The London Séance Society - Sarah Penner - ★★★

AUTHOR: Sarah Penner

GENRE: Historical Mystery

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: Great concept, average execution. Entertaining if you can keep your logic aside.

Story Synopsis:

Paris, 1873. Renowned spiritualist Vaudeline D’Allaire has been training her new understudy, Lenna Wickes, in the art of conducting séances. Vaudenline’s speciality is that she conjures up spirits of murder victims so that their killers can be identified.

Lenna had come to Paris on her own secret agenda – she wants to conduct a séance back in London for her younger sister Evie, who was recently found dead. Though Lenna is sceptical about the occult, she can think of no other way to find out what happened.

When Vaudeline is summoned to London to solve the murder of the chairman of The London Séance Society, both the women realise too late that the situation is more dangerous than they had assumed.

The story comes to us in the limited third person perspective of Lenna, and the first person perspective of Mr. Morley, the top-ranking member of the Society who had summoned Vaudeline to London.

Where the book worked for me:

👻 In a book that has just 5-6 main characters, it doesn’t take long to guess who the guilty party is. But even as I congratulated myself on being a smart detective, the author kept revealing greater intricacies in the crime, which I simply hadn’t imagined possible. It’s always nice to be surprised.

👻 The atmosphere, especially during the séances, is suitably creepy. I wish there were more scenes related to the seances though!

👻 The Victorian vibe is captured accurately, as is the misogynistic attitude of the “gentlemen” of that era.

👻 Except for Lenna, the women characters are quite interesting, even when they are in minor roles.

👻 I liked the comeuppance provided in the ending.

👻 The author’s note at the end of this novel is one of the most interesting I have read in recent times. It casts light not just on the Victorian beliefs regarding the spiritualists but also has a couple of surprises to offer. Don’t miss it!

Where the book could have worked better for me:

☠ Lenna isn't sketched well, and comes across as neither likeable nor sensible. She acts on her impulses without considering the long-term impact of her decision, which is quite contrary to her portrayal as a logical woman with a scientific bent of mind. (I didn’t see her using her common sense any time except in the climax.) To add to the irritation, Lenna is written as a character who thinks of physical attraction during any situation, even in the face of danger.

☠ The middle section is filled with unbelievably silly plot elements.

☠ Lust-related elements are quite common in the story. While these are justified at times, they are needlessly inserted in many scenes. The romantic track is bland, and even superfluous. The connection between Lenna and Vaudeline never feels convincing.

☠ Many plot points are left unexplained, and some scene transitions aren’t smooth. Plot holes are never welcome, especially not in a mystery.

☠ The book starts off well, but soon becomes too repetitive. It almost drags in between, causing me to feel bored. Thankfully, the final third picks up the pace once again.

☠ Mr. Morley’s pov starts off well, but soon, it follows a predictable pattern – he begins in the present and then reminisces about some event of the past in a flashback. The transition between the past and present is jumpy at times. Moreover, there is a lot of info-dumping in his pov.

All in all, this did have some entertainment value, but with so many plot holes and exaggerations, I simply couldn’t bring myself to like it more, though it should have worked perfectly for me with its theme. The book will work as a one-time read, if you remember not to overanalyse it too much.

My thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC of “The London Séance Society”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.