the way that the author brought the power of women through the seance story platform. I had to rewind at one point because I lost focus but that was my own brain. The story had good depth and surprise to keep the mystery feel. I would read more by this author.

Enjoyable listen!

There’s been some pretty harsh reviews about the narrators and the storyline. Honestly, I found the performance of the two narrators to be great. The storyline was a little slow to get into at the beginning of the book, but it definitely picked up. I think I had to restart a couple of times. I really loved how the writer went back-and-forth between the two primary characters to move the story along as well as provide an alternate view of what happened. This author is new to me and I look forward to listening to her other books.

Fantastic original storyline

If you want a truly original and unique murder mystery, this is the book for you! With the use of a Victorian pastime, motivation is apparent with a vengeance from beyond. Enjoyable read!

Not a bad read.

Love the occult spiritual mystery and the independence and growth of the 2 female leads

London Seance Society

This story has a lot of twists and turns, and the author ties it all up neatly in the end. I recommend this book to anyone who likes well written, well narrated mystery that keeps you entertained.