The Lost
Apothecary Shop
by Sarah Penner
Okay, okay, this one was a pretty cover pick again. The title
was intriguing as well.
Told from the perspectives of three different people, the
story opens with Nella, an apothecary whose shop is dedicated to women, in 1791
London. But the shop doesn’t just dispense the usual remedies. Behind a hidden
wall lies a whole other dispensary, one of poisons. Nella uses these poisons to
get women justice, and vengeance. Women put their requests in notes, in a
barrel of barley, and Nella prepares the requested item for them.
Caroline is a modern woman with a problem of her own, a
husband who has cheated on her while he is supposedly working long hours at the
office. She arrives in London on her anniversary trip, without her husband,
though he follows soon after. Part of her goal is to sort out her anger and whether
it’s worth trying to make her marriage work. Complicating things is her concern
that she might, finally, be pregnant.
Drawn into a “mud larking” afternoon, Caroline discovers an
old apothecary bottle that leads her to research Nella and her shop, and its’
secrets.
Eliza is our third character, a young girl just coming of age,
who is sent to Nella’s shop by her mistress for a poison to stop the lecherous
advances of her master. She’s a very intelligent girl but somewhat imaginative
and superstitious. She is fascinated by Nella’s shop and returns there when she
has some troubles of her own.
The fates of the three women have some parallels but they are very
thoroughly unique characters. The setting is richly detailed with historical
details. The plot is intricate and the pace grows quicker as the story
progresses. This is one that kept me up late to finish it. I highly recommend.
No comments:
Post a Comment