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The Lost Apothecary

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The Lost Apothecary

By: Sarah Penner
Narrated by: Sarah Cullum, Joan Walker, Charlie Sanderson
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About this listen

Newsweek's 2021's Most Highly Anticipated New Books

PopSugar's Most Anticipated Books of 2021

A New York Times top 10 best seller

With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.

Hidden in the depths of 18th-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious 12-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her 10th wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London 200 years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.

©2021 Sarah Penner (P)2021 W F Howes Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction England

Critic Reviews

"A bold, edgy, accomplished debut!” (Kate Quinn, New York Times best-selling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress)

“Intriguing.... Readers who enjoy parallel historical/contemporary narratives about women’s lives, such as Claire McMillan’s The Necklace or Liz Trenow’s The Forgotten Seamstress, will enjoy the historical details and mystery in this engrossing tale.” (Library Journal)

“Readers who enjoy Katherine Howe and Susanna Kearsley will be drawn to this promising, fast-paced debut.” (Booklist)
All stars
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loved the story line and felt constantly engaged.

Only negative is not a fan of the voice of Caroline, sounds like she was reading a spoken word poem and was a bit frustrating at times.

Engaging characters and story

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The narration (especially for Caroline) was very difficult to put up with. I was interested to follow the story and so persevered. Caroline sounded harsh and it made me really dislike her character whereas Eliza sounded breathy and annoying. In the end, the story was okay but not worth suffering through the narration.

Narration ruined story.

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A little cheesy and a tad predictable but overall an engaging read. a good choice for a holiday book, reading on the train or something to help you switch off at the end of the day.

Engaging and worth a read

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I found ‘Carolyns’ voice very hard to listen to, the same monotone and at times forceful. Had to make myself listen as I was interested in the story.

Hard to listen to.

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I absolutely loved this story, I related a lot to Caroline especially, I related to her journey and search for who she is again.
The performance was incredible, I loved all the narrators work but the only draw back was that Carolines inner monologue had an English accent and that felt very off-putting to me. That is my only criticism, otherwise it's a beautiful story around female strength.

Why was Caroline voiced by an English narrator?

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I enjoyed this story and wanted to finish to the end to find out what happened but I felt that something was missing.

It lacked depth and soul. The story line and characters were well thought out and the whole concept was brilliant.

It all came together perhaps a little too well, too perfectly!

An entertaining listen.

Clever plot, lacking soul

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