Dr. Aa's Pennyroyal Tabules

from Charleston Magazine: "Young romance, untimely death, ghosts, and women’s fight for birth control: it’s a lot to pack into a novella...The book begins with a prologue offering insight into the story’s villain, Charlestonian Dr. Aa, whose evil scheming is based on that of a real-life Londoner. Next, readers meet the unnamed narrator, who’s spending the summer of 1927 on a South Carolina island with college pal Pennington. The young women set out on a search for contraception (it wasn’t legal until 1965, reminds Rentz) that opens up a world of desperate females, opportunistic criminals, and an empowering movement towards women’s rights. A poetic voice that takes readers into the vintage days of snake oil cures, then flashes them forward into a frightening 2031, combines intriguingly with direct quotes from historical primary sources."