Rating: 
Summary: Masterful!
Review: Take a great helping of a one-eyed rogue, mixed with equal parts of a mysterious woman and a shifty archdeacon, a dash of courtly intrigue, and a pinch of romance. Knead with interwoven plots and mysteries. Garnish with exquisit historical detail.Candace Robb's obsession with medieval England shows through with great clarity. Everything is described with such detail that it's entirely possible to lose oneself in the story. The story is enticing, as well as the characters. A multitude of characters captivate the imagination. Each has believable traits, as well as flaws: Owen's self-doubts, Lucie's stubbornness, Anselm's obsession. Candace is a wonderful author, and I recommmend all of her other Owen Archer novels, now that she has whet your appetite!
Rating:
Summary: Robb has the right recipe for a great book.
Review: Take a great helping of a one-eyed rogue, mixed with equal parts of a mysterious woman and a shifty archdeacon, a dash of courtly intrigue, and a pinch of romance. Knead with interwoven plots and mysteries. Garnish with exquisit historical detail. Candace Robb's obsession with medieval England shows through with great clarity. Everything is described with such detail that it's entirely possible to lose oneself in the story. The story is enticing, as well as the characters. A multitude of characters captivate the imagination. Each has believable traits, as well as flaws: Owen's self-doubts, Lucie's stubbornness, Anselm's obsession. Candace is a wonderful author, and I recommmend all of her other Owen Archer novels, now that she has whet your appetite!
Rating:
Summary: An Owen Archer Mystery: book one in this series
Review: The correct way to read a series of books is to start with the first as is the case of Apothecary Rose being the first of a series by Candace Robb. I, unfortunately do not always follow the proscribed technique and in the case of Apothecary rose it was the forth I have read. I was of course delighted to read the details of Owen Archers and Lucie Wiltons romance. Owen is sent to York by the Archbishop to investigate the death of the archbishop's ward who is a bit of a wayward soul and could easily do something which would lead to his murder. While in York Owen apprentices himself to Lucie Wilton an apothecary whose husband is dying. Owen soon learns that Lucy has some links to the death of the pilgrims, because he is beginning to care for her he hopes she is innocent. Ms Robb does an excellent job of developing her characters. She takes care to describe life in a medieval city to make the setting interesting and add to the historical knowledge of the reader. This is an intriguing series which I would strongly recommend to fans of the medieval mystery genre.
Rating: 
Summary: First of a Series
Review: The correct way to read a series of books is to start with the first as is the case of Apothecary Rose being the first of a series by Candace Robb. I, unfortunately do not always follow the proscribed technique and in the case of Apothecary rose it was the forth I have read. I was of course delighted to read the details of Owen Archers and Lucie Wiltons romance. Owen is sent to York by the Archbishop to investigate the death of the archbishop's ward who is a bit of a wayward soul and could easily do something which would lead to his murder. While in York Owen apprentices himself to Lucie Wilton an apothecary whose husband is dying. Owen soon learns that Lucy has some links to the death of the pilgrims, because he is beginning to care for her he hopes she is innocent. Ms Robb does an excellent job of developing her characters. She takes care to describe life in a medieval city to make the setting interesting and add to the historical knowledge of the reader. This is an intriguing series which I would strongly recommend to fans of the medieval mystery genre.
Rating:
Summary: First Owen Archer-Lucie Wilton fourteenth-century mystery
Review: The death of the Archbishop of York's ward is the motive for one-eyed Owen Archer, former Captain of Archers under the Duke of Lancaster, to be sent to investigate. Excellent portrayal of medieval York during the reign of Edward III. Lucie Wilton, the apothecary's wife and apprentice, is one of several suspects in a case that turns out to be much more twisted than either Owen or the Archbishop expected, reaching back into the past of a number of characters, at least one of which is not about to allow any light to be shed on the subject of the mysterious deaths in the abbey infirmary. Owen is an engaging character, torn between his cocky self assurance and his doubts about his future since the loss of his eye. Lucie is a feisty, opinionated, independent woman who is not willing to be ordered by men with even the best intentions. The reversal of roles, where Owen is the apprentice to Lucie, is quite delightful.
Rating:
Summary: Great medieval mistery book!!!
Review: This book was fantastic with very well delineated characters, a very suspenseful storyline, and an amazingly descriptive medieval setting. I am looking forward to read more from Candace Robb!!
Rating:
Summary: Masterful!
Review: This inaugural text in the Owen Archer Mystery series is a masterpiece. Robb may well overtake Ellis Peters as queen of the Historical Mystery. The characters are not only mediaevally and ecclesially credible, but palpable. Anyone with a taste for mystery shouded in history should -- nay, must -- read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: A good read....
Review: Those fascinated with herbal remedies, Medieval times, and quick mystery reads (at the airport, on the plane) will probably enjoy this little book. Candace Robb's series (APOTHECARY ROSE is the first installment) features the exploits of Owen Archer spy-sleuth, and is comparable to Ellis Peters Cadfael series as both heros are Welsh, and ex-warriors with knowledge of herbal healing. Both series take place in the Middle Ages, though Cadfael lived in the mid 1100s and Archer in the mid 1300s. Peters plot development is much stronger. Her books could be read out of order as the plots stand on their own, but the reader will miss a few insights and not "get" some insider information if s/he reads them out of order. Peters writing is more deft. Her mystery books always have three plots going on at one time--a main plot and two subplots. Robb has one plot with a few twists, but she spends much more time in the first novel building up her characters--which I think pays off somewhat in later books in the series. However, I made the mistake of reading another book in the series first and it spoiled some of the plot in APOTHECARY ROSE so I recommend you read this one first. Peters had an advantage as she was actually Welsh and understood the importance of being Welsh which she cleverly worked into every one of her stories. She was also an expert on the history of the time frame she used for Cadfael (wrote history under the name Edith Pargeter) while Robb apparently did most of her historical research for this book. Robb is a novelist and her character development is quite good. However, the book is too short for it's complicated characters. APOTHECARY ROSE should have been 500 pages long so Robb had time to fully develop the storyline and characters.
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