Book Review: ‘The Death of Shame’ by Ambrose Parry

A new Ambrose Parry book is always cause for celebration – and this is no exception. I’m actually really gutted that the cover for this book suggests it will be the final book in the historical crime series to feature Dr Will Raven and his (now) apprentice, Sarah Fisher – it’s been such a great series from the start.

This instalment picks up Will and Sarah’s story in 1854 Edinburgh – it’s a city where the medical community is making great advancements in scientific understanding and practice, but also a city that struggles with poverty and has a very sinister side that both Will and Sarah have experienced before. In this book, Will finally has his own medical practice and is secretly training Sarah who is not allowed – as a woman – to study medicine. When Sarah is asked by a relative to find a young woman, Annabel, she follows a trail that leads her into the world of Edinburgh’s brothels and the trade in women by powerful men. Alongside this, Will is caught up in his own mystery involving the blackmail of some of Edinburgh’s most esteemed doctors. It seems that no-one is safe in this violent, immoral city – and both danger and scandal are edging ever nearer to Will and Sarah.

As with the previous books, the Victorian Edinburgh setting is evoked in all its grim detail – this is a world of baby famers, street prostitution, petty crime, lawlessness and violence. It’s clear that the writers (Ambrose Parry is the pen name of married couple Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman) have extensively researched not only the places and social issues of the period, but also the key figures and medical treatments – this is a book you’ll finish and then end up googling all the real historical figures and events!

Long-standing fans of the series will know that one of the common threads through the books is the relationship between Will and Sarah – they should so clearly be together, but there are just so many reasons why this isn’t possible and every book brings new obstacles. This is still a key element of this book too, and it’s really lovely to see their mutual respect and collaboration develop further as Will helps Sarah to achieve her medical aspirations and she leads parts of their investigations. They’re really brilliant characters – flawed, human, and so engaging to follow.

If you’ve not read an Ambrose Parry book before, obviously I’d suggest you start at the beginning of the series with ‘The Way of All Flesh’. However, if you do start with ‘The Death of Shame’, you’ll still be rewarded with an excellent mystery that can stand alone.

If dark, twisty, historical crime fiction is your thing (and it’s definitely mine!) then this series is highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy of this book – opinions are entirely my own. This is due for publication on 5th June, 2025.


Photo by Jörg Angeli on Unsplash

Blog Tour: ‘Fayne’ by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Fayne’. Thanks to Tramp Press and Helen Richardson for my place on the tour and proof copy of the book (published 17th August).

As always, opinions are my own!

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Fayne’ by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Blog Tour: ‘Voices of the Dead’ by Ambrose Parry

I was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for ‘Voices of the Dead’, the fourth novel featuring Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. Thanks for the copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Continue reading Blog Tour: ‘Voices of the Dead’ by Ambrose Parry

Book Review: ‘The It Girl’ by Ruth Ware

I’ve got a bit of a confession here. I know I like Ruth Ware’s books but I’d kind of…put this one off. The title made me think it was going to be about wealthy people living Instagrammable lives – not that I have a problem with that at all, but I kind of need to be in the right mood.

I was wrong and should have read the blurb.

This book is actually about a murder at a fictitious Oxford University college. It centres on Hannah and the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of her discovery of the body of her roommate, April, in their shared rooms. April is the ‘It Girl’ of the novel’s title, bringing champagne, designer clothes and luxury furniture to their digs, but this is much more the story of a friendship group and a university experience gone tragically wrong.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘The It Girl’ by Ruth Ware

Book Review: ‘It Ends at Midnight’ by Harriet Tyce

Thanks to Rosie at Headline for my copy of this tense thriller! As always, opinions are entirely my own.

I loved the premise for this book! A murder at midnight on Hogmanay in Edinburgh – we know there’s a body right from the start. But whose is it? And why has this New Year’s Eve party led to murder?

Continue reading Book Review: ‘It Ends at Midnight’ by Harriet Tyce

Book Review: ‘Way Beyond A Lie’ by Harry Fisher

Thanks to the lovely people at Hobeck Books for my review copy of ‘Way Beyond a Lie’ – this tense and twisty thriller is published on 9th November.

This story opens with a disappearance – Ross McKinlay’s wife, Carla, has vanished during their supermarket trip. The problem is that the police can’t find trace of her, a fact that leads Ross to take matters into his own hands. What he doesn’t appreciate is quite what he is dealing with – and quite how dangerous his investigations will become.

Continue reading Book Review: ‘Way Beyond A Lie’ by Harry Fisher

Book Review: ‘A Woman Made of Snow’ by Elisabeth Gifford

I love historical fiction, am utterly intrigued by the Arctic as a setting for a novel and am totally sold on duel timeline stories. It was clear before I even opened this book that it would tick a lot of boxes for me.

I just didn’t appreciate quite how many.

I loved everything about this book – the setting, the time periods, the gorgeous descriptive language, the characters, the mystery. Everything!

Continue reading Book Review: ‘A Woman Made of Snow’ by Elisabeth Gifford

‘The Art of Dying’ by Ambrose Parry

Here is my five star review of this fabulous book! This was published in January 2020.

This is the second book in the Will Raven/Sarah Fisher series after the truly excellent 'The Way of All Flesh'.  They are written by a husband and wife team - he's an award-winning thriller writer and she is a medical doctor with an interest in the history of medicine, so they really know their stuff on all fronts.  I could not wait to read this book after loving the first one.

This is a fascinating, pacy and engaging story set in Victorian Edinburgh a while after the first book. Dr Will Raven has just returned to the city after a period travelling in Europe developing his medical knowledge. He returns to the house of Dr James Simpson, leading developer of chloroform as an anesthetic, where his former partner in investigations Sarah has been elevated above her status as housemaid and is learning medical skills for herself. It's an awkward reunion between the two former allies, although they soon have to work together when they notice a worrying pattern of deaths occurring in the city.

This book met all my high expectations. It's cleverly plotted and brings alive the setting of Victorian Edinburgh, from the hospital wards to consulting rooms, from the wealth of the doctors' lives to the less salubrious areas lived in by some of their patients. Sarah is a very appealing heroine, fighting for her right to learn medicine in a time and place that denied women such education. In comparison, Will is a rather infuriating hero who makes bad decisions and whose motives are not always pure, yet he also seems real and flawed and interesting; he definitely developed as a character during this book in a positive way.

I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or who has an interest in medical history. However, the book should have much wider appeal - it is engrossing and well-researched and engaging, albeit a bit graphic in relation to the medical issues. Anyone and everyone should give it a go!

I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Photo by Adrien Olichon from Burst