This has to be one of the most gothic visits to Edinburgh town
I ever did make in my life. Ooh that sounds like the start of a rhyme doesn’t it? The cover opened and what a cover it is by the way! and immediately I was sucked into a world of vice, dark deeds and a ‘Fetid labyrinth’ that was Edinburgh in 1847.

Novels like this are thrilling if done right and boy was this done right. Evoking sights, sounds and smells of a time gone by, with a little bit of history thrown in such as the “Irish invasion from Glasgow”

I loved this from the first page. A fully immersive novel with a great plot and mysterious threads throughout. It’s extremely vivid read and I hear it’s the first of many. Bring them on! Missing Raven and co already.

I will post on The BookTrail nearer the time.

When a couple of young women are found dead in similar suspicious circumstances, medical student Will Raven - apprenticed to Dr Simpson and Simpson's housemaid Sarah investigate which leads them into some grave trouble.
This is a fast-paced gritty historical fiction set in 1840's Edinburgh, when Edinburgh led the world in the field of medicine.
This is a story of the birth of anaesthesia, of power and corruption.
I loved this and I'm glad there will be more. 5*

I selected “the way of all flesh” based on the description without realising it was the pseudonym of one of my favourite authors working with his wife, Marisa Haetzman - a consultant anaesthetist. This medical crime thriller set in early Victorian edinburgh is a great new direction for Chris Brookmyre (one that is decidedly less sweary!), combining medical history with the usual pace and violent threat, plus a strong through-line addressing the restrictive position of women in society at this time (and the future possibilities).
Drawing on the established history and (presumably!) embellishing this with the central mystery, the book convincingly develops the Edinburgh of the 1840s and the clash of class and medical ethics without losing the convoluted plotting and unexpected twists. I’m looking forward to more from “Ambrose Parry”.

I have ODed a bit on fantasy lately so this was exactly what I needed. Fast paced historical medical crime set in 19th C Edinburgh – I was in love before I even met the protagonists. Raven, a young doctor in training, and Sarah, a housemaid who should be a doctor, formed an unlikely, reluctant team to discover who is killing women across the city. Both have their own agendas and character journeys in this well structured and compelling novel. I absolutely gulped this down. A brilliant book, replete with pleasing historical detail.

I have been riveted by this debut novel. Set in Edinburgh the scene is set very quickly. The characters believable and identifiable. Although a murder mystery I found the historical backdrop to the storyline interesting and informative. Especially the medical/surgical information. Gruesome at times but not gratuitous. The story moves at a pace and would highly recommend this to readers that enjoy books with more depth than some I have read recently. I shall look forward to reading the author's next novel. Will there be a series. Would love to read more about Will and Sarah