Voices of the Dead

This is a really enjoyable series.
It's not just the solid three main characters who I like more with each book, or indeed the lesser characters who are often surprising.
It's the medical aspect, that at this point seems bizarre, that this is how we thought/felt/acted about certain things.
This time around It's mesmerism.
Throw in a body, and it's all very entertaining.
The last few chapters had me quite tense.
A special mention for Gregor, who has become far more than the vicious thug his first appearance would have us believe.
Another great addition to the Parry collection.

Ambrose Parry delivers another gripping tale.

It's Edinburgh, 1854, and several years have passed since the events of "A Corruption of Blood". Raven and Eugenie are married, with a son, and another child on the way. He is still working with James Simpson, but is under increasing pressure to set up his own practice. Sarah Fisher has continued her medical studies, while also assisting Simpson and his colleagues.

When body parts begin turning up across Edinburgh, Raven finds himself drawn into a series of grisly murders. With an increasing workload and still struggling to move from under Simpson's shadow, he is reluctant, but is persuaded to investigate. Sarah meanwhile, has begun to take an interest in the latest medical phenomenon of mesmerism.

What follows is a fine tale of murder and deceit, with a list of suspects to drool over. We meet old friends and enemies, and new characters would could turn out to be one, the other, or both. There are several revelations which long-time fans will love. The love-triangle between Will, Sarah and Eugenie continues to feature large, as they all struggle with their feelings.

The men-only club that was the medical fraternity is dealt with, especially in light of the trend for new discoveries such as hypnotism and mesmerism and the rush to adopt popular but untired therapies. There's even a bit of Burke-and-Hare bodysnatching.

19th century Edinburgh, again, is a star of the book. Lovingly portrayed street by street, building by building, the sights and smells come alive. Even someone like me familiar with the city will feel the urge to set out on a tour. The husband and wife writing team that is Ambrose Parry have delivered another gripping tale.

Fans of the series won't be disappointed, and the good news is thanks to some well placed backstory, new fans can pick the book up and dive straight in. Thoroughly recommended.

Edinburgh 1854.

Body parts are being found across the city. When a foot is found in the Surgeon's Hall, Henry Littlejohn asks Will Raven to help investigate, much to the annoyance of Dr. Christie, who wants to keep the grisly find hush hush. Unfortunately, the Hoolet - an independent news rag - has gotten hold of the story... Edinburgh has a killer on the streets.
Book 4 in the Raven, Fisher, and Simpson series, which just gets better and better.
This is a dark, gritty historical fiction with a good mix of historical fact. You'll feel like you're there, walking in the fog through auld reekie.
I thought I'd worked out who the killer was, then along comes a plot twist.
Fabulous, I highly recommend this series.

Raven, Fisher and Simpson #4 -Edinburgh 1853

Dr Littlejohn requests that Will Raven attend Surgeons Hall urgently for something requiring the utmost discretion. A human foot has been found and later further body parts are found. Who is/are the unfortunate victim(s)?

It’s 1853 and science is advancing apace and public fascination in it is growing. This is surgery’s Black Period as Simpsons chloroform enables more operations but Joseph Lister has yet to discover the benefits of carbolic acid. As well as a fascination for science, so too grows interest in spiritualism and mesmerism. Sarah Fisher is drawn in and wants to study mesmerism. Maybe here she can find greater opportunities are open for women as the medical profession is closed to her. What do doctors think to mesmerists claims to cure ailments?

This is another lively entertaining caper to add to this very good series. It’s a good blend of a mystery or two with some magic set alongside the factual. It’s excellent on historical context and the medical detail of the day which has long fascinated me. The storytelling is colourful which makes it easy to connect with the plot. The style it’s written in is appropriate to the times and I like this touch. The characterisation is so good and has been throughout the series with Will and Sarah being such likeable central protagonists and their complicated dynamics especially with Will’s wife Eugenie in the mix, adds an interesting edge. James Simpson is more peripheral in this but the authors bring this medical legend to life.

The plot is complex, clever and ultimately connects together well. It takes a dark direction which gives some chills, it’s gritty with some violence which is never overblown and at all times it’s action packed so there’s never a dull moment. It’s full of atmosphere with smoggy Auld Reekie coming alive and the areas in and around Edinburgh are used to great effect. The mesmerism aspect of the novel is particularly intriguing as it provides such scope for theatricality delivering some vibrant and sinister scenes and unexpected plot twists. I especially enjoy how magic tricks provides some answers! It builds to a good ending leaving you eagerly anticipating number 5!

If you like Historical Fiction or just a well written immersive tale the this may fit the bill. Although it’s part of a series it works well as a stand-alone.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Canongate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

The appearance of Voices of the Dead is a welcome addition to Ambrose Parry's Edinburgh Victorian period medical crime drama series (now collectively known as the Raven and Fisher mysteries, extending it successfully beyond the first three excellent books. There is no shortage of period crime thriller series, but there is obviously something special about this one in the way that it makes use of historical progress and development in science and medicine around this period that contributes to its unique perspective. All the more so since Edinburgh and Dr. Simpson are at the centre of those important advances; advances that not only benefit the general public - and even Queen Victoria, who helped give legitimacy to the use of chloroform to ease the burden of childbirth - but those advances also contribute to the investigation of crime.
Medicine and crime are a good match, but it also means a good match in the husband and wife team of Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, who as 'Ambrose Party' collectively bring their expertise to the table. In fact, I can detect the hand of Chris Brookmyre in the nature of the subject that arises during the latest case in Voices of the Dead. Brookmyre has written in the past of his scepticism of mediums and spiritualists in his Jack Parlabane series (Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks), and interest in them happens to be very popular with the public at this period. Raven and Simpson, being of a rational scientific mind, are both keen to seek to debunk these charlatans and fraudulent sciences. Mesmerism or hypnosis too, although Sarah Fisher is more interested in the phenomenon as a potential for medical treatment, since the conventional route into medicine is denied to her as a woman.

There is of course rather more to the criminal aspect of Voices of the Dead than hokum and mere fraudsters, and those elements are typically varied and not obviously connected, involving body snatchers, the discovery of dismembered body parts and the world of the theatre. Inevitably of course they come to relate to the aforementioned complications of fraudsters and charlatans operating in a grey and mysterious area outside the realm of science. Include the fact that the man they are pursuing in relation to the dismembered body is an actor who is adept at disguise," a man of a thousand faces", and you know you are being set up for terrific twists and revelations along the way.

What is also great about the period of this series is the way it highlights the stark divisions in the struggle between good and evil, or just in the divisions that allow evil or suffering to thrive despite the best efforts of good. There are clear divisions between the wealthy and the poor, between men and women, where the benefits of education that are denied to parts of the community. Set against this, medicine is in a way seeking to reduce the distance and free everyone equally from the misery of disease, while other progressive thinkers and benefactors are helping to provide education and help for the benefit of everyone. All of this is there in the background, but provides an accurate depiction of the kind of circumstances in which crime and death can arise.

…And remain hidden. I initially got the impression that Voices of the Dead was quite slow to reveal its purpose and direction, Raven and Sarah's involvement in the criminal investigation a little contrived for an apprentice doctor and a widow with medical ambitions. Both surely would have more on their plates than to do the work of the police for them. It did seem like Brookmyre getting on his high horse again about fraudster spiritualists and mediums without any apparent connection to the crime. As you can imagine, sleight of hand is involved in these targeted pseudo-sciences and you suspect that the author(s) are indulging in a similar game of bait-and-switch. And indeed it proves to be the case, the plotting perfectly balanced with revelations dropped with precision at the right places and times. Impressively so.

There is joy just to see all these elements fall neatly into place, but what makes this more than just a great period crime thriller and account to a large extent for the success of the book is in the choice of characters, Sarah and Raven. A woman and a man (like the authors), both have differing views and experiences in regards to how society treats them and their respective positions. Without taking away from the skill employed in the plotting and historical detail, they are perhaps the real reason you keep reading. You become invested in their characters, the complicated history they have as individuals, as a man and a woman of apparently differing social classes and backgrounds - to say nothing of temperament - and in the relationship that has grown between them which also keeps them apart.

That in a way also sums up basically all the contrasts to be found in this series, the drama arising out of those differences. But in them Ambrose Parry also permits a grey area to emerge from between the differences and divisions, where things are not black and white, where evil and good are not so easily defined, where people have the opportunity to keep an open mind and develop. This is vital not only to keeping the series fresh, but it also allows for a more 'modern' outlook on the period that might be realistically expected. Rather than just presenting a revisionist take that doesn't reflect the historical reality, rather than being merely a way of presenting a more palatable way in for the modern reader, it's actually key to understanding why this period and the progress made here was so important.

I just love this series of historical novels by Ambrose Parry. The characters grow and develop with each one. In "Voices of the Dead" Dr Will Raven is a family man with another baby on the way. Meanwhile his friend Sarah is still struggling to find her way as so many doors are closed to women in Victorian Scotland.

This story revolves around some rather theatrical people, although we are initially led to believe that some of them have medical knowledge. A key topic is mesmerise and it's difference from the new skill of hypnosis. Whilst the latter is seen as being of potential use in the medical profession, the former is used by showmen.

There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot, some rather gruesome descriptions and plenty of atmosphere. Edinburgh was possibly the most important location for medical learning at this time (mid 19th century) and these books make the most of this. Excellent historical thriller.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

I can’t resist an Ambrose Parry mystery, and this one is well up to the standard set by the previous three. There is enough backstory given to explain relationships between various characters without spoiling the enjoyment of previous books which a reader who is new to the series will undoubtedly wish to read.

Set in C19 Edinburgh, this exciting novel involves a variety of characters, establishment and otherwise, from the worlds of medicine, theatre, property and the law, and highlights contemporary Victorian activities, such as Mesmerism and property development.

Having finished this fast-paced, engrossing murder mystery, I wish I were a more patient reader because I might then have noticed a few of the hints along the way. But at least the main protagonists missed them first time too.

Dr Will Raven is somewhat frustrated with family life - his wife is heavily pregnant with their second child and he is finding it difficult to relate to, and cope with, his noisy young son. His wife wants him to set up his own practice, his speciality being gynaecology, rather than be junior to Dr Simpson as at present. Raven is somewhat reluctant to do this as it would mean being beholden to her father for funding. His assistant, Sarah Raven, dearly wants to become a doctor (impossible in 1853) and Raven is sympathetic towards her.

However an urgent call summoning him to Surgeons Hall provides a more fascinating and puzzling attraction - certain body parts having been found in the office of the Head, Dr Christie, who is reluctant to involve the police as it would cause adverse publicity for the profession. It is not long ago that body snatching caused problems for the medical profession. Raven is charged with endeavouring to find who has been murdered..

As if that wasn't sufficient.Raven soon discovers that Sarah and his wife Eugenie, intend to attend a display of "mesmerism" by a certain Dr Malham, whom Raven suspects is a fraud. He accepts that medical science is evolving rapidly but "mesmerism? No!

One thing leads to another when more body parts are discovered and soon, Mr McLevy, a police detective is involved and events of the past start to haunt Raven. Will they ever be able to name the victim and, equally as important, the murderer?

This is the first of the Raven/Fisher mystery novels that I have read, but it certainly won't be the last! A truly good read.