The streets of Edinburgh,1849, full of life and death, of poverty and possibility; the use of chloroform as anaesthetic as pioneered by Doctor James Young Simpson has made surgery less fearful and painful, but surgical procedure itself has not advanced significantly, nor is it yet clear if post-operative mortality rates have improved through the use of the wonder drug.

The practice of medicine the province of the rich, with it comes a certain arrogance and upon his return to the city from a year abroad in Europe, not without bloody incident on the streets of Berlin which will return to haunt him, Doctor Will Raven finds the reputation of his friend Doctor Simpson has been tarnished following the death of a patient through post-operative haemorrage.

With no post-mortem conducted and two of Simpson’s former friends indicating, in their professional medical opinion, that the fault lay with the surgeon, it is a scandal to be resolved in the court of public opinion, and Doctor Simpson’s assistant Sarah attempts to recruit Will in her investigations to clear his name, frustrated as they have been by the fact that she is a women, albeit it one of ill-defined position.

The already awkward friendship of Will and Sarah exacerbated by his time away and her new position, he at first refuses, focusing instead on a different matter, a series of unexplained deaths of mysterious symptoms with a single linking factor, possibly a new disease vector which if identified, he imagines, might be named Raven’s Malady, but as evidence mounts it becomes apparent the affliction goes by an older name, one well known on the streets of the city: murder.

The Art of Dying is the second novel from the pen of Ambrose Parry, the collaboration of the partners in crime otherwise known as “tartan noir” novelist Christopher Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Doctor Marisa Haetzman, this time she taking the lead as the majority of the novel was written while he was working on his latest solo novel, Fallen Angel, published earlier this year.

While the style of the prose is consistent with The Way of All Flesh the structure is different, almost taking the form of observation of symptoms and diagnosis of an ailment, the evidence often imprecise, obscured by other factors and further complicated by those who would deliberately misdirect or conceal for their own purposes, while the characters remain as strong-willed and resolute, often leading to them being at loggerheads in their methods.

Unusually, while Will and Sarah remain oblivious even as their paths cross, the identity of the killer is made clear to the reader early on, with interludes told from their point of view, a woman, overlooked in society, survivor of a brutal childhood which has shaped their worldview. Her father a violent, alcoholic thug, she has no patience for the patriarchy and the impositions it places on women.

Yet The Art of Dying is not merely about killing or saving the patient; it is about alleviating suffering, ensuring that those who must go are cared for emotionally and physically, as are those who are left behind, lessons the Simpson family already know but which Will and Sarah will be confronted with on the next stage of what, to the reader, might be termed their adventures, but which to them is only life engaged in the pursuit of delaying death.

Will Raven is a rather unorthodox hero. He's a recently qualified surgeon who is an assistant to an eminent Edinburgh surgeon who specialises in gyneacology. Will isn't a typical doctor though, he manages to get himself into situations that sometimes endanger him (though he finds a way of getting out of them) and he can sometimes be morose and self pitying, yet despite this he's rather likeable. Sarah is the surgeon's assistant, again she's unconventional, she's bright and articulate, she's progressed from being a housemaid and has aspirations for the future. Together Will and Sarah team up and solve a number of murders that others have passed off as being natural deaths. There is a chemistry between Will and Sarah that leaves the reader on tenterhooks wondering what will happen between them and the ending of this book leaves you wondering more! I read the previous book that introduced Will and Sarah, but think that anyone could pick this book up without have read the other and still thoroughly enjoy it. I love the way the author has managed to give the reader the aura of Edinburgh in the mid 19th century so that you can picture the places and atmosphere.
I'm looking forward to the next book in the series but wonder where it'll take us - will we still be in Edinburgh?

The Art of Dying is an absolutely brilliant read. Based on real historical characters including James Young Simpson, who is credited with discovering the anaesthetic properties of chloroform, and Jane Toppan a nurse who claimed to have killed 31 people by poisoning them, this book is one you won't want to put down. The writing was superlative, the characters were multi-faceted and the intertwining storylines linking the characters was so well executed. Will Raven returns to Edinburgh and takes up a post with Dr Simpson. Will Raven had a romantic connection with Dr Simpson's assistant Sarah Fisher, but when he returns he finds she has married. However, Sarah's husband is dying, and Will and her form a deep connection as friends. As news reaches them of mysterious deaths occurring, it is Sarah who first observes that there is a common connection with all the deaths - the nurse who treats them all, Mary Dempster. I loved how we would get an insight into the murderer every few chapters, as she revealed her past and all the humiliations that formed her character. We have an insight that the characters don't and we are willing them to put two and two together. The women in this book were strong and independent and formed the backbone of the story. As Will realises the identity of the nurse it's a race against time to save Sarah from the same fate as Mary's other victims. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I adored everything about this story and thoroughly recommend it. A literary masterpiece.

The Art of Dying is the follow-up to Ambrose Parry's critically-acclaimed The Way of All Flesh in this thrilling medical crime series set in Victorian Edinburgh and featuring Dr Will Raven. It's a brilliant read with enough drama, mystery, medical shenanigans and vivid description of 1850s Edinburgh to keep even the most demanding reader satisfied. It's historical fiction at its finest with great attention to detail and nothing being left to chance. Well written and beautifully plotted, the atmosphere the husband and wife writing team creates is astonishing; you can almost smell, taste and see all of the delights the Scottish capital had to offer.

Just like the first book, there is a lot discussed about the role of women at that moment in time which highlights how far we have come in terms of equality between the sexes but sadly also indicates exactly how far we still have to go. I am not that fond of main character Will as he is quite snobby and narcissistic but he is beautifully developed and appears to have grown on me a little at least. You can tell the authors have extensive knowledge of the time period and this goes into making the novel as realistic and authentic as possible. With the conclusion being quite open-ended it looks like a third instalment could be in store. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.

Having enjoyed the first outing by the Ambrose Parry duo, I looked forward to reading the continuing story of Raven and Fisher as they reconvene at Queen Street, Edinburgh after a brief reprieve. Together they investigate the death of a patient wrongly attributed to their mentor Dr Simpson, whilst at the same time furthering their own knowledge and advancing the science of obstetrics. The attitude towards a woman’s “role” is, once again, a strong theme and the advancement of women’s rights frequently referred to. Alongside this, each character has further personal history to divulge which adds to the dynamic. Another accomplished and well-researched novel which hopefully paves the way for a third.

This is the second book in a series following the lives of Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. Will has returned from his studies overseas to take up a medical position with Dr Simpson in Edinburgh. However, his partner is embroiled in accusations of malpractice following the sudden death of a colleague's wife. Initially believing her death was just being used by colleagues to discredit him, Will and Sarah begin to realise there are some common threads with other deaths.

Meanwhile, Sarah's life has changed in his absence, and Will begins to realise what his pride made him give up.

It is not essential to have read the first book in order to enjoy this picture of early nineteenth century Edinburgh including the rise of the use of chloroform and other medical advances.

It is an enjoyable and pacy read.

‘Raven thought he was looking for a new disease. Sarah thought that something more sinister was afoot.’

I really enjoyed the first in this series from husband and wife co-authors writing under the pseudonym of Ambrose Parry, and I was very much looking forward to this, the second. And I wasn’t disappointed. It can be read as a stand-alone, but I think readers will get more of the nuances between the characters, and understand them better, if they come to this having read The Way of All Flesh.

Two years on from the events of the first book and Will Raven is now living in Europe, qualified as a doctor, but still unable to escape the sinister violence that seems to follow him wherever he goes. As we open, he and his friend Henry, together with their two female ‘friends’, are attacked in an alley in Berlin. Henry is shot in the leg, and Will manages to fight off the attackers, killing one n the process. The repercussions of this are felt later in the book and, I suspect, in other books to come. Whilst not the only reason, the attack convinces Will that he should return to Edinburgh, accepting the post of assistant to his one-time mentor, Dr James Simpson. But two years have passed, and the Simpson household and its inhabitants have changed – not least the situation of Will’s sleuthing accomplice from the first book, Sarah Fisher.

On his return Will is plunged into a complex series of seemingly unconnected events: colleagues of Dr Simpson accuse him of causing the death of one of his female patients; Will’s nemesis and loan shark, Flint, drags him into further problems; a new member of the household is tidying up Simpson’s affairs but the mysterious James Quinton hides his own secrets; and all the time unexplained deaths, often several members of the same family, are confounding the medical establishment.

For fans of historical crime fiction this is a joy: the characters get deeper and more complex as we go on, and in particular Will and Sarah come to represent aspects of wider society. Sarah is passionate about medicine, and in the face of a male-dominated profession she is desperate to find a way to succeed. She finds a mentor in the figure of Mrs Glassford, a champion of women’s rights campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft. Inspired, Sarah dreams of finding ways of achieving her aims, and the lure of studying in America raises itself as a possible future. Will is also determined to make a name for himself, but his background and dark past seem to hold him back. Together the pair start to investigate the malpractice claims against Simpson and discover a shocking truth that neither of them can have imagined.

Parry uses a sly technique of giving us, from the start, the thoughts and motivations of the killer, whose identity is revealed about half-way through the book. The book then becomes a hunt across Edinburgh for the killer, with enough twists and turns to mirror the wynds and closes of Edinburgh’s Old Town. For indeed the grand city of Edinburgh is a character in itself, the disjunction between the rich and the poor, the establishment and the shady criminal underworld, the New and Old Towns. It has been used often in the past by authors and suits the mood of the Parry novels perfectly.

This is developing into an excellent series, and the conclusion of this particular novel sets up a third book very nicely. What will happen to Will and Sarah? Without giving anything away, their relationship in this book is a story in itself, with tragedy and missed opportunities giving them the classic ‘will they, won’t they’ plot device. This is an excellent, thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller, with enough plot twists to keep the reader guessing, a superb setting, and characters that are more than just two-dimensional. Definitely recommended.

(With thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

I liked the first book in this series and I loved this one.
I was happy to meet again Sarah and Will and read about the changes in their life.
This is a gripping and entertaining book that kept me on the edge till the last page.
I appreciated the character development, the well researched historical setting and the engrossing plot.
I like the mix of medical history and mystery and appreciated the focus on the women position in this specific historical timeframe.
The mystery is full of twists and turns and I appreciated it.
i look forward to reading the next instalment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Cannongate Books for an advance reading copy.

This is a great sequel, I love the writing style, however, some of the character developments were a bit predictable and both Will and Sarah' internal monologue became repetitive towards the end. I look forward to the next book though.

Having read the first book by this duo I was eager to read the next and it did not let me down! Enjoyed the twists and turns and the fact that the conclusion left the story wide open for yet another instalment. Raven’s character is developing nicely as is Sarah’s and I love how their growth of medical knowledge is increasing with each chapter. Some footnotes explaining some of the medicinal terms would help enormously. Edinburgh is laid bare for us, the buildings and alleyways creating a vivid atmosphere! Much enjoyed and I look forward to the next!

"No doubt you have seen paintings depicting hell, and recoiled at the snarling, twisted features of the demons torturing the foresaken. How much more frightening it is to understand that a true demon has a kindly face." It is 1850 in Edinburgh and Will Raven has returned from his travels abroad to a promotion as Professor Simpson's assistant. He is keen to use his new knowledge and be reunited with Sarah Fisher, who is now Sarah Banks, having married Dr Archie Banks and has been promoted to Simpson's apprentice. When Simpson is accused of having failed a patient who died, by two of his peers and competitors, Sarah begins to investigate to clear his name. Raven is initially reluctant but when a pattern of unexpected numbers of deaths, in some cases entire families where doctors' remedies are powerless, becomes apparent, the pair are on the case. Are the deaths a result of a new contagious disease ('Raven's Malady') or is something, or someone, more sinister at work?

This is the second in a series of novels set in Victorian Edinburgh focusing on the medical practice of obstetrician Simpson and his household, including Sarah and Raven. Written as a result of a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym of Ambrose Parry, this is as well-written as the first book. The Art Of Dying has perhaps more focus on the characters, particularly Sarah's awakening medical and feminist role and Raven's acceptance of his demons, but still excels in evocative descriptions of Edinburgh and its inhabitants. Elements of the plot are borrowed from reality and elements are fictional. My only disappointment is that I guessed elements of the plot, including who or what was causing the deaths, which always disappoints me in a novel! However the short chapters and fast-paced plot kept me invested in Sarah and Will and their investigation. A pacy, engaging historical and medical mystery that is well worth a read.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Cannongate Books for an advance copy of The Art of Dying, the second novel to feature Dr Will Raven, set in Victorian Edinburgh in 1850.

Will returns from his tour of Europe to take up a position as assistant to Dr Simpson under whom he served his apprenticeship. People are dying and medicine is unable to prevent it so Will teams up again with former housemaid Sarah Fisher to solve this mystery and resolve the whispering campaign against Dr Simpson.

I didn’t particularly enjoy The Way of All Flesh, the previous novel, but Christopher Brookmyre is a favourite of mine so I wrote that opinion off on my mood but I didn’t really enjoy this one either. Don’t get me wrong, both are excellent pieces of writing they’re just not to my taste. The descriptions of Edinburgh and the “cutting edge” medical procedures are so vivid you can picture them but they come at the expense of the plot which is slow, plodding and not very exciting. I think it is too literary for me - I like a bit of excitement in my reading to hold my attention and this is exacerbated by the insertion of the killer’s thoughts which kills the suspense. It has taken me a week, rather than my more usual day to get through this one.

I don’t think it helps that I actively dislike Will Raven, finding him pompous, self absorbed and conceited. On the upside he is obviously well enough drawn to get a reaction. The novel spends a lot of time on his relationship with Sarah and that again doesn’t really interest me.

I’m sure that plenty of readers will really enjoy The Art of Dying as it is a detailed, atmospheric study of the time and location.

Sarah and Will return in the second of Ambrose Parry’s Edinburgh based medical crime thrillers set during the mid nineteenth century in the midst of the medical revolution caused by the discovery of anaesthesia.
Ambrose Parry is the pen name of Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, a powerful and effective writing team who combine to tell a gripping and realistic tale with a realistic historical backdrop.
I loved the first book in the series. ‘The Way of All Flesh’ and was very excited to see what further adventures lay in store for Will and Sarah. The book opens with a monologue by the killer which continues at intervals throughout the story. The reason for this only becomes apparent at the end of the novel but it is a highly effective way of presenting her point of view (this is not a spoiler!) Although there is no secret as to the true identity of the killer the writers’ skill with misdirection makes the final dénouement no less exciting or unexpected than that of a more conventional whodunit.
When the story starts we find Will in Berlin having spent a year abroad furthering his medical education. He and a group of friends are attacked as they go home one night and, after a fight, one of the attackers lies dead and Henry, one of Will’s friends has been shot. After patching up Henry Will decides he has had enough of travel and returns to the household of Doctor Simpson, this time as his assistant rather than his apprentice. He finds many changes since he left, not all of them to his liking. Although to say more would be to give away too much it was heartening to read how the humanity of Doctor Simpson has rubbed off on Will, especially in his dealings with another doctor whom he has grave cause to despise.
There are many plot strands skilfully woven together in this tale, the truth of the Berlin attack being one, an attempt to harm Doctor Simpson’s reputation another. As they try to investigate on Doctor Simpson’s behalf Will and Sarah soon find themselves on the track of a brutal and almost unsuspected serial killer with an almost incalculable number of victims stretching back for years.
Danger and peril await of course as Will and Sarah’s discoveries force them to try to come to terms with the concept of a killer who murders solely for the gratification which it provides but whose methods are as devious as the cleverest of criminals.
On the way we meet many characters from the previous book, including the money lender and his gang of ruffians and the deeply unpleasant Inspector McLevy, here portrayed very differently from his persona in the radio series. Some of these characters are fleshed out much more in this story, especially Gargantua, and it is to be hoped that this will continue in future entries in the series. We also see how any new innovation is always a source of inspiration to criminals, chloroform after all, knocks people unconscious so it is no surprise that an enterprising crook decides to try employing it during a robbery.
The book is an easy read with some good Scottish phrases thrown in which echo around our home from time to time. My wife is a native of Edinburgh and my late mother was a consultant anaesthetist which added an extra layer of enjoyment for me. Had my mum still been alive I have no doubt that she would have loved these stories and been cheering Sarah on in her quest for women to be accepted as equals both in the medical profession and the wider world. There are also some entertaining little Easter Egg style nods to popular culture with the Crocodile Dundee moment causing me to laugh out loud.
Whilst I would recommend this book unhesitatingly to anyone who enjoys an excellent and well written historical crime story I would strongly suggest that they read the earlier novel first as knowing about Will and Sarah’s first adventure together will undoubtedly increase the enjoyment of this second outing as well as providing a better knowledge of the characters and their motivations at the start of the story.
I very much hope that this team of authors will continue to write about Sarah and Will’s adventures. The ending of the story leaves open the possibility that their future exploits may not all be in Edinburgh and I look forward to seeing what awaits them.

This is my first encounter with authors husband and wife Chris Brookmyre and Dr. Marisa Haetzman but I will be making it a point to read the previous book in this series and any more which follows the lives of Dr. Will Raven and his assistant Sarah Fisher.
Set in Edinburgh, 1850 the story begins in Europe and a close encounter with a group of men that attack Will and his friends. In the scuffle, a man is killed by Will, but he flees and returns to Scotland. Will is a newly qualified Doctor and acquires a position with his mentor Dr. James Simpson. Sarah Fisher, a housemaid, and his lover had been told there wouldn't be a future for them due to her lower class than him before he left. He thought it would hold him back. In the time he has been away Miss Fisher has married another Doctor. Will knows not making Sarah his wife is the biggest regret he has.
This is a book that brings everything to the table and kept me turning page after page. I was engrossed in the medical procedures, that are only three more generations back from my own timeline. It was a time when doctors had to tread a tightrope where advancements were made. This made it a gamble whether to go all out to save a life and risk their career or take the easy way out and let nature take its course. When Dr. Simpson makes a breakthrough, be it accidental, there are a couple of doctors wanting to jump on the bandwagon to discredit him and take the glory themselves. Sarah seeks the help of Will to prove his innocence. Sarah is far brighter than most of her peers but she has to tread carefully not to offend them.
There are so many characters in this story but each one is truly distinctive and bursts from the pages as large as life. From the money lenders that have holds on the rich as well as the poor, to the vast differences of equality between men and women. The smells, the frustrations of helplessness of how much a doctor can do to save a patient, to the guilty that can hide in plain sight because what they do is so unbelievable.
This story becomes a mix of medical, thriller and serial killer, with Will and Sarah making a top-quality pairing to work out the who and why is behind an increased death of patients that should have got better. The descriptions of this time period are not only fascinating but done in such a way that I absorbed it all making it all so very visual. A stunning book that I am blown away with. Very highly recommended.
I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

Once again Raven is back with Dr Simpson and Sarah but things have changed whilst he has been gone, including Sarah getting married. Before long though he and Sarah find themselves teaming up once more to investigate a spate of deaths. Could this be a new disease on the loose or something far more sinister?

This is book 2 in the series and having read the first one, I was looking forward to this one. It was a really good read with lots of drama and mystery but for me the ending let it down. Without giving too many spoilers it left things a little too open for me. I wanted more from it. That being said I'm hoping theres a possible third book coming. The plot itself was clever and built well. I enjoyed the mystery and the depth it goes into about a womens place in these times.

Will is an interesting lead and he has grown more in this story. I like the fact he's not perfect and has flaws. Sarah is my favourite however, she is a great addition to the story and really adds the depth.

The Art of Dying is the second historical mystery collaboration between established thriller writer Christopher Brookmyre and his anaesthetist wife Marisa Haetzman, and follows last years’ The Way of All Flesh, which was brilliant, and this one is just as good. While it’s not essential to read the first one to enjoy this, as there is sufficient backstory, the characters will make much more sense if you read them in order.

1849, and Will Raven, now qualified as a doctor, returns to Edinburgh from a tour of European medical schools following an attack, to assume the now vacant position of assistant obstetrician at Prof Simpson’s house. He is dismayed to discover that Sarah Fisher, for whom he had suppressed his romantic feelings because of her lowly status as a housemaid, is now married to another doctor and is working with Simpson. Sarah still dreams of a career in medicine but the staid Edinburgh establishment makes this impossible.
When jealous competitors start spreading rumours about Simpson’s role in the recent death of a patient, Sarah is determined to promote the truth, but little do they know that a serial killer is actually responsible...

The story is told in a mixture of traditional third person past, and the first person viewpoint of the killer, which works very well as we gradually discover what turned her into a cold-blooded poisoner. I had fun guessing the medical diagnoses and twists before they were revealed, but the limitations of treatment available and high mortality were a stark reminder of how lucky we are with what’s available now.

The afterword reveals which characters were based on true historical figures and what inspired the story. The vivid descriptions of Victorian Edinburgh, with it’s hypocrisy, snobbery and social restrictions coexisting with the grinding poverty and casual violence of the lives of the working classes, truly brought the world portrayed to life, and remind us of the heroism of those few doctors willing to treat all comers regardless of ability to pay. For Britons who have only ever known the NHS, it’s a sobering illustration of the reality for people in most of the rest of the world. But fear not, this is no worthy morality tale, but a superbly written, highly enjoyable crime thriller.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc which allowed me to give an honest review. The Art of Dying is published on 29th August.

My thanks once again to Canongate for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Art of Dying ’ by Ambrose Parry in exchange for an honest review.

Ambrose Parry is the pen name for a collaboration between novelist Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman. This is the second in their Raven, Fisher and Simpson series of historical medical crime thrillers set in Edinburgh during the mid-19th Century.

In 1849 Dr. William Raven returns to Edinburgh after studying on the Continent for two years. He takes up his old position as assistant to the celebrated Dr. James Simpson and reconnects with former housemaid, Sarah Fisher.

I don’t want to say too much about this plot except to say that they expertly combine a number of strands including some real life events from the life of Dr. Simpson.

I loved it and so admired the depth of historical research and attention to detail. They perfectly capture the etiquette and social mores of the time. This results in the language and dialogue being quite formal.

There is emphasis upon the limited roles available to women during the period. Sarah’s personal journey incorporates these frustrations although she meets an older woman, who provides her with inspiration and lends her a copy of Mary Wollstonecraft’s ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’. Watch out world!

As with ‘The Way of All Flesh’, this builds up the tension slowly, though the final chapters had me on the edge of my seat.

I was a little sad when I reached the final pages though happy to hear that there will be a third book in the series being published in 2021.

Highly recommended.

Even though Edinburgh in 1850 is at the forefront of modern medicine, patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their treatments ineffective. However it is not just these deaths that dismay Dr James Simpson. It's the campaign by other doctors looking to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances.

Simpson’s protégé Will Raven returns from Germany after a year away, now as a fully qualified doctor but is shocked to find that Sarah Fisher, another reason he chose to return, has moved on in her life in his absence and married another doctor.

Once again with the former housemaid Sarah, Will teams up with her eventually persuaded to clear Dr Simpson's reputation. Will and Sarah have to visit Edinburgh’s various neighbourhoods but soon they discover that the true cause of these deaths is a different matter from what they think. Will and Sarah begin to see connections between a number of deaths due to mysterious ailments; it seems an angel of death is stalking the sick. Can the killer who strikes without trace be found before another death occurs?

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, so was excited to read the next. Some of the chapters are from the killers point of view, interspersed with Will and Sarah at the surgery, visiting homes to interview relatives and the such. Also contained in the novel is a loud underlying message of the treatment of women during those times, both how they are treated by society, in the home and also their chances for a career. In some ways, thrusting feminism down my throat so often throughout the novel is a little off putting. A few mentions are okay but not all the time, just too strong for me.

However, overall the story was a good one, with the killers identity not being known until the end even though we hear there story throughout and I enjoyed reconnecting with Will and Sarah again and seeing how their relationship turned out. There were lots of medical terms used and the use of the general language made me dig out my dictionary many times to look up a non-medical term.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

A wonderful book and standalone follow up combining mass murder, historical treatment of both medicine and women set in 19th century Edinburgh. Truly fascinating view of both a more innocent and brutal time and people's expectations.

“Nobody knows the value of a life who has not ended one…”

Having enjoyed, “The Way of All Flesh,” I was delighted to read the second in this series, written by Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The novel begins in Berlin. It is 1849 and Will Raven is touring, and studying, in Europe with his friend, Henry. After the men are attacked, Raven is, at first, relieved to be returning to Edinburgh, where he has accepted a post as Dr Simpson’s assistant.

Raven has hoped that everything would remain the same, when he returns, but things have changed in Queen Street. Dr Simpson has been accused of negligence, money has gone missing and the new maid is suspected. For, to Raven’s surprise, Sarah Fisher has moved on. With some arrogance, Raven had decided that Sarah’s status was too low for her to be considered as a wife, but his nose is put out of joint when he returns to find that she has married and that her husband, a doctor, is happy for her to continue her work assisting Dr Simpson.

Meanwhile, there is a murderer abroad and one that nobody suspects. Well, not until Sarah questions the sudden spate of unexplained deaths in the city. This is a series which is not only entertaining, but explores Sarah’s awakening and her changed status and understanding of where her life can take her, is fascinating to read. An interesting series and I look forward to reading on. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.