The Lost Apothecary

Hidden in a dark alley in eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual clientele. The owner, Nella, was once a respected healer but now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose: selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women seeking liberation from the men who have wronged them. She operates under two strict rules: the poison must never be used to harm another woman, and the names of both killer and victim must be recorded in her register. But when a precocious twelve-year-old girl becomes her newest patron, their unexpected friendship sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to expose them all.

Two centuries later, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell is spending her tenth wedding anniversary alone in London, reeling from a discovery that has shattered her marriage. A chance find during a mudlarking expedition along the River Thames - a small, peculiar glass vial - pulls her into an investigation of a long-forgotten string of murders. As Caroline's search deepens, it connects her story to the apothecary's in unexpected ways, revealing how the choices of women in the past can echo for centuries. This is a story of secrets, vengeance, and the remarkable ways women can save each other across time.