How when we realize our actions are incorrect we feel guilt and avoid the mistake for a while. You can read a summary of what is known about her here. But as a story formed in my mind, my priest gave a sermon about how easy it is to fall into a cycle of sin and penance. There is not much known about Locusta, which incited my imagination. What possessed Locusta to reach so far beyond expectation, to fulfill her sadistic cravings with poison? Where would she have learned her craft? How would she have honed the alchemy? The musings manifested in my historical fiction thriller, Apricots and Wolfsbane. My mind pondered what had motivated a female from Rome (Gaul) to pursue such violence in AD 54. Even as a modern, non-traditional gal, it contradicted my expectation. I first came across that fact in fall of 2016: the world’s first serial killer was a woman. More surprisingly, the world’s first serial killer belonged to the more “fragile” and “demure” gender. A woman wrote the first computer program. Men have accomplished most “firsts” in history, but there are some notable exceptions. (Kara) Pohlkamp to Being Anne to tell us more… I don’t know about you, but I really liked the look of this one. With her ideals in conflict, Lavinia must decide which will satisfy her heart: love, faith, or murder- but the betrayals are just beginning. She balances revenge with her struggle to develop a tasteless poison and avoid the wrath of her ruthless patron.

When the magistrate suspects her ruse, he pressures the priest into breaking her confessional seal, pitting Lavinia’s instincts as an assassin against the tenets of love and faith. Believing confession erases the sin of murder, her morbid desires are in unity with faith, though she could never justify her skill to the magistrate she loves.Īt the start of the 16th century in Tudor England, Lavinia’s marks grow from tavern drunks to nobility, but rising prestige brings increased risk. Lavinia Maud craves the moment the last wisps of life leave her victim’s bodies-to behold the effects of her own poison creations. Pohlkamp contacted me about her debut, Apricots and Wolfsbane, published by Filles Vertes Publishing, and subtitled “A Historical Thriller Inspired by the World’s First Serial Killer”. Sadly, I just can’t manage to read them all – but I was particularly intrigued when K.M. I find I’m reading an increasing number of historical fiction books these days – and I find they rarely disappoint me.

Apricots and Wolfsbane by K.M. Pohlkamp