The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a wonderful day.

When I was a child, there was a group of neighborhood kids that would all play together.  Since, generally, seven-year-olds can't drive they must play with those that live close by.  One time I was going over to Laura's house, who lived diagonally across the street.  I was very excited as Laura had received a Ouija board. I made the enormous mistake of mentioning the afternoons plans to my mother.  She became very alarmed.  Mom launched into a big talk about why you shouldn't play with Ouija boards, that you never know what will come through and it is best not to even be around them.  I spent the afternoon playing a rousing game of Yahtzee with my mom while my friends all explored the supernatural.  Looking back on it, I don't know if my mom's reaction was because of religion (she wasn't super religious) or did she have some experience of her own.  I wish I had thought to ask her, but when you have to concentrate on getting five dice to match it is hard to entertain ghost chat.

I recently read The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner.  This is the author of The Lost Apothecary, which I liked very much and reviewed here.  This book, like her previous takes a nod from history.  The setting, for the most part, is 1873 Victorian London.  It is about a men's club that supports delving into the supernatural through seances.  Told from two points of view, one belongs to Mr. Morley who works for the Society.  The other side is told from Lenna Wickes, who is studying under renowned medium Vaudeline D'Alaire who specializes in discovering the identity of murders.

Despite having left England because of being in danger, Vaudeline is asked to return as there has been a murder at the Seance Society.  Her talents are needed to get to the bottom of things.  Regardless of the possibility of harm, Mr. Morley convinces Vaudeline and Lenna to return to London to help him solve this disturbing crime.

This suspenseful story is dripping with atmosphere.  Did you ever see the Harry Potter movie where Harry dips his head in the pensieve and he is completely transported and enrobed in a different world? That is how complete the atmosphere is in this book.  Even with the complete immersion, there are not endless pages of description, yet the feel, the sounds, the smells, are complete.  The story moves quickly and carefully letting the mystery unfold, as we get to know and care about the characters involved.  While the tension builds so do the twists.  This book educates the reader about the occult during the late 1800's in the most interesting manner.  

If you like strong female characters, you will appreciate both Penner's books.  This story checks so many boxes and is definitely worth a read.  Very enjoyable, despite the haunting case of book hangover it gave me!

The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a nice day.

Have you ever toured historic homes?  Hubby and I both love history and houses so going places like Monticello and Mount Vernon are a natural fit.  One summer we went to the Biltmore.  This was the home of the Vanderbilts in Asheville NC.  The grounds alone are stunning with gardens, a green house and scenic woods and water everywhere.  I think Olmstead was the designer, the same person responsible for many famous gardens and parks including Central Park in New York. If you ever want to feel really poor, go to a Vanderbilt house, you'll feel like you're just schlepping through life without the use of oyster forks.

I recently read The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.  These popular solo writers often team up to write historic fiction.  I read The Forgotten Room by these three ladies and enjoyed it.  This time their book is about a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. The story is about the mansion owned by the Sprague family, which is quickly deteriorating like many of the larger houses in Newport.  

Told in three parts, one written by each author, the story rotates through each.  The first part takes place in 2019 and features Andie who is the host of a tv show Mansion Makeover.  She has been enlisted to "makeover" several rooms in the grand house.  While confronted by Luke, Andie is warned never to go certain places, to be gone at a specific time and to never ever bother Luke's grandmother, Lucky, living on the third floor.  

The second part is told from Ellen's point of view.  The time is 1899 and she has been hired to teach the young and lovely Maybelle Sprague to sing.  Maybelle is about to face an arranged, but prestigious, marriage to an Italian prince, so her voice must make him swoon. Interestingly, forces are working against Maybelle's royal wedding and Ellen is not what she seems.

The third area in the rotation is 1958, told from Lucky's perspective.  This is the same older lady and matriarch now living on the third floor.  She has a drunk and serial philandering husband, Stuy and his dying, father who is the epitome of disrespectful.  Lucky also has a married neighbor who loves her dearly and she reciprocates.

The publisher says this is a historical thriller.  I don't think it's a thriller, but it does have several fascinating mysteries.  The stories are interesting and come together masterfully.  If you are a fan of Newport, this is a must read as not only is the lifestyle addressed but several of the real homes are as well.  In any case, you will find this one difficult to put down and will wonder about the well-developed characters when not reading.  I only have one criticism and that is about the 2019 portion with Andie, the tv host.  This part is written by Karen White, and she refers to Melanie, a character from her Tradd Street series.  The Tradd Street series was seven books, which I read all gleefully.  It was cute in the beginning, seeing a beloved character mentioned, however, it got old very quickly.  By the ninth mention all the way back more than 300 pages in the book, it got to be annoying. In addition, it added absolutely nothing to the story and I ended up angry the author was wasting my time with what seemed like a trivial commercial.  

In general, I loved this book.  This might be my favorite of the year and it's only February.  One thing is for sure, we are now planning a trip to Newport to see these buildings.  I'll start hunting for an oyster fork.