By Funny thing, I don’t know where my copy of The Lost Apothecary is at the moment. I’ve misplaced this book more times than I want to admit. I got this book from Book of the Month, which is a great way to find new books.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
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.
I really enjoyed this book, it is an interesting combination of women empowerment, it shows how actions have long term affects with a little bit of magic mixed in with the various apothecary ingredients. The reader gets lost exploring the twisting passage ways and hidden places with Caroline as she searches to understand the lives of Nella and Eliza.
Eliza is old enough to begin to understand the dangers of the world, the darkness in people. However, she is still young enough to believe in the power and possibilities of magic, even when they are discounted and scoffed at by the adults in her life.
This book is too short. It is a good read as is but I just feel like there could be more to the store. I do suggest this book for those who enjoy period novels, for those who like female leads, and for those that want a bit of mystery in their stories. Happy reading.
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