the wicked cometh the addictive historical mystery laura carlin

Alexander, as well as using his wife as a guinea pig for his pharmaceutical experiments, is revealed to have unusual sexual proclivities and fetishes. With the exception of Gabriel, none of the male characters come out very well from the story. And, as events unfold, it transpires Rebecca is not the first person to have been subjected to Alexander’s experiments. However, since we soon learn that this ‘wonder drug’ is in fact heroin, unsurprisingly Rebecca finds herself increasingly dependent on the drug to get through the day. Initially the ‘medicine’ her husband prescribes (described by him as like bathing ‘an individual’s brain in a vat of contentment’) eases Rebecca’s anxieties and provokes pleasant dreams, memories of her first love, Gabriel. It turns out he has just the drug to do it, an as yet unnamed ‘wonder drug’ that he has been developing in his laboratory above the pharmacy. Shocked when Rebecca shows small signs of sexual pleasure, Alexander chooses to interpret this as an indication of ‘unnatural’ urges that need to be controlled. *links provided for convenience, not as part of any affiliate programmeĪlthough a conscious escape from ‘ spinsterhood and all the humiliations that went with it’, Rebecca Palmer’s marriage to pharmacist, Alexander, is not what she anticipated.

Published: 5 th April 2018 Genre: Historical FictionĪ.uk ǀ ǀ .uk (supporting UK bookshops) He soon discovers that even the most promising experiments can have unforeseen and deadly consequences…įormat: ebook, paperback (400 pp.) Publisher: Corvus Books Meanwhile, Alexander’s desire to profit from his invention leads him down a dangerous path that blurs science, passion, and death. Rebecca’s journey into addiction takes her further into her past, and her first, lost love, while Alexander looks on, curiously observing his wife’s descent. As Rebecca struggles to maintain her dignity in the face of his infidelity and strange sexual desires, Alexander tries to pacify her so-called hysteria with a magical new chemical creation. But her ideal is turns to ashes when she discovers her husband is not what he seems.

When Rebecca Palmer’s new husband opens a pharmacy in Victorian Edinburgh, she expects to live the life of a well-heeled gentlewoman.

The wicked cometh the addictive historical mystery laura carlin