The Alchemist's Daughter by Mary Lawrence

The Tudor era is an intriguing period, full of superstition, and the makings for interesting characters.

The Bianca Goddard mysteries are meant to entertain and to engage readers who might not pick up period historicals as a first choice. My articles have been published by the national news blog, The Daily Beast. On the side, I wrote indexes for publishers and academics. Writing helped me escape my boredom and I became interested in Tudor history. For over 25 years I worked in hospitals and labs as a cytotechnologist. I grew up in Indiana and live and farm in Maine. All of the titles have reached the top 100 best-selling historical mysteries category on Amazon, with THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER reaching #1. VEDAST, THE ALCHEMIST OF LOST SOULS and THE LOST BOYS OF LONDON. The series consists of THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER, DEATH OF AN ALCHEMIST, DEATH AT ST. Bianca is the daughter of an infamous alchemist who uses her 'wits' and some alchemy to solve murders among the commoners.

On the side, I wrote indexes for pu The Bianca Goddard Mysteries are set in Tudor London during the final years of King Henry VIII's reign. Agent: Fred Tribuzzo, Rudy Agency.The Bianca Goddard Mysteries are set in Tudor London during the final years of King Henry VIII's reign. Awkward prose doesn’t help (“plying the waters beneath the galleon floats a humble wherry steered by one not of the stuff of man but of something else”). Those hoping for an independent lead will be disappointed that she has to be rescued from peril twice by her love interest. Some readers may find Bianca, who believes “most people were responsible in some way for their predicaments,” less than sympathetic at times. To avoid the gallows, Bianca must prove that someone poisoned Jolyn before coming to her for help. When Jolyn dies after drinking the potion that Bianca prepares for her, the local constable suspects Bianca of murder. Jolyn Carmichael, an impoverished young woman who’s been suffering from stomach pains, seeks a remedy from her friend Bianca at Bianca’s “room of Medicinals and Physickes” in Southwark. Set in London in 1543, Lawrence’s serviceable first novel inaugurates a new Tudor mystery series starring Bianca Goddard, an alchemist’s daughter.

The Alchemist's Daughter by Mary Lawrence