This series – set in Victorian Edinburgh – is one of my absolute favourites!
I love how vividly the gloom and danger of the city is conveyed, I love the realistic characters and I love the medical basis for the books. The (married) writers – award-winning crime writer (Chris Brookmyre) and medical expert specialising in anaesthetics (Marisa Haetzman) – are a brilliant combination and I look forward to each new book in this series with anticipation.
And this one (Book 3) is an absolute gem!
In this story, Dr Will Raven begins to investigate the gruesome and tragic contents of a package that washes up in Leith. His work is interrupted by the poisoning of a wealthy Edinburgh figure – and Raven isn’t wholly convinced that the right man will hang for the crime. Assisting him is Sarah Fisher – a women who has her sights on a career in medicine no matter the barriers caused by her gender – who has both her own reasons for investigating and a complex past with Raven.
The plotting of this book is just so clever. For something that starts relatively slowly with two separate investigations, the pace really picks up and the twists just keep coming! At the end, there were so many revelations and reversals of what I expected that I was reeling! I had no clue about the culprit or motives whatsoever (although the clues were all there) – and, to me, that makes a pretty fantastic read.
The setting of these books is a real strength. Victorian Edinburgh is a dark and twisted place, full of secrets and underhand dealings and danger – which I love. The streets aren’t safe and the sights and smells of Raven’s world are evoked strongly (I was going to say beautifully, but there isn’t much beautiful about the morgues and poor houses, chloroform and pus that make up Raven’s existence as a medical doctor).
As always, the character of Sarah Fisher is the one that I love most. She really conveys how hard it was for women to be taken seriously in their desire to practise medicine, especially women who have been hampered by their ‘female’ education. It does complicate the tentative romance between Fisher and Raven that has formed the backbone of this series as marriage would compromise her independence. This is something that is dealt with really sensitively and with clearly lots of thought about what are realistic but painful choices for the characters.
I honestly could go on forever about these books. Instead, I’ll suggest that you pick up an Ambrose Parry book now if you love dark and grimy historical murder mysteries. This book could be read as a stand alone, but to fully appreciate the characters I’d suggest you begin with book one, ‘The Way of All Flesh’.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is published on 19th August – please use my affiliate link below if you would like to purchase this (or the first in the series). Thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases:
Header photo by Linnea Sandbakk on Unsplash
Ohhhh! A Victorian story with twists and turns! Sounds fantastic. Thanks for reviewing!
I love the setting of this series. That’s great you really loved this one. It sounds like a series that just keeps getting better.