The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Lost Apothecary
by Sarah Penner
Pages: 301
Published by Park Row
Publication Date March 2, 2021
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.

Goodreads Progress

My Thoughts:

I have mixed feelings about The Lost Apothecary. The sections taking place in the 1700s captivated me and longed for more tidbits on Nella and Eliza. However, present-day Caroline, a self-proclaimed Nancy Drew, had me yawning. It moved so slowly and didn’t feel necessary. When her story did come to a head, I felt the author added it on a whim to create a deeper connection between the narratives. It just didn’t work and, was so unbelievable that I rolled my eyes.

Going back to Nella and Eliza, their skill with herbs and budding friendship is what drove the novel. While I must give kudos to anyone who has published a novel the writing was a little simplistic and felt more along the lines of a high school creative writing class. Despite the shop’s messy history, the novel’s conclusion was too tidy. I would have preferred a little mystery rather than all being revealed. As the apothecary women were themselves mysteries in life, it would have felt more fitting to have a bit of mystery die with them.

The Lost Apothecary was such a disappointment, particularly as it did have potential. I can only hope that like the apothecary shop, this tale of wronged women seeking revenge gets lost in the recesses of my mind.

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