I really enjoyed this historical mystery set in Edinburgh in the 1800's. I love historical fiction and this one was really absorbing with likeable main characters and lots of interesting medical info from the time. Highly recommend this to anyone.

I enjoyed reading this book .It was interesting to learn how medicine was in the 1800's and about the development of anaesthetic .I found the medical side a bit too much ,pushing the crime side to the back.I would have liked the crime thriller side of the book to be more prominent .The story is a slow burner because of all the medical facts .The book is very atmospheric and I liked the main characters Raven and Will .Many thanks to the Publishers ,the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Super tale of murder and medical matters in 1847 Edinburgh. The use of locations that still exist today give this story a glorious atmospheric feel. The mystery of sudden death, natural or by foul deed is cleverly explored as is the role of women at that time. Quite gruesome at times but necessarily so the pace rolls speedily along and I can only recommend this and look forward to the next episode!

From Goodreads:
I love a good Victorian crime caper - and this is one.
Add in Edinburgh and it going to be good.
Atmospherically written, great potential for characters, clever plot.
AND loved the way historical Scottish characters kept popping up

Well worth a read

Set in Edinburgh in 1847 we follow a young student Raven as he starts out, under the tutelage of Dr Simpson, a renowned physician, who treats rich and poor alike, and a housemaid, Sarah, who has the ability and skills to be every bit as clever as Raven, or maybe even Simpson.

We understand more about the beginnings of anaesthesia, and the horrors of childbirth back in the 1800’s, with some very graphic descriptive writing.

Its an historical who dunnit thriller, together with a healthy dose of realism, or historical fact, around just how difficult life was in those days. I enjoyed the book, from start to finish. Throughly recommend it.

This was a historical fiction mystery with a medical flavour. Set in Edinburgh in the mid 1800s, this was an interesting comparison to London, where most novels from this period are usually set (in my reading experience anyway!) it was absolutely fascinating to learn about the early development of anaesthesia and how these were tested. No formal trials or safeguards were in place.; but also interesting to see how progress in this field went hand in hand with the ability to perform more successful and advanced surgeries. Interesting too, to learn that some were against anaesthetics as it says in the bible that birth should be a painful process! The young medical apprentice and a young housemaid work together to determine how several young pregnant women are turning up dead, their bodies grotesquely contorted. It was fairly simple from about halfway through to work out the culprit, but it in no way detracted from the enjoyment of the story.
Thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

The novel is set in Edinburgh in the winter of 1847. It mingles real and fictional characters. The real person is Dr Simpson, a well-known gynaecologist, who has a practice in his house where he treats poor people for free which is subsidised by his rich patients.

There are two main fictional characters. One is Will Raven who, at age 19, has just finished university and starts as a trainee doctor with Dr Simpson in return for bed and board. He is still very insecure in his capabilities and his standing in society and, therefore, does not take very well to an "uppity" girl who is the other fictional character, Sarah, Dr Simpson's housemaid, who also helps with the patients. She is 16 and very intelligent and resentful of the fact that women, whether rich or poor are not allowed to be educated and have good jobs.

These two young people are thrown together and, after initially resenting each other, start working together to find the person murdering women, as each of them knew one of the victims.

As the novel is set in a medical environment, there are descriptions of child birth and its complications. Surgery, which was partially a spectator sport, is also described. This was also the time when ether started to be used as an anaesthetic by some doctors. Although the use of anaesthetics was not universally approved by the medical profession and was actively opposed by certain religious groups, the search was on for a better anaesthetic. This - chloroform - is discovered in the course of the novel (as in real life) by Dr Simpson.

The novel gives very atmospheric descriptions of the rich New Town and poor Old Town of Edinburgh.

The Way of All Flesh takes us to Victorian Edinburgh, with a thoroughly enjoyable setting of dark streets, doctors, drugs, prostitutes, thugs that jump you in the dark to collect your debts, murder, abortions, mystery, upstairs/downstairs, changing names, detailed gore and blood...

In this great setting I the mystery plot almost comes second to the backdrop of the development of and experiments with anaestesia. The story offered plenty of options for suspects in the case of the murdered prostitutes and we see the birth of the new medical detective duo young doctor Will Raven and servant girl Sarah Fisher. I felt there were some loose threads and unanswered questions, but since this is reportedly the first in a series I guess those loose ends are there to draw us in.

This lively historical whodunnit set in Edinburgh during the era when chloroform was invented is lots of gory fun with a pair of likeable protagonists and a cast of interesting secondary characters. Fans of Robert Louis Stevenson will be familiar with the fascinating disparity between the grim and seedy Old Town and the shiny veneer of the wealthy new town, often hiding equally sordid eneterprises!
I was pleased to find out this is the first in a series as it's not often you get to read a book which makes you laugh and grimace on the same page - definitely worth a try.

I am a big Brookmyre/Parlabane fan so when I heard he had teamed up with his consultant anaesthetist wife to write a historical crime novel, I just knew I had to read it. Will fact and fiction combine to provide a readable, enjoyable piece of fiction? Will the writing partnership end in success or divorce? I'm please to answer both those questions in the positive as I blooming loved this book and, as it is a series opener, was left hanging for the next one.
Set in Edinburgh in 1847, we follow Will Raven as he starts his apprenticeship with well respected Dr Simpson. Actually, we start just before that as his interest in matters that subsequently unfold have connections to his medical student days. Anyway, Simpson's specialism is midwifery and he helps and assists with childbirth of women from all walks of life. He has a lot of success, some attributed to his use of the new medical practice of anaesthesia, still very much in its infancy and often lambasted by sceptics and shunned by the religious. But he has a good success with it and wants to explore the procedure further both alone and alongside other doctors. Will is an avid student, eager to please but he has a past, one that is slowly revealed through the book. But he is a bit cocky initially and has a tendency to rub people up the wrong way, Simpson's maid Sarah being one of those not convinced by his charms. The rest of the story is deliciously convoluted and involves death, charlatans, illegal surgery, money lending and prostitution, and a healthy dose of secrets and lies too. Far too much goes on to even start to explain any of it here so I am not going to even try. Suffice to say that I hung on every word, devoured every delicious description and reeled with shock at some that was described. I also laughed a bit along the way too. It's also deliciously gory in places, and hard hitting at times, as you would expect from Brookmyre.
I think I was with Sarah in her initial feelings for Will. It did take me a while to get to know him but I did get there and he grew on me nicely as more of his story was told. Sarah I loved from the start, can't help rooting for a woman trying to get ahead in a man's world! She's feisty and determined and she has a bit of a mouth on her, a bit outspoken to her betters, often to her detriment. But, she has her allies and she is eager to learn which interests certain characters.
If I had to make one comment though, it was that there were some times where the detail overshadowed the plot advancement for me. Obviously there is certain information that needs to be included for the whole thing to make sense but I felt, at times, it swung a little too far too long the wrong way for me. But, that said, it is a series opener and I am easily able to accept that information as set up, as I do with all first books, so it really didn't bother me that much. Obviously with the book set where and when it was, there has to be a certain amount of time and scene setting to deliver the ambience and the foundations for the plot. So be it. I also, willingly or otherwise, did learn quite a lot from this book and that's never a bad thing!
All in all a series that has definitely got off to cracking start. Roll on book two. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book drew me in because it is historical fiction with medical elements, the setting is Edinburgh and it sounded quite mysterious, dark and gruesome, everything I want in a book! I think I first came across it on Savidge Reads channel on Youtube and I aways adore his historical fiction and darker book recommendations.

We follow aspiring doctor, Will Raven (the best character name ever) as he discovers the gruesome death of a friend and he starts his apprenticeship with an illustrious doctor, Dr Simpson. What follows is a peak into the lives of women at that time from various levels of society and how they are viewed as second class citizens and inferior to men as well as Will Raven's struggles and the medical and technological advances of the time such as ether, photography and more. As with The Death Of Mrs Westaway I loved the eerie, grim and atmospheric tone of the book, it was also quite quick and easy to read and it was definitely compelling, full of mystery and intrigue.

My only negative about this read was that it was fairly slow paced, that's not to say that nothing happens as there are always events but it was just gory labour, gory labour, birth, blood, gory labour which is the topic Will Raven is interested in and a major proportion of the book; however it felt very repetitive. Despite those negatives, it was definitely an engaging, atmospheric and interesting read that I cannot recommend enough if you are a fan of historical fiction, especially with a medical elements.

Well, what a gloriously fun romp that was! The writing was so sparky it could start bush fires and the characters were so multi-dimensional and brimming with verve they leapt off the page and did a jig in my living room. A cracking story to boot which combined historical fact with a nasty little mystery to absolutely barnstorming effect. An absolute joy basically. Very highly recommended.

This book makes you travel back in time to a Victorian Scotland and a Mr Raven apprentice to a well known respected midwife Mr Simpson. There is a death, an owed debt and a history that travels with Raven which we see slowly unravel throughout the book. Upon starting his apprenticeship we meet the rest of the Simpson household including his maid Sarah who plays a role in the way the story was played out. I loved the relationship between her and Raven. That she was more than a housemaid and her employer indulged her curiosity. The story a classic who submit with its twists and turns that leave you guessing until the very end. I enjoyed the book immensely and am definitely eager to read more.hearing this is to be a series is brilliant!

Not to be confused with the book of the same name by Samuel Butler and published posthumously in 1903. Set in Edinburgh in 1847. Will Raven has secured a job in the new town with Dr. James Simpson. Will has lived in the old town and befriended prostitutes. When one of them he was close to is found dead and then another girl this time a housemaid is also found dead, Will with the help of a reluctant Sarah Fisher, who works in Dr. Simpson's house investigate.
The book is written by husband and wife Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Thank you Netgalley for my kindle download, see my full review on Euro-Crime website.
Highly recommended.

This is a deliciously atmospheric piece of historical crime fiction from the husband and wife authors, Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, set in Victorian Edinburgh, a city split between the poverty stricken and dark underbelly of the Old Town and the more genteel wealthy households of New Town. This is a story about Edinburgh's heyday as the prominent player in its contributions towards the progress of medicine intertwined with the murder of young women, prostitutes, deemed to be of little consequence, unworthy of any real investigation. It is 1847, a penniless and indebted Will Raven has secured a much sought after apprentice position with the well known Dr Simpson, specialising in midwifery and anaesthesia. Shocked after stumbling on the dead body of his friend, Evie, a prostitute, he is badly beaten and cut by the thugs of a moneylender when he arrives to live at the Simpson household. Needless to say, he makes a poor impression on some members of the household that include the young resentful Sarah Fisher, a bright and intelligent housemaid with aspirations for a career in medicine that is denied to her by society's misogyny and her poverty.

Edinburgh abounds with quacks, charlatans and snake oil salesman willing to peddle their dangerous practices and wares on a desperate public. Amidst the medical community there are daring experiments run by men, often ruthless and arrogant, brutal and uncaring of the people they experiment on. Driven by a need to acquire wealth and build their reputations, it is barely surprising that so many are corrupted by their power over ordinary mortal souls with nowhere else to go. In that respect, Raven is fortunate that Simpson is driven by the need to improve the gruesome medical practices in midwifery and to alleviate the unspeakable pain experienced by women in childbirth. We see the good doctor discover and implement the use of chloroform in the profession. Many doctors believe that it is natural for the patient to experience pain and it goes against nature to provide pain relief. I believe their beliefs would shift remarkably quickly if they were the ones on the receiving end of their brutal and excruciating practices. Then there are the male religious voices, claiming that God wants women to undergo painful childbirth and to provide an anaesthetic is to go against God. Sarah and Raven overcome their initial difficulties to join forces to investigate who is behind the growing number of dead women when no-one else will, only to find themselves in deadly danger.

The authors give us an atmospheric and richly described picture of the dark arts and science behind the breakthroughs made in 19th century Edinburgh amidst a background of a medical profession that was not always keen to adhere to the best interests of their patients. We are not spared the gruesome horrors of what people had to undergo in the hands of these powerful doctors, this includes the malignant abortionists taking advantage of poorer women with impunity. Sarah and Mina, whilst on different ends of the social strata, nevertheless epitomise just how powerless women were in their inability to choose their path in life, or even have control over their bodies. This novel does a brilliant job in providing such a great sense of time and location, giving an authentic glimpse of the state of medicine in the period, with all the tension and suspense of murder. The characterisation and development of Will Raven and Sarah Fisher was done well and with great skill as I found both of them utterly compelling as people. I look forward with great anticipation for the next in this series. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

I chose to read this book because I studied the Social History of Medicine as part of my BA and I found the subject fascinating. This tale set in the first half of the 19th century in Edinburgh, the hotbed of medical research at the time, was well written with strong characters and a strong story line. I very much enjoyed the sometimes gory details of un-anaesthetised operations and the testing of ether and chloroform. I was also listening to Dickens's Oliver Twist at the same time I was reading this book and, although set ten years previously and several hundred miles south, the atmosphere and detail where similar. A great collaboration between the husband and wife team now known as Ambrose Parry. Highly recommended and I hope for more books about Will and Sarah.

A new historical / medical / romantic fiction series set in Victorian Edinburgh. It has it all!

A little slow to start but I was gradually drawn into the story. Suspicious deaths get our main character Raven to investigate. I did guess who the murderer was but enjoyed the way the plot gradually opened out. Interesting facts about the beginnings of anaesthesia, which I have no doubt are correct.

I did not realise that this was a collaboration between two authors. They work well together.

Will Raven has just been appointed the apprentice of the renowned Dr Simpson; he hopes that his progression through the medical profession (and up the social ladder) will give him the opportunity to pay off a dangerous loan shark - one to whom he became indebted in order to help his friend and local prostitute, Evie, who is now suddenly, and inexplicably, dead.

In fact, there is a spate of young women dying in similar circumstances, and Raven's already complicated life is about to become even more so...

Sarah is a maid in the Simpson household, tasked with managing the doctor's waiting room in between her usual chores. She knows she's destined for greater work than changing bed sheets and serving tea, but Victorian Edinburgh is no place for ambitious, professional-minded women, and being taken seriously - particularly by the new apprentice, Raven - is a constant struggle.

The Way of All Flesh is a quick-paced, gritty mystery full of interesting characters, plots and historical fact. Ambrose Parry beautifully captures the atmosphere of 1800s Edinburgh, a city filled with shadows and secrets as well as the forefront of medical innovation and learning. I appreciated the research that had obviously gone into the book - and the fact that the authors and editors knew when the draw the line with facts vs fiction. After initially butting heads, it was fun watching Sarah and Raven's relationship develop, with plenty of grudging respect on both sides, and I'm looking forward to seeing the duo in future stories.

This was a terrific read, a historical novel set in Edinburgh, well researched and full of excitement. Will Raven, an aspiring young doctor, finds a friend of his dead. She is a prostitute, one he has known in the biblical sense in the past but now a friend who he has tried to help. When he finds that her death is not to be investigated he vows to find out what has been going on but in the meantime he has to avoid the thugs hired to beat him up by the moneylender he owes money to and to start an apprenticeship with the renowned Dr Simpson. He is joined in his endeavours by Sarah Fisher, Simpson's housemaid who is bright and resourceful and is ambitious in her own right. Together they track down the mysterious Madame Anjou who appears to be behind a number of unexplained deaths in the city. Ambrose Perry is a husband and wife team, Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Brookmyre is a renowned crime writer and Haetzman an anaesthetist who has studied the history of medicine in particular that of midwifery and anaesthesia. And what a gory history this is. This is to be the first in a series which follows Raven as he progresses in his career. I can't wait to read more. Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Way of All Flesh is a historical novel that blends crime and medicine, showing the cutthroat world of scientific discovery and the dangerous situations of the poor of Victorian Edinburgh. Will Raven starts an apprenticeship with the renowned Dr Simpson, who alongside his patients is looking for discoveries in anaesthesia. In Simpson's house, Raven meets Sarah, a housemaid with an interest in medicine and an early dislike of Raven. Soon, they find themselves working together to uncover why young women keep turning up dead in the Old Town, deaths that seem to have some link to the medical world that Raven inhabits.

The novel is co-written by a crime writer and a consultant anaesthetist, giving it a thoroughly medical setting whilst weaving in mystery and money. The class elements are vital too: Edinburgh is divided and the characters cross between rich and poor areas. Raven finds himself confronted by the realities of the poor even as he deals with his own money troubles, with actions he thinks are helpful turning out to not be as well thought out. A lot of interesting elements are combined in the novel and the narrative has plenty of intrigue, though at times the pace is a little slow. Sarah is a great character, providing a reality check for Raven and also showing how intellect could only be valued if you were male and well off.

There have been a number of nineteenth-century historical novels set in Edinburgh featuring elements of crime and medicine released recently (including The Wages of Sin and The Pharmacist's Wife), but they all tend to have unique elements of focus or narrative. In the case of The Way of All Flesh, this is the quest for anaesthesia combined with the reality of hidden abortion, and the interesting way this intersects with gender and class in a historical context. This novel is definitely one for historical crime fans who aren't squeamish about medical stuff, and the fact it is the first in the series means there is likely to be plenty more to come.