Beloved Poison by E S Thomson

Beloved Poison by E S Thomson

'Vivid, pungent and perilous' CHRIS BROOKMYRE 'Evocative...brilliant plotting' REBECCA GRIFFITHS A dark and richly atmospheric thriller, perfect for fans of Laura Purcell's The Silent Companions, Sarah Perry's Melmoth and Elly Griffiths' The Stranger Diaries. London, 1846. Ramshackle and crumbling, St Saviour's Infirmary awaits demolition. Within its stinking wards and cramped corridors the doctors bicker and fight. Ambition, jealousy and hatred seethe beneath the veneer of professional courtesy. Always an outsider, and with a secret of her own to hide, apothecary Jem Flockhart observes everything, but says nothing. And then six tiny coffins are uncovered, inside each a handful of dried flowers and a bundle of mouldering rags. When Jem comes across these strange relics hidden inside the infirmary's old chapel, her quest to understand their meaning prises open a long-forgotten past - with fatal consequences . . . Praise for E.S. Thomson: 'It's rare that a book is Gothic enough for me, but Beloved Poison is killing it. The blood, the bones...' LAURA PURCELL 'Complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable' DAILY EXPRESS 'Marvellous, vivid . . . breathtakingly dark' JANET ELLIS 'Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years' KIRSTY LOGAN 'A marvel . . . thoroughly engrossing' MARY PAULSON ELLIS

Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its centre - and a fascinating story to tellIt's immaculately researched and breathtakingly dark. Elaine Thomson's descriptive powers are so great that that I was surprised to see twenty-first century London rather than grimy, smelly St Saviour's around me when I - eventually - looked up from its pages -- Janet Ellis, author of The Butcher’s Hook
You can almost feel the evil miasma rising from the page * Kirkus Reviews *
This outstanding debut historical enthrals with its meticulously researched details * Library Journal *
From the first page to the last, I enjoyed every brilliantly written, and often hideous, detail ... A splendid read * Cambridge Magazine *
Here's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night -- Alex Gordon * Evening Telegraph *
A historical novel to be savoured -- Lesley McDowell * The National *
ES Thompson's Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years. Jem is just my kind of heroine: scarred, smart, complex, and unapologetically queer -- Kirsty Logan, author of The Gracekeepers