by Sarah Penner

In 1873 Lenna Wickes goes to Paris to study with the renowned medium and spiritualist, Vaudeline D’Allaire. Lenna’s sister, Evie, has been murdered and Lenna hopes to find a way to communicate with her sister through a séance to find out who murdered her. Lenna doesn’t really believe in the paranormal but her sister believed so Lenna is trying to understand all of it. When the president of the London Séance Society is murdered, Vaudeline is called back to London because they want her to uncover the mystery of who killed him. Vaudeline and Lenna head to London only to discover that Evie was involved with the society and she and the president of the séance society were both killed on the same night, All Hallows Eve. Is this a coincidence or are the two deaths connected? There is also some evidence to suggest that some people in the society are using fraudulent practices and damaging the reputation of the society.

Told from different points of view, this part historical mystery, part occult fiction has had many stellar reviews. I loved the author’s first book, The Lost Apothecary so I wanted to love The London Séance Society Unfortunately, I didn’t. For me, characters weren’t very appealing, the romance felt flat and I struggled to get through it. Other readers have really liked this book so you might want to look for it when it is published on April 7, 2023.

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishers and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.