When Catherine arrives in London, her heart is broken over unfaithfulness in her marriage. During a walk along the Thames, though, Catherine finds a small jar that leads her on a journey into history and into the life of a woman who made it her life's work to dispense poisons to women who needed to rid themselves of their men. Dark premise, I know, but an interesting one, as we bounce back and forth in time between the present and the late 18th century as we learn about this mysterious apothecary from her own point of view as well as follow along with Catherine in her search. I liked this plot device, a lot, actually. Totally kept me reading.
I have to say, though, that I really wanted more from the 1700s narrative - the setting itself feels legit but the conversations, the tone, felt so anachronistic. I wanted some kind of accent, for the language the characters use, SOMETHING more to make my brain believe I was in the slums of London more than two hundred years ago. There were a few other details, in the present day, that made me work to suspend my disbelief, but overall I really did enjoy the book. It kept my attention and I do love stories about digging through history. I just wanted more from it.
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