A review by siria
The Apothecary Rose by Candace Robb

1.0

This could have been a mediocre-to-average historical murder mystery (though of more the whydunnit than whodunnit variety), with a decent sense of place to compensate for the absolutely rote central romance. However,

Spoiler

having the murderer's villainy and queerness be so explicitly linked, complete with flashback to childhood sexual abuse and incestuous desires, was gross

and ruined whatever mild interest I had in seeing how things unfolded. I won't be seeking out the rest of the series.