Book Review: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner was my March pick from Book of the Month Club (my favorite book subscription service!). I had heard about it prior to its inclusion in March’s picks and was somewhat interested so it was an easy decision to pick this one out of that month’s selections.

This book takes place in London following two women in dual timelines. The first timeline is 1791. We see the life of apothecary owner Nella. The shop used to belong to her mother where it was a reputable location for healing potions and tinctures. Now she’s known for a darker purpose; selling poisons to help women free themselves from the men causing them harm or pain in life. She is awaiting the arrival of her newest patron when a 12 year old servant named Eliza walks in. Eliza’s presence is the catalyst for the events that follow which endanger Nella’s entire operation as well as her safety and anonymity.

Jumping to modern day we get to know Caroline Parcewell. She is visiting London on what is meant to be an anniversary trip, but after some marital troubles she decides to take the vacation by herself. Upon arriving in the city she is invited to go mudlarking along the Thames which leads to her finding an old apothecary bottle. With some research she finds links to the unsolved “Apothecary Murders” from the late 1700s. The further she digs the more she finds out about the history of the shop and even a few things about herself in the process.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a story about interesting women finding their strength and taking power for themselves that also involves murder and intrigue. However; this is not a thriller. There’s a mystery element and a lot that is unraveled and revealed throughout the story but the plot moves at a pretty languid pace. If you’re looking for something fast-paced and riveting from the start this probably isn’t the book for you.

What I most enjoyed about this reading experience is the author’s examination of the balancing act that is involved with trying to fulfill your own desires and interests while also coming to peace with whether or not that meets other’s hopes and expectations. Caroline sacrificed a lot of her dreams in order to be the person that other people needed her to be and what she discovered when she was able to step back and think about her own hopes and aspirations is that maybe they didn’t mesh as well as she once thought they did with everyone else’s plans for her life. Furthermore; I think it does a great job across both timelines to show the extremes people will go to in order to achieve the end goals they desire and what dangers and warning signs associated with that sort of behavior can look like.

I went into this book expecting an interesting historical mystery set in my favorite city, but what I got out of the book was something entirely different. I highly recommend picking it up.