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    The Apothecary Rose
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    The Apothecary Rose
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    The Apothecary Rose
    Ebook433 pages6 hours

    The Apothecary Rose

    By Candace Robb

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    This mystery in medieval England is “suspenseful, historically accurate, and blessed with a wonderful cast of characters . . . An absolute delight” (Charles de Lint, author of the Newford Series).
     
    It is Christmastide, 1363, and two suspicious deaths in the infirmary of St. Mary’s Abbey catch the attention of the powerful John Thoresby, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York. One victim is a pilgrim, while the second is Thoresby’s ne’er-do-well ward, both apparently poisoned by a physic supplied by Master Apothecary Nicholas Wilton.
     
    In the wake of these deaths, the archbishop dispatches one-eyed spy Owen Archer to York to find the murderer. Under the guise of a disillusioned soldier keen to make a fresh start, Owen insinuates himself into Wilton’s apothecary as an apprentice. But he finds Wilton bedridden, with the shop being run by his lovely, enigmatic wife, Lucie. As Owen unravels a tangled history of scandal and tragedy, he discovers at its center a desperate, forbidden love twisted over time into obsession. And the woman he has come to love is his prime suspect.
     
    “Essential for historical fans.” —Library Journal
     
    “[Robb] lives up to the standard set by master medievalist Ellis Peters.” —Booklist
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateJul 28, 2015
    ISBN9781626819757
    Author

    Candace Robb

    Candace Robb has read and researched medieval history for many years, having studied for a Ph.D. in Medieval & Anglo-Saxon Literature. She divides her time between Seattle and the UK, frequently visiting York to research the series. She is the author of eleven previous Owen Archer mysteries and three Kate Clifford medieval mysteries.

    Read more from Candace Robb

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    Reviews for The Apothecary Rose

    3.5/5

    199 ratings13 reviews

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    • 3/5
      An enjoyable murder mystery set in 1363 York. First book of the series based on the character Owen Archer. Some good early character development. Well worth a read if you enjoy historical murder mysteries.
    • 3/5
      Candace Robb is very nice person and very serious about her research though somehow I do not become deeply immersed in her mysteries.
    • 3/5
      An enjoyable Christmas read. Owen Archer, wounded as a soldier, works for the Archbishop of York as a spy, and so seeks work with an apothecary to be better placed to investigate the poisoning of the Archbishop's ward in medieval England.Atmospheric with a snowy, wintery backdrop. I do like a lot of historical detail, which was a little lacking here, except for the brandy wine which pops up practically every page, and the squabbles between Owen & Lucie were a little repetitive and manufactured as the couple fell in love.
    • 4/5
      Owen Archer is a little at a loose end because of losing an eye and by a man he trusted, and had saved. He is dispached to investigate the death of two men and is sent to be undercover as one of the most likely suspect's apprentice. There he finds the suspect dying and his wife, Lucie, in charge. A much younger and quite pretty wife that Owen finds himself drawn to.Owen is in a bind because a lot of the clues point at Lucie, or at her husband and he is conflicted over all of this.I liked the characters and the situations. Enjoyable. Yes not always historically accurate but still interesting.
    • 3/5
      Protagonist: former soldier Owen ArcherSetting: 14th-century York, EnglandSeries: #1First Line: "Brother Wulfstan checked the colour of his patient's eyes, tasted his sweat."Christmas tide 1363 and at an abbey in York, two pilgrims die mysteriously of an herbal remedy. Suspicious, the Archbishop sends for Owen Archer, a charming Welshman who's lost one eye to the wars in France and must make a new career as an honest spy. Masquerading as apprentice to apothecary Nicholas Wilton (whose shop dispensed the fatal remedy), Owen begins to investigate the shop, its owner and the owner's wife. There are many snippets of information that lead to the abbey and others in the city of York, and Archer has to make sense of them all.Having already become a huge fan of Robb's Margaret Kerr trilogy, I thought I would enjoy this series. I was right. Robb shows once again her deft hand at characterization, setting and plot. Yet again, another series to keep reading!
    • 4/5
      Owen Archer is an Archer by Trade. He lost his eye doing his duty and fell into depression.The Archbishop of York emploted him as a spy. He has to find out about a murder and its connection to the local Apothecary in York. He uses all his rosources and his charm to solve the mystery and gain some friends and the love of his life in te process.Good murder mystery. i like the medieval feel. very historic. you can see a glimpse of the harsh life people lived back in Medeival York.
    • 4/5
      Two knights have died in a fourteenth century monastery with strangely similar symptoms. The monk in charge of the infirmary is nervous and the apothecary's health has taken a turn for the worse. This might have blown over if one of the dead men had not been the ward of the Archbishop of York. He is not satisfied with the cause of death, so he picks a man to go and nose around. The man is Owen Archer, a soldier whose mental and physical wounds have disqualified him in his own eyes from the king's forces. He is pretty sure he is not qualified for this delicate job either, but once started, cannot turn back.This is my first exposure to the writings of Candace Robb, and it left me wanting more. I enjoy the historical aspects of the book, though the mystery was not that difficult. Also was convinced by her characters and liked the conversations.
    • 4/5
      1363. Owen Archer has been recommended to John Thoresby, Archbishop of York and Lord Chancellor of England. Thoresby decided he needs his help when there are two suspicious deaths in the infirmary of St. Mary’s Abbey. One of the dead was Thoresby's ward Sir Oswald Fitzwilliam, a man with many possible enemies.
      Archer is placed in as an apprentice to Master Apothecary Nicholas Wilton, a possible suspect.
      A very enjoyable well-written historical mystery, with its interesting and likeable characters.

    • 5/5
      I will start by noting that I have a weakness for series type books. I enjoy getting to know a character or characters and then following them along in their lives. When presented with the opportunity to review this series it was actually pretty cool because I didn’t have to wait for the next volume to come out – I was going to have almost all of the books at once to read over a two month period. (One of the books is not being re-released. I’m going to try and find it so I can complete the set.)This is the first book so it introduces the reader to all of the players including our hero – Owen Archer. He’s a spy in the 14th century; an ex-warrior with a real knowledge of herbal healing. An unusual skill set for a man of the time, eh? This book is mostly setting up characters to create the world for the books to come. There is a mystery – of course – but the who isn’t as much a focus as the why which makes this a more interesting read in a way.The characters are well developed and diverse. The historical details are well integrated into the story without being intrusive. I felt like I was part of the story and I love that in a book. When an author can make you feel like are in another century and part of a totally different world it leaves you with the desire to keep reading. I’m looking forward to the second book in the series.
    • 3/5
      I enjoy historical fiction and I especially like historical mysteries so when I saw this book on a free bookshelf I decided to take it home. One of the reasons I like historical fiction is because it puts people and places to the dry facts that I learned in school. I wish I could say I learned a lot about the period of time when this book is set ie 1363 and 1364 in the city of York. However other than learning that travel in those times was perilous and uncomfortable I don’t feel like I was immersed in the milieu.The main character is Owen Archer who used to be the Chief Archer in the British army fighting in France. Originally from Wales Archer has not returned to his birthplace since he joined the army and he doesn’t even think about going home when he loses one eye and can no longer function as an archer. So he takes up a new career as a spy and he agrees to go to York to investigate the death of the ward of the Lord Chancellor there at Christmas a month previously. Archer has some knowledge of healing from his time in the army so it is suggested he obtain a position in an apothecary business. Master Apothecary Wilton fell ill just at Christmas and his lovely young wife Lucie has been trying to maintain the business on her own. Archer is rather old to be an apprentice but Wilton agrees to try him out provided Archer sleeps off the premises. Soon Archer is drawn into the doings of York where the Minster is still being built but the Archdeacon who is in charge of obtaining the funds to build it is actively operating. Archdeacon Anselm was a friend of Apothecary Wilton when they were in school and Anselm still lusts after Wilton even though he is married. When Wilton falls ill Anselm uses that as an excuse to worm his way back into Wilton’s life. Anselm knows that Wilton mixed up a potion that killed not just the Lord Chancellor’s ward but also a pilgrim who had been the lover of Lucie’s mother. Anselm will do anything to protect Wilton. Can Archer penetrate the mystery surrounding these deaths before there are other fatalities? And will Archer and Lucie act upon the feelings they develop for one another? These are the questions that will be answered by the end of the book.
    • 5/5
      The Apothecary Rose is the first book in the Owen Archer series by Candace M. Robb. It takes place in York, England in the Mid 14th Century. I really enjoyed this book They are good mysteries and they really bring the past back to life. Owen was a good dependable man, and he made his own way in life. The second book should be just as good, but I suspect it will be quite a bit different because of the ending of this one!Owen Archer, a Welshman had made his way up to Captain of Archers. But a kindness cost him an eye. While he was still a reasonable shot as an archer and his men would still follow him eagerly into battle, he felt it was the end of his military career. His master the Duke of Lancaster, disappointed not able to keep him as the Captain of Archers, convinced him to be trained as his spy. This included training in reading and writing and a host of other useful tasks.After his training but before he was really challenged with his new duties, the Duke dies. Before he died, he asked the Lord Chancellor to look out for Owen. The Lord Chancellor had a ward who met an abrupt end. He asks Owen to look into it for him and find out what actually happened, since the boy was a bit of a cad, and might have created an enemy willing to murder.Owen gets a post as an apprentice to an apothecary as his cover for the investigation. The post puts him with Lucie and Wilton. Lucie is Wilton’s wife and he just had a stroke which has kept him bedridden. Lucie was his apprentice closing in on becoming a Journeyman. She needs help but the guild couldn't find anyone will to apprentice their son to another apprentice and a woman at that. But Lucie has mixed feelings about accepting Owen, partly because he seems to see more than he should, even with just one eye, and Lucie knows some secrets that she can’t bare to see the light of day, The two also seem to be attracted to each other, even though Lucie is still married and both are trying to respect that relationship.Two people die similar mysterious deaths, a third has fallen invalid. When Owen arrives more trouble comes up and the local Archdeacon had an instant dislike for for Owen and tries to get him out of the way.
    • 5/5
      I will start by noting that I have a weakness for series type books. I enjoy getting to know a character or characters and then following them along in their lives. When presented with the opportunity to review this series it was actually pretty cool because I didn’t have to wait for the next volume to come out – I was going to have almost all of the books at once to read over a two month period. (One of the books is not being re-released. I’m going to try and find it so I can complete the set.)This is the first book so it introduces the reader to all of the players including our hero – Owen Archer. He’s a spy in the 14th century; an ex-warrior with a real knowledge of herbal healing. An unusual skill set for a man of the time, eh? This book is mostly setting up characters to create the world for the books to come. There is a mystery – of course – but the who isn’t as much a focus as the why which makes this a more interesting read in a way.The characters are well developed and diverse. The historical details are well integrated into the story without being intrusive. I felt like I was part of the story and I love that in a book. When an author can make you feel like are in another century and part of a totally different world it leaves you with the desire to keep reading. I’m looking forward to the second book in the series.
    • 4/5
      This is a historical mystery from the 14th. century. It is historical but light on the mystery aspect. If you are looking for excitement, you will not find it. I found it slow going for the first few chapters, picking up later on, convincing me to finish the book. with the book completed, I was left with the impression that everyone drank mulled wine.