SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 2020 There's a fine line between kill and cure. Edinburgh, 1849. Despite Edinburgh being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson. A whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances. Simpson's prot???g??? Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their ...
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE 2020 There's a fine line between kill and cure. Edinburgh, 1849. Despite Edinburgh being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson. A whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances. Simpson's prot???g??? Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron's name. But with Raven battling against the dark side of his own nature, and Sarah endeavouring to expand her own medical knowledge beyond what society deems acceptable for a woman, the pair struggle to understand the cause of the deaths. Will and Sarah must unite and plunge into Edinburgh's deadliest streets to clear Simpson's name. But soon they discover that the true cause of these deaths has evaded suspicion purely because it is so unthinkable.
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Having read back on my previous 4 star review for Ambrose Parry's first book in this series 'The Way of all Flesh', I realise I could pretty much copy and paste the same review for this one!
Just like the previous book I enjoyed that the plot is so well-researched and many of the characters and events portrayed are based on real history. This gives a gritty, realistic atmosphere to the whole book and makes it easy to get lost in the world created for you by the very capable hands of Ambrose Parry. There's also a very strong medical knowledge in place throughout the book which is due to Dr Marisa Haetzman's background as a consultant anaesthetist. This is great for realism but did make for a bit of 'dry' reading at times with sections I didn't quite understand.
I liked the fact we got more of an insight into our main characters Raven and Sarah in this follow-up. Sarah in particular is a well-rounded, headstrong woman who is battling with the obstructions of society on her gender as she tries to pursue a career in medicine. I felt this was a lot less 'preachy' and annoying than it felt in the first book though; there were more subtleties and nuances to it rather than hitting the reader over the head with the point. Raven is also struggling to work out who he is as a person and his relationship towards Sarah after the events of the last book. I did feel that Sarah's storyline and character progression since the first book got wrapped up a little too easily into a neat bow to lead onto book 3 but I did really enjoy the final few chapters which threw in a real curve ball.
I also really enjoyed the main crime plot and villain of the piece. Mary's character is well developed with her flashbacks and monologues of her feelings which are interspersed throughout the book. The whole plot line was really well paced and there were some nice twists which got me hooked into reading more.
Overall, The Art of Dying is another well-researched thriller which is a great follow-on from the first novel. Thank you to NetGalley & Canongate for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Soozee
Sep 2, 2019
Medical Mysteries in Victorian Edinburgh
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.
