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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner        


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I’m conflicted about this story. I felt like I’d wandered into a secretive hidden world that exists between brutal reality and surface pretences. A supportive apothecary in the eighteenth century, hidden in the back alleyways of London, turned ‘serial killer!’ What drove the change?  I loved the idea  of the female apothecary line and the rules set forth to guide them. Only at some stage they moved from supporting women in their illnesses and health necessities by using various herb mixtures, creams and tinctures; to helping them get out from under the tyranny of husbands or others who use them badly. Unfortunately the apothecary finds herself at the mercy of one she assists. The code to never harm a female is broken. (I wonder, how far back did the line go really? Would these women have been accused of witchcraft once?) Whether in the past or today, the fact is they are assisting with murder. The apothecary needed to tread carefully. Hence all the fronts, the hiddenness that were put in place to conceal their efforts.
I confess, I’m never too keen on split time sequencing. Here it worked really well. The story walks between 1791 and the apothecary Nella, and today. Caroline is an American woman whose marriage is in turmoil. She’s flown to London to think things through. A British history major, she joins a group mudlarking, scrounging along the banks of the Thames like the Victorian mudlarkers looking for something valuable or interesting. What Caroline finds opens up the story to this fascinating historical aspect, the female apothecary.  I enjoyed Caroline’s initial search for finding Bear Alley, searches in the British Library, the using of old digitalised map overlaid with more modern maps. Wonderful!
In the book’s introduction publisher Loriana Sacilotto writes that this is, 
“a jaw-dropping, subversive, intoxicating read about women rebelling against the society that limits them...”
It is! I couldn’t put it down.
BTW I love the richness of colour in the cover design!

A Park Row / Harlequin Trade ARC via NetGalley 
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change

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