Another fun romp into the world of Sarah Gilchrist, medical student, and Gregory Merchson, Professor of Medicine. We return to Edinburgh at the end of the 19th century and its first cohort of female medical students. Once again Sarah becomes enrolled in a murder investigation, this time a maid in the household of her unwanted fiancé. It's another adventurous, fun story, nothing particularly new to the genre but plenty to enjoy even in the familiar tropes. Some of the discussions about a woman's place in late Victorian Britain become a little repetitive, especially in a second volume but I'll still be along for the ride in Sarah's next outing.

The Unquiet Heart is the second in the author’s historical mystery series featuring medical student turned detective, Sarah Gilchrist. Like its predecessor, The Wages of Sin, it is set in Victorian Edinburgh. There are some references to events and characters in the previous book but it would be possible to read The Unquiet Heart as a standalone.

Sarah Gilchrist continues to resist the expectations of her family – and of society – that she will marry and give up her ambition to qualify as a doctor. She frequently rails against the restrictions placed upon her as a woman. ‘I’m sick of being told that women are weak – too weak for surgery, too weak for intellectual thought.’ And she is roused to anger by the double standards that mean, had she been a man, her medical studies would be ‘the object of praise rather than disgust’. Added to this is the unfairness that, because of previous traumatic events, she is considered ‘damaged goods’, including by her family, even though the damage in question was not of her own making and has had lasting consequences.

Despite a number of suspicious deaths early on, the pace of the book is a little on the slow side for those interested mainly in the mystery element. In addition, for a lot of the time the action moves largely between the houses of Sarah’s friend, Elizabeth Chalmers, her aunt Emily and the University where Sarah attends lectures, meaning it’s only later in the book that one gets a glimpse of the seamier side of Edinburgh. I would have liked a bit more of the latter, to be honest.

However, readers like me who were intrigued by the relationship between Sarah and Professor Gregory Merchiston that featured in the first book will enjoy the simmering sexual tension between them that continues in this one. But will it ignite into a conflagration or fizzle out? And are they destined to remain merely pupil and tutor?

Despite the prejudice displayed by others, Merchiston is willing to introduce Sarah to the techniques of forensic medicine, even if this does demand a strong stomach. “Our bodies tell stories, Miss Gilchrist. The language may be foreign to most but learn to translate it and you will be privy to all the secrets of our species, living or dead.” By the way, I think we really need to learn more about how Merchiston’s housekeeper, Mrs Logan, came to be, in her words, ‘in a music hall dressing room stripped down to my unmentionables armed with nothing but a prop knife’.

By the end of the book, Sarah seems faced with a choice between marriage to a wealthy if unremarkable man and the end of her medical career before it’s even begun, or a less socially acceptable relationship with a man who will preserve, even actively encourage, her ambitions. Unfortunately the latter is also likely to cause a potentially irreconcilable breach with her mother. But are those the only choices available to Sarah?

I am in charge of the senior library and work with a group of Reading Ambassadors from 16-18 to ensure that our boarding school library is modernised and meets the need of both our senior students and staff. It has been great to have the chance to talk about these books with our seniors and discuss what they want and need on their shelves. I was drawn to his book because I thought it would be something different from the usual school library fare and draw the students in with a tempting storyline and lots to discuss.
This book was a really enjoyable read with strong characters and a real sense of time and place. I enjoyed the ways that it maintained a cracking pace that kept me turning its pages and ensured that I had much to discuss with them after finishing. It was not only a lively and enjoyable novel but had lots of contemporary themes for our book group to pick up and spend hours discussing too.
I think it's important to choose books that interest as well as challenge our students and I can see this book being very popular with students and staff alike; this will be an excellent purchase as it has everything that we look for in a great read - a tempting premise, fantastic characters and a plot that keeps you gripped until you close its final page.

Sarah Gilchrist has found herself a fiancee. To be more precise she has been affianced to the younger son of a friend of her uncle. Miles is dull but acquiescent and he will lend a veneer of respectability to Sarah, however he will stop her medical studies. When one of the maids at his house is murdered Sarah finds herself thrust into another investigation and when her intended father-in-law is also killed Sarah has to act.
I really enjoyed the first of these novels and the second is no different. Welsh has managed to put together a book which shouldn't work but it does. At its heart is a simple detective tale set in late Victorian Edinburgh and at this level the story is sufficiently complex to be really satisfying with a real sense of time and place. What lifts these novels above the more mundane is the feminist slant, not so much to be abrasive but integral to the characters and the story.

The Unquiet Heart is the second instalment in the Sarah Gilchrist medical mystery series set in Victorian Edinburgh, and it's a compulsive and gripping gothic tale. This is my type of read as it combines a historical murder mystery with an exploration of late nineteenth century attitudes towards women and morality and does so with considerable aplomb. Sarah is a very likeable protagonist who steadfastly refuses to conform to societies norms which were all about women being seen and not heard and that women should be homemakers who must support their husbands at the expense of their own dreams and aspirations. It makes me rather sad to read about this as sadly these norms mostly went unchallenged except for small, select group who were labelled as highly unorthodox.

Sarah continues to fight for the right of women to be educated as she attends the University of Edinburgh to study medicine in the hopes of becoming a doctor. I recommend reading the books in order as many of the themes continue on from the first novel, Wages of Sin. It is a beautifully plotted and fascinating novel with plenty of drama and an authentic and atmospheric sense of time and place. It is evident that Ms Waite has researched the period extensively and the historical detail makes this a real gem. I loved that the stereotypical gender roles were questioned and upended by women ahead of their time and it made this thoroughly engrossing. All in all, this is an intensely thought-provoking and satisfying tale. Many thanks to Tinder Press for an ARC.

This is the second mystery featuring Sarah Gilchrist, although the story is easy to pick up if you haven't read the first (as I haven't). However, this second story does give away a lot of information about the first book, so probably best to start there if you want the whole narrative.

The story takes place in Edinburgh where Gilchrist and her peers are among the first cohort of female medical students admitted to the university. They're not exactly welcomed with open arms by the male students and have to work twice as hard to gain credibility within their chosen profession, but Sarah is keen to prove herself as she plans her future while hiding a big secret from her past. She has a fiance she doesn't want and an interest in one of her professors that goes beyond the merely professional. He's an investigator in the Sherlock Holmes mould and a murder in the household of her prospective in-laws throws them together, although Sarah is never going to accept being merely the sidekick in any investigation...

This is a lively and engaging read. Sarah Gilchrist is an interesting heroine with a detailed back story. This leaves her with some tough decisions to make and the reader's sympathies do go out to her as she tries to make her way in her chosen career against all odds. Edinburgh is a great, atmospheric setting for the mystery too. The only issue I had was that some of the dialogue felt a bit unnatural - people seemed to anger for no real reason and it jolted me out of the story a few times as I tried to work it out.

Overall, this is a recommended read for those who love a historical murder mystery with a great setting and an engaging female lead. If this looks right up your street, I'd only suggest you start with the first book, 'The Wages of Sin' to fully understand the relationships explored in this novel.

The Unquiet Heart is the follow up to The Wages of Sin, and sees protagonist Sarah Gilchrist continue in her battle to become a doctor whilst trying to get to the bottom of murder and blackmail. Sarah is meant to be marrying Miles Greene to save her reputation, but a dead body found at their engagement party sparks off a different course, where Miles is accused of murder and Sarah is in the perfect position to investigate what is really going on. At the same time, she and her fellow female medical students must endeavour to be taken seriously, and Sarah's complicated relationship with her professor and sometime companion in crime solving, Gregory Merchiston, continues to be unconventional.

Welsh's series has a real focus on the characters and the lives of a range of women in the historical setting, which makes it ideal both for historical crime fans and for those who aren't such a fan of the mystery genre. Sarah Gilchrist is once again a compelling protagonist, pleasingly flawed and stubborn and sharply clever. Her wit is a delight and her banter both with Merchiston and with fellow student Julia is a highlight of the book. As with the previous book, there's a lot of focus on societal attitudes towards women and morality, focusing a lot on freedom, marriage, and what is seen as acceptable even by those with liberal attitudes. This provides an interesting insight into the period, as well as a lot of frustration as to how difficult it is not only for Sarah and her fellow female medical students, but for various women, particularly the servants in the book, with Welsh hinting a lot towards some of the class issues that intersect with gender.

This is a very satisfying sequel to The Wages of Sin, with an engrossing plotline that centres around Sarah and the choices she must make or that are made for her in her life. The mystery narrative is vital, but also feels less important than the key elements of the series: Sarah, the other characters, and the depiction of women's lives in Victorian Edinburgh. These form a real heart (excuse the pun) to the series and make The Unquiet Heart so difficult to put down. It will be difficult to wait for another instalment to see what Sarah does next (and to hope that her and the other women studying to become doctors find happiness).

Firstly, I loved The Wages of Sin so I was excited to get to read this! Sarah Gilchrist is a first year medical student in 1890s Edinburgh, virtually exiled from her London society family after becoming a "fallen woman", and being pushed by her relatives into a loveless engagement with the rather personality-less Miles Greene. Her relationship with her fellow women students is a little strained, and there's a lot more to her relationship with mercurial Professor Merchiston than perhaps there should be. Then her future father in law collapses and dies at a dinner party, and Sarah realises that it wasn't his heart - he's been poisoned, her fiance is accused and she's determined to clear his name.

Sarah is a great character, chafing against society's restrictions on women and the ongoing objections to women studying medicine (it's frustrating to realise that this was still an issue in Edinburgh, 25 years after the first women studied medicine there!). Kaite Welsh does a good job of tying together the restrictions society placed on women, the expectations of Sarah's family and the investigating crime aspect. The feminist history bits are integral to the plot and characters, without it the book wouldn't work and would be inauthentic, plus it's enjoyable so it all comes together to a very readable, thought-provoking book. Recommended!