Recent Reads: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date:  March 2, 2021

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Book of the Month, add-on

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive. 

Review:

Such an interesting premise, an apothecary of the past and a modern woman who wants to learn more about her. The book is told in alternating timelines from multiple point of view. You have Nella and Eliza in the past and Caroline in the present, telling the tale about Nella's business and how it came to an end. 

Nella has taken to dispensing poison (as well as meds) to the women of London in the 18th century. Helping these women with revenge and ease their suffering. Caroline, in the modern timeline, is trying to ease her own suffering. She is visiting London on what should have been her 10 year anniversary, but before leaving she learned that her husband was cheating on her. In London, while Mudlarking, she comes across a vial and it sends her on the hunt for answers about who it belonged to. 

I had a lot of feelings while reading this book, I was so excited to hear Nella's or Eliza's story of the past, hear how they were helping the women of the city. I was not as connected to Caroline's story except for the fact that I thought her husband was an ass. He was so disrespectful of her wants, wishes, and overall, and narcissistic that I was so angry at him. 

Anywho - I liked the past POVs and story a lot. I liked the drama it caused and the history and the details throughout it. I thought that Caroline's story was interesting enough but not necessary, I would have been happy with just Nella being a serial killer using poisons. 

Overall, this was a good mystery, pieced together well enough. It was through provoking at times, clever, and dramatic. The cover of the books is GORGEOUS! and it includes some medicinal recipes/ teas in the back as well. If you don't mind a past/ present POV split, history with some mystery, this one might be for you.