by Sarah Penner
Following on the heels of the successful, The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner’s latest novel has had a lot of hype. I found her new book when the library had a long waiting list for her first book and anything with séance in the title will get me to take a look.
The London Séance Society follows the story of Lenna Wickes who has recently lost her sister and who wants desperately to solve her murder. Since her sister was studying under a renowned medium, Lenna travels to Paris to engage Vaudeline D’Allaire for help. The two of them wind up back in London trying to solve a murder at a men’s club that functions as its own spiritualist-type institution. Of course, the two murders are connected and Vaudeline has her own history with the men’s club.
Not a bad setup, overall. The novel has a good pace with plenty of twists and turns. This is one where there may be a few too many. Throw in lesbian attractions. Men and misogyny. I started out thinking reading this book that it would be historical fiction but found the world the author created never existed. The contrived use of the séance in this way was irritating in a time when men’s societies did scientifically investigate phenomena. The use of language during this Victorian period many times felt far too modern. It was as if the author was unfamiliar with the way people spoke and the customs of the time (even though there are notes at the end of the book about mourning and funeral customs). The actual séance scenes and Vaudeline’s procedures were creative and well executed. Although the book held a lot of promise, it missed the mark for me. So much so, I’m going to pass on Penner’s first book.
