Voices of the Dead

This is the fourth in this series, I really enjoy this series especially the historical setting in Edinburgh and the medical practices of the time. This was not a time in which you wanted to be a female, pregnant and having trouble with the delivery. Unless of course you have Raven as your doctor, although still new to being a doctor, he has a very good sense of what to do. Raven has been called urgently to the Surgeons Hall about a foot that had been located in an office. He's tasked with finding out who is missing a foot and ensuring that nothing bad is reflected on the Hall. His assistant, Sarah, of course gets involved with his investigation and not long after additional body parts are found, a torso and two legs. There is a somewhat separate arc about mesmerism, which was what early hypnosis was called. A man claiming to be a doctor that can 'heal' any type of ailment by mesmerizing the patient, he puts on a display and all in attendance are enthralled with not having to go under the knife. Raven's old enemy, Flint, also makes an appearance, he's trying to clean up his act, trying to become a good upstanding citizen. If you enjoy historical fiction then I think this would be a book for you. I would recommend it. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Canongate books for the ARC.

This storyline is fascinating and you can tell there's a connection to the main characters. It is a good stand alone novel (this is the fourth in a series). I didn't have any issue keeping u with the story and can definitely see this being a potential in 1854.

Special thanks to NetGalley & Canongate, for providing a advanced reader copy of the novel.

1853 Edinburgh. It would seem that mesmerism has become an interest of Sarah's, but Raven is not convinced of its practical benefits. And what of the powers of the medium known as Kimble. Meanwhile a human leg has been found in the office of Dr. Cooper. Later more body parts are discovered in the city, which leads finally to an identification and a suspect. But is all that it seems with mediums and mesmerism involved. Raven and Sarah investigate.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable main characters and interesting supporting cast of characters. Another good addition to this enjoyable series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth in the Ambrose Parry series of historical crime novels featuring the medical profession and a cross section of other professions, legit and less so, in 1850s Edinburgh. It was my first book in the series, though, discovered after reading some of Chris Brookmyre's contemporary crime novels. (Ambrose Parry is the duo of Brookmyre and his wife, Marisa Haetzman). The pace isn't as fast here but there is so much more going on! This book depicts obstetric and other medical care of the era, plus the new claimants of spiritualism and in particular mesmerism, an emerging form of hypnosis. There is lots of plot and a varied cast of characters, often embodying the light/dark duality so often found in Scottish fiction, never all good or all bad, even the flawed heroes (thanks @floramcflimsey for explaining this to me; it is a helpful lens). The protagonists are faced with satisfyingly difficult situations and the crime is eventually solved. This being 1850s Edinburgh, not everyone gets everything they want and judging by the ending, we'll have to tune into the next installment to see how they fare next year!

My experience of this book was made much more pleasant because I spent so much time in Edinburgh in the spring, soaking up the architecture and atmosphere. Nice experience to relive it in historical fiction! So, obviously, I recommend a trip to Edinburgh for everyone. Skip the castle but not the graveyards.

Give this one a try if you enjoy historical crime, complex characters, medical/scientific history. Finally, I always agree with Scotland's literary powerhouse #valmcdermid who says on the cover, "Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive." Word.

Thanks to the publisher, authors, #netgalley for this advance copy!

Edinburgh, Spring 1853. Despite the scandals of the past, there’s a resurgence of interest in Mesmerism, and Sarah Fisher is keen to learn more about the discipline from the newcomer in town Bostonian doctor Malham, determined to make the art accepted by the medical profession, but Sarah’s friend and colleague Dr. Raven is, shall we say, much less enthused about it. As Sarah cautiously makes her way into the inner circle of Dr. Malham and his backers and pursues this new interest that could perhaps open new doors for her in a field not yet jealously guarded and dominated by men, Dr. Raven is himself soon dragged by an old university friend into an investigation after unidentified body parts are found over town, including in an office of the Surgeons’ Hall. Soon enough the worlds of the theatre, and spiritualism add layers to the mystery that brings forth all sort of ghosts from the past.



And thus the stage is set for a really splendid historical crime novel by the couple behind the nom de plume Ambrose Parry, the award winning crime fiction writer and his physician spouse. The fourth novel in a series, Voices of the Dead can still perfectly be read as a stand-alone as the authors do a great job at outlining the back stories of characters and painting their protagonists in lively strokes, without spoiling too much the details for new readers who’d want to go back afterward and read previous books, which I suspect many who start here will want to do.



Voices of the Dead is a finely structured, complex and very satisfying mystery, as you’d come to expect from Chris Brookmyre, and that mystery certainly drives the story, but what makes it truly stand out is how immersive, rich and well-researched it also is purely as a novel historical fiction, with a lot of attention paid to characterization. Parry once more brings Victorian Edinburgh to life vividly while making you discover along the way a lot about the medical knowledge and practices of the day, and the fine line that still existed between science and quack practices, good faith and exploitation.



Even if one opens this book as a stand-alone, Sarah Fisher, Dr. Will Raven, Dr. Fisher and their entourage rapidly rise from the page as very well fleshed out and deeply interesting, easily relatable protagonists, and of course as the fourth volume of their story it’s even better, with plenty of new character development, an ever expanding cast of recurring secondary players, once more mixing fictional and historical figures including some fun new ones. In all of this, especially with the work on setting and the depth of the characterization without ever losing the momentum of the criminal intrigue as they drive you through their labyrinth of exciting twists and turns, Ambrose Parry rivals the masters of the genre, achieving for the medical world of Edinburgh in the 1850s what the great late Anne Perry achieved for society high and low of Victorian London in her Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series. Whether you’re there to follow the ongoing character-driven stories of the loveable cast, for the historical immersion into the world of Victorian medicine or for the entraining and well-written mind-games of a tightly plotted murder mystery, Voices of the Dead is another awesome entry to what is proving again to be a superior series of historical crime fiction.

4.5 Stars This is the 4th book in the brilliant character-driven medical mysteries set in Edinburgh in the mid-1800s. Voices of the Dead continues the series as a well-researched atmospheric story that transports the reader and informs them of the deep divisions in the city's social fabric and medical progress. Edinburgh has become known as a leading centre for scientific progress in the medical field. The town has squalid, unclean areas with high infant mortality rates and infectious diseases. There are challenges for the privileged and impoverished within this well-constructed medical mystery.

An actual historical figure, Dr. Simpson has made chloroform an accepted use as an anesthetic during operations. Sarah Fisher worked as his housemaid and had the burning desire to train as a doctor. This was unacceptable and unthinkable for a woman in that male-dominated profession. The highly intelligent Sarah immersed herself in the doctor's medical texts.
Will Raven apprenticed to Dr. Simpson in his specialty of obstetrics. He had the ambition to become a doctor for patients of social standing. He and Sarah developed romantic feelings, but he considered her low class would impede his standing as a future doctor, so he refused to marry her. After a time travelling, he returned to Simpson's clinic and was shocked to find Sarah assisting in the practice and bitter that in his absence, she married a doctor who encouraged her hopes for a medical career.

Sarah is now a widow, and Raven has married the daughter of a prominent physician, which is more in line with his ambitions. Raven's home life is stressful. His unhappy background has kept him from bonding with his young son, who cries incessantly and acts up. His wife is pregnant with a second child and wants him to set up his own practice, which he can only do by accepting her father's money and oversight. Raven and Sarah sometimes must work together, and their relationship is fraught with complicated dynamics as they still hide strong feelings for each other.

Scientific progress has grown by leaps and bounds, but interest and belief in spiritualism, mediums, illusionists, charlatans, and mesmerists (hypnotists) have interested the gullible public. Dr. Simpson wants a spiritualist to conduct a seance at his home as an investigation into the practice. The medium relays some messages from members of the Simpson family who have died. These are highly disturbing as private family knowledge is conveyed through the medium. Raven attacks the man. Simpson takes his upset family on holiday.

Raven has been called to Surgeon's Hall, where a severed foot has been found in a drawer. Police detective James Levy enters the case when various body parts are discovered around the city. Raven joins the detective as it is feared the case will draw the medical profession into disrepute. The body snatchers' crimes still linger, where body parts were sold to be studied by medical students, etc. The investigation leads to the theatre, where a famous actor may have murdered his unfaithful and promiscuous wife and then disappeared. He cannot be found, but people have been sighting the suspect all over the city. A male body part suggests that the actor also killed one of his faithless wife's lovers.

Sarah starts to train as a mesmerist, seeing a way to help the sick in this discipline as she is barred from training as a doctor. She is accepted to train under Dr. Malham from America. She becomes so focused on mesmerism that she loses perspective. She fails to notice how much show business and illusion creep into Malham's stage presentations and does not notice an underlying illness she ignored while using hypnosis. Will is very skeptical of all things on the fringe of science and has no regard for spiritualists, magic, illusions, or Sarah's pursuit of mesmerism.

Two of Raven's old foes enter the story. He needs to believe their contention that they have changed. He makes a promise to one, but can he live with his conscience if he breaks his promise for a large sum of money? He hated the other man and would like to expose his true identity, but will he? Now, he is working closely with the man he attacked after he conducted the seance at Simpson's house. One of the most suspenseful parts of the story was Raven's struggle to do the right thing. Can he work with people he previously despised?

The complex case involves secrets, blackmail, deception, murder, and false identity that all untangle into a well-constructed cohesive solution. The ending poses some fascinating unresolved issues. I can hardly wait for the next book in the series to learn where they may lead.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this splendid historical medical mystery.

The year is 1853 and Dr. Will Raven is summoned to Surgeons' Hall where a gruesome discovery has been made. So begins the search for missing body parts and people, one presumed to be a murderer. Meanwhile Sarah Fisher has developed an interest in mesmerism and proceeds to study how it could be used as a medical tool whilst others use mesmerism as a tool to advance their wealth.

Once again I was drawn into Edinburgh as it existed in those times. Women aren't believed to be suited for the medical field so Sarah becomes an aficianado of mesmerism. There are a number of plot threads concerning medicine, mesmerism (hypnosis), illusion and murder which eventually all come together for a satisfactory ending. Dr. Simpson plays a minor role in this book and a few new characters are introduced. I think this book could be read as a standalone but I recommend the whole series, starting at #1. All in all, an excellent read and I can hardly wait for #5!

My thanks to Canongate Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this historical novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication: September 26, 3023

It had been awhile since I read this series but I enjoyed it just as much as if no time had gone by .
Victorian era stories are one of my most favourite to read and this is no exception.i hope we continue to get more in this series.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book