Sarah Penner's debut novel The Lost Apothecary was rated 4 or 5 stars by 22 of our 23 First Impressions reviewers.

What the book is about:

Contemporary London and its 18th-century counterpart collide in this historical mystery of a back-alley female apothecary who secretly distributes toxins to women to avenge the men who have betrayed, hurt and abused them. Intertwining the two timelines with three female characters, Sarah Penner depicts these women struggling with betrayal and loss as they sever the bonds imposed on them by the men in their lives (Maryanne B). Nella, the apothecary; Eliza, her accidental assistant; and Caroline, an Ohioan on a terribly disrupted wedding anniversary trip to England, cross paths when Caroline discovers an artifact which has washed up on the banks of the Thames (Maribeth R).

Readers appreciated Penner's focus on the everyday lives of women in ...