Apothecary's House [Hardcover]

Adrian Mathews (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2005

When an old woman storms into the Rijks Museum demanding the return of her painting, archivist Ruth Braams cannot quell her curiosity. Together with Myles, her gay confidant, Ruth delves into the history of the piece of looted Nazi art and discovers an enigmatic picture with a disturbing wartime provenance. It also appears that the elderly Lydia is not the only claimant and, against strict bureau regulations, Ruth endeavours to help strengthen her case. Days later, Ruth begins to receive sinister anonymous threats, warning her to stay away from Lydia and the painting. When the door of her home, a houseboat on the Bloemgracht canal, is covered in graffiti and her gas supply tampered with, Ruth is convinced these are deterrents from the rival claimant. Our irrepressible and emotionally troubled heroine refuses to take them at face value and continues to strike up a friendship with the lonely old lady. But as the threats escalate, Ruth realises that there must be far more to the painting's popularity, and she enters into a series of increasingly lethal adventures as she investigates the painting's secret symbolism...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Adrian Mathews lives in Paris with his wife and daughter. The Apothecary's House is his second novel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; 1St Edition edition (May 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405046570
• ISBN-13: 978-1405046572
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,537,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice scene setting, but stiffly written with cardboard dialogue., May 14, 2006

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Apothecary's House (Hardcover)

I had high hopes of the Apothecary House. Some friends of mine had enjoyed it and I wanted to give his writing another chance after disliking the award-winning Vienna Blood.

All I can say is that I will not be picking up a third book. The Apothecary's House was a fairly serious disappointment.

The story was interesting enough. I live in Amsterdam, so I really enjoyed the little descriptions of the city. The plot had the potential to be fascinating (although it did not end up that way) and on paper Ruth Braams is a decent character.

Unfortunately, I really had the feeling that Mathews was phoning it in when it came to executing the concept. The prose is very stiff, and Ruth never emerges behind her character eccentricities to become a real person. By the end of the book, I had a very difficult time caring about the conclusion.

This might be a nice read for the airplane trip back after a visit to Amsterdam. I'm not sure that I would buy it new, however.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice long book that will keep you reading, April 10, 2006

By 

Isabella K. Badenoch "izi" (Vientiane, Lao PDR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apothecary's House (Hardcover)

I picked this book up at the airport, never having heard of it, but the author had won the Silver Dagger award for his previous book and I have in the past liked authors that have won this award, so I bought it on a whim. It's not a completely easy read, as some of the reviewers of his previous book (Vienna Blood) have commented. His writing is sometimes stilted and he does use unusual phrasing and words (good to have a dictionary nearby!). BUT, the book is very readable and the storyline captivating. The book is a hefty 706 pages in paperback, but I didn't find it too long nor did I feel like skipping sections.

The story is set in Amsterdam, the main character working at an art museum, specializing in repatriating artwork to their rightful heirs. She comes across a painting that is being contested by two possible owners and she get inextricably involved with one of them. That is when strange things begin to happen.

The only negative comment I have is that the ending seemed somewhat rushed. After having spent a good 400-odd pages delivering the story and setting the scene, the ending took just under 100 pages. But this does not detract from the story in a major way.

Although Mathews' other book, Vienna Blood, seems to have gotten very scathing reviews, after having read this book, I am quite interested in reading it myself.

2.0 out of 5 stars A case of stilted writing, August 6, 2009

By 

J M Hughes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apothecary's House (Hardcover)

I had really looked forward to reading this book. It appeared to be classic example of the genre. While the plot promised to draw me in totally, I found myself stuck and distracted by the author's style. I am starting to wonder if the prose is deliberately off-putting as a foil to the discrepancies in the painting. I hope so, because the inclusion of both American turns of phrase and an excess of English idioms makes the piece feel unreal. At times the text comes across as if many different people contributed, causing it to be disjointed.
I have not finished yet and really hope the plot comes through to save it in the end.