The Way of All Flesh: A Raven and Fisher Mystery (Raven, Fisher, and Simpson, #1)

by Ambrose Parry

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 McILVANNEY PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR
A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

A Raven and Fisher Mystery: Book 1

Edinburgh, 1847. Will Raven is a medical student, apprenticing for the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Sarah Fisher is Simpson's housemaid, and has all of Raven's intelligence but none of his privileges.

As bodies begin to appear across the Old Town, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh's underworld. And if either of them are to make it out alive, they will have to work together to find out who's responsible for the gruesome deaths.

• ISBN10: 1786893800
• ISBN13: 9781786893802
• Publish Date: 30 April 2019 (first published 30 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Canongate Books
• Edition: Main
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

3.5*

[kimbacaffeinate]

When we meet Will, he is leaning over the body of a dead whore and before the night is through, thugs will accost him. The dead woman is someone he befriended and lent money to. The thugs are looking to collect said money. Thus on Will’s first day of his apprenticeship for Dr. Simpson, he arrives in rumbled clothes, sporting a rather sorry looking eye.

Their newest resident intrigues Sarah, the doctor’s receptionist and upstairs maid. Parry hooked me from the start and I easily slipped into the story.

Our story takes us into the home of the esteemed Dr. Simpson. It is here we truly get to know our main protagonists Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. Will is a medical student doing an apprenticeship with Dr. Simpson in obstetrics. Sarah is a housemaid who works in the clinic at the front of Dr. Simpson’s home. She devours all the medical knowledge she can and longs to work in the field herself. Something unheard of for a woman, let alone a woman of her station.

Will is working for Dr. Simpson and making inquiries as to the cause of death of his friend. When a housemaid Sarah knows ends up dead in a similar fashion,  Sarah joins Will in his investigation. The mystery was clever with danger, twists and suspenseful moments. Parry also treated us to a secondary mystery concerning a young doctor who is wooing Dr. Simpson’s sister-in-law.

Along the way we explore some of medical achievements and horrors of the 1800s. May I say, thank you for modern medicine. While dark, morbid and downright frightful, especially for the females of society, I found the information provided to carefully researched, utterly fascinating and brilliantly told.

Sir James Young Simpson was an obstetrician and a significant figure in the history of medicine. I loved how Parry opened his home to us. Dr. Simpson and other famous and not so famous doctors, scientist, and chemist often met after dinner to try different forms anaesthesia. Can you imagine? While the story at its heart is a crime fiction, the story gives equal weight to the medical world. This may not be for everyone but I found these medical aspects to be equally interesting, even if I squirmed in my chair, crossed my legs tightly and shuddered in horror.

I appreciated how the authors wove history and the murder mystery together. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer