Bianca Goddard develops and sells tinctures for healing, trying to stay under the radar as her father is an infamous alchemist. When her friend, Jolyn, comes to visit and is complaining of stomach pain, Bianca is only too happy to help. Unfortunately, Jolyn takes Bianca's herbal remedy and then dies in Bianca's shop. The local constable suspects poisoning and Bianca is their primary suspect. Bianca will have to clear her name or face the gallows.

Many Tudor era books exist, but Mary Lawrence takes a slightly different approach. Rather than focusing on the drama between King Henry VIII and his plethora of wives, Mary Lawrence's Author Note states she wants to deal with the commoners and how they dealt with the sometimes brutal policies of King Henry VIII. THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER is about those on the fringes of society, the individuals barely eking a living under the auspices of an elite government that disdains their very existence.

Unfortunately for this reader, THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER is perhaps a bit too realistic. I recognize that rats were a part of life for the time period but the descriptions had me cringing on more than one occasion. I applaud Mary Lawrence for exposing the seedier and sometimes quite unsavory aspects of the time period and I wish I could say I enjoyed THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER more than I did. Historical fiction readers who want a realistic and gritty glimpse of the common man's life in Tudor England will appreciate THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER.

Book Summary

In the year 1543 of King Henry VIII’s turbulent reign, the daughter of a notorious alchemist finds herself suspected of cold-blooded murder…

Bianca Goddard employs her knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants to concoct remedies for the disease-riddled poor in London’s squalid Southwark slum. But when her friend Jolyn comes to her complaining of severe stomach pains, Bianca’s prescription seems to kill her on the spot. Recovering from her shock, Bianca suspects Jolyn may have been poisoned before coming to her— but the local constable is not so easily convinced.

To clear her name and keep her neck free of the gallows, Bianca must apply her knowledge of the healing arts to deduce exactly how her friend was murdered and by whom—before she herself falls victim to a similar fate…