Beloved Poison

'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

Short-listed for Saltire First Book Award 2016 (UK)
Long-listed for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2016 (UK)

“Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its centre - and a fascinating story to tell. It'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 pagesYou can almost feel the evil miasma rising from the page - Kirkus ReviewsThis outstanding debut historical enthrals with its meticulously researched details - Library JournalFrom the first page to the last, I enjoyed every brilliantly written, and often hideous, detail ... A splendid read - Cambridge MagazineHere's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night - Evening TelegraphA historical novel to be savoured - The National”

Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its centre - and a fascinating story to tell. It'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

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 - Evening Telegraph

A historical novel to be savoured - The National

E. S. Thomson's work has been longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and shortlisted for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Arts Council First Book Award and the William McIlvanney Crime Book of the Year Award. She has a PhD in the social history of medicine, and tries to fit as much medical history into her books as possible. She works as a university lecturer by day, and writes by night. Elaine lives in Edinburgh with her two sons.

The object I drew out was dusty and mildewed, and blotched with dark rust-coloured stains. It smelt of time and decay, sour, like old books and parchments. The light from the chapel's stained-glass window blushed red upon it, and upon my hands, as if the thing itself radiated a bloody glow. Ramshackle and crumbling, trapped in the past and resisting the future, 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. 'Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book . . . 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

'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

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