A gripping historical novel of medicine & murder from bestselling author Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman, set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh.
SYNOPSIS:
Edinburgh, 1849. Hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. And a campaign seeks to paint Dr James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform, as a murderer.
Determined to clear Simpson’s name, his protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher must plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets and find out who or what is behind the deaths. Soon they discover that the cause of the deaths has evaded detection purely because it is so unthinkable.
MY THOUGHTS:
What a page turner! I loved every minute. The charm of this book is the historical vocabulary of the mid 1800s which totally enhanced the reading experience for me. The beautiful prose described Edinburgh's landscapes and back alleys, the well-to-do and the villains in such detail that I was transported back through time and immersed myself fully in that period, where the men ruled and women were submissive.
There was a good amount of twists and surprises throughout the book and a few subplots which added depth to the story and to the development of the characters.
I loved the setting, the historical references and was even more thrilled when I discovered that some of the characters were based on real life people. For me that was the icing on the cake.
Although this was book two in the series and obvious links were being referred to surrounding the characters, the story was easy to follow and worked well as a standalone novel too. The Art of Dying is a 'must read' in my opinion, especially if you enjoy historical and crime novels. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for inviting me to join the blog tour. Highly recommend.
AUTHOR PROFILE:
Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The couple are married and live in Scotland.
Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels. Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, whose research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which this series, which began with The Way of All Flesh, is based.
The Way of All Flesh was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
The Art of Dying is the second book in the series.