In 1791, tucked away in a dark London alley, there was an apothecary run by a mysterious female pharmacist named Nella. She prepared medicines for women who had been hurt by men. Nella had two rules: first, poison must never be used to hurt another woman; second, both the buyer and the victim had to be registered. One day, Nella’s life was suddenly threatened when her new customer, a twelve-year-old girl named Eliza, made a fatal mistake...
In the twenty-first century, Caroline, an ambitious historian, discovers her husband’s affair. Heartbroken, she travels alone to London to spend her tenth wedding anniversary by herself. Perhaps fate is at work when she finds an antique medicine bottle while clearing a ditch near the Thames with her tour group. Unable to resist investigating, she begins to unravel the truth behind the unsolved “Apothecary Murders” from more than two hundred years ago...
Everyone passes through other people’s lives, yet even brief encounters can invisibly change or overturn someone else’s world. Life is full of hidden dangers, and no one is your savior. You can only save yourself. A mysterious apothecary, a dark Bear Alley, a pharmacist, magic, revenge, moral judgment...
A hundred people will finish this book with a hundred different takeaways. Everyone will find something of themselves in this story, and find the things they’ve lost and the things they’ve longed for in love.
Oh, that's great! I love this book so much! A secret exclusive to women! I don't think any of the protagonists did anything wrong. The pharmacist, one of the protagonists, did kill many lives, but this was unavoidable. Besides, why couldn't they deserve it? As an adult who has done such a dirty thing, perhaps death is not the best punishment, but this does not mean that they can escape punishment, no matter who it is or when.