When an author threads a story with multiple perspectives that span years, they run the risk that readers will prefer one character's voice over another, creating a divide in investment that's difficult to bridge. With The Lost Apothecary, first-time novelist Sarah Penner takes that risk, weaving together the tales of three women separated by more than two centuries but united through pain, fear and hope. In Penner's case, the risk pays off in a spellbinding way.

In 1791 London, Nella works in her apothecary shop with a very specific purpose: making discreet poisons to help women rid themselves of the dangerous men in their lives. Nella's work is solitary for good reason, until she meets Eliza, a 12-year-old whose curiosity transforms her from unlikely client to unlikely friend. 

Meanwhile in the present, Caroline is making a solo journey to London in the wake of her husband's infidelity. As she wanders the city, a chance discovery reawakens her long-buried passion for history, and as she seeks her new purpose in life, she just might find it in the story of Nella and Eliza.

What's most striking about The Lost Apothecary is not how expertly Penner braids the three strands of her story together, though the structure and pacing are certainly well done. What is most admirable is that, as she leaps between first-person perspectives—including two women who are often reflecting on the exact same events—the sense of character never once falters. Their presences and voices are distinct, even as they're bound by an emotional link that is clear to the reader (though not always clear to the characters). There's a powerful unity to this story, making it nimble yet sturdy, light yet satiating.

Like in a well-brewed potion, all the ingredients have been given exactly the right level of care and time, and the result is a novel that simply overwhelms with its delicate spell.

DEBUT After finding out her husband has been having an affair, Caroline Parcewell leaves alone for London on what was supposed to be their 10th-anniversary trip. While on a mudlarking tour along the banks of the Thames, she finds a small glass vial with an imprint of a bear. Believing the vial to be quite old, Caroline sets off for the British Library to see if she can discover any clues to its history. As she digs deeper, readers are pulled into an intriguing parallel story. In 1791, Nella's apothecary shop is hidden in a back alley behind a false wall. Some of the remedies Nella sells happen to be poisons, for women who wish to rid themselves of abusive men in their lives. When one of Nella's poisons results in the death of a lord, the authorities begin seeking the apothecary responsible. Nella must flee or risk the exposure of her other clients. VERDICT 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.—Melissa Stoeger, Deerfield P.L., IL

Buzzy enough to be set for translation into some dozen languages, this debut weaves two story lines as Caroline flies to London for her tenth anniversary without her husband, furious after learning about his indiscretion. She's there to discover herself. But while mudlarking along the Thames she also discovers an old bottle that leads her to the story of late 1700s apothecary Nella, whose back-of-the-shop poisons are meant for men who deserve punishment. With a 200,000-copy first printing.

In Penner's faltering debut, a contemporary American woman uncovers a clue to a series of unsolved murders in 18th-century London. After Caroline Parcewell learns her husband, James, is having an affair, she flies alone from Ohio to London on what was meant to be their anniversary trip. There, she finds a glass vial in the Thames. Her research on the bear etched on the bottle turns up newspaper articles about the suicide of a woman known as the London "Apothecary Killer" in 1791, and leads her to the site of the woman's shop. Penner switches from Caroline's sleuthing to the story of the apothecary, Nella Clavinger, who gave poison to women to use on men who wronged them in various ways. Back in the present, Caroline contends with James showing up and getting accidentally poisoned after trying to win her back. Penner's story starts strong but peters out as the engaging premise gets muddled in convenient plot turns, though the author does a good job of making two disparate stories into eventual foils for one another. This has a few things going for it, but in the end it fails to cast a spell. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Mar.)