First Lines Friday – 15/09/2023
Good evening friends and welcome to today’s First Lines Friday post!
When I shared that I was featuring a First Lines Friday post in last week’s Sunday Summary, I set myself a challenge. For this feature, I had to choose a book I’ve added to my to-read list in the last six months. I’ve added a few books to my TBR in that time, so I had some choice. The book I ultimately chose was recommended to me by a work colleague. Today’s intro has me looking forward to reading it!
Let’s take a look at today’s introduction!
She would come at daybreak – the woman whose letter I held in my hands, the woman whose name I did not yet know.
I knew neither her age nor where she lived. I did not know her rank in society nor the dark things of which she dreamed when night fell. She could be a victim or a transgressor. A new wife or a vengeful widow. A nursemaid or a courtesan.
But despite all that I did not know, I understood this: the woman
knew exactly who she wanted dead.
The Lost Apothecary – Sarah Penner
Genre: Thriller / Historical fiction
Pages: 301
Audience: Adult
Publisher: Park Row
Publication Date: 02 Mar 2021
Goodreads – The Lost Apothecary
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.
My Thoughts…
Before Claire ‘s recommendation, I had seen this book around before. However, I hadn’t really looked at it in too much detail.
However, after her recommendation, I did take a look at the book… and I questioned myself why I didn’t sooner! Maybe it’s because I’ve seen mixed reviews in the blogosphere. Perhaps it was just one of many books I see and hear about and don’t look into. (If I did check them all out, my reading list would be nearer 500 books long as opposed to just the two…)
The Lost Apothecary has an interesting plotline with a bit of a feminist theme to it. I also like the idea of it being set across to different time zones, and exploring the contrast between the apothecary in the late 1700s, compared with a modern day woman discovering her secrets! The danger element alluded to the synopsis certainly has me intrigued!
That’s all for today’s First Lines Friday! What did you think of today’s introduction? Does it make you want to pick up the book yourself?
