The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club, #1)

by Theodora Goss

Alice looked like a scared rabbit.

Even as a little girl, Mary had not cried easily. She had learned long ago that life was difficult. One had to live it with courage and common sense; it did not reward sentimentality.

These ’orrible murders, as the newsboys keep shouting. Watson, I’m afraid the mystery of Lord Avebury’s menagerie will have to wait.

“Now that is very interesting,” said Holmes. “And worthy of investigating further. Unfortunately, I may be tied up all day with Lestrade. These murders are spectacular—Fleet Street can’t seem to get enough of them, and each one appears on the front page, with the body part particularly emphasized. The victim without arms, the victim without a head . . . But I’m sure the solution will be a simple one, in the end. Spectacular cases are usually simpler, and less interesting, than they initially appear.”

Digitalis, the active ingredient of the common foxglove, kills a healthy man, but cures one who is sick in his heart.