In 1847 Edinburgh, Will Raven, apprentice to Professor of Midwifery James Young Simpson, and housemaid Sarah Fisher look into the death of a friend of Will's and a friend of Sarah's both written off as suicide.

The mystery was a bit predictable at times but the historical background was very well done. The professor was a real person, and his discovery of chloroform as an anaesthetic is one of the events in the book. The descriptions of surgery and obstetric problems without the benefit of anaesthesia, although less graphic than they could be, should convince anyone that the past was not a desirable place to live. ( )

A good friend who shares my love of reading told me about this book and said she thought I would like it. She was right!

The Victorian era was pretty scary for anyone needing medical help. Doctors didn't undergo much training and, mostly, learned on the job to the detriment of some of their patients. There was little in the way of pain relief and antibiotics were unknown as penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928. Childbirth was often fatal to either the mother or the child, or both. And, as this book shows, ether was the only anaesthetic in use. This book follows young medical student Will Raven as he apprentices with Dr. James Young Simpson, a renowned obstetrician in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Simpson was one of the earliest advocates of ether use during childbirth and it is mainly Will Raven who administers it. Will has a mysterious background and he is quite poor. His financial situation became even more precarious when he obtained a loan from a loan shark at the behest of his friend, Evie Lawson. Just before he started his apprenticeship Will found Evie dead in her garret and from her contorted limbs it seems she died in great pain. Evie's death haunts Will even though the police characterized her as just "another deid hoor". Then he sees another young woman similarly contorted in death and this victim was a maid known to the maid in Simpson's house, Sarah Fisher. Soon, Will and Sarah are teamed up to investigate these deaths. Dr. Simpson is determined to find another anaesthetic and he and his associates often sit around after dinner trying out chemical concoctions. When Simpson obtains a sample of choroform and it knocks all of the men out for overnight, he realizes he has found his treasure. Will wasn't part of the group that night but he came back to the house to find all of the others lying around the dining room table. Will has other dangers to face. The loan shark that he borrowed the money from wants to be paid and he has sent enforcers a number of times to rough Will up. Between avoiding these men and looking for whoever is administering poison to young pregnant women, Will hardly dares to show his face in parts of Edinburgh. Luckily, the intelligent and resourceful Sarah is persuaded to stick by him. If they occasionally succumb to their physical attraction to each other, who can blame them?

Interestingly, the author is actually a husband and wife team. Chris Brookmyre has written a numbr of mysteries on his own but I haven't read any of them. Dr. Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anesthetist and it was her research for her master's degree that suggested a book based on the discovery of chloroform. ( )

This book was brought further into life for me as I was up in Edinburgh last week on holiday so it seemed the perfect time to bring it forward to the top of my skyscraper of a TBR pile!! And also, today is publication day for this gem of a book 🥂

Having done some of the touristy things we went and saw the Edinburgh Dungeons and The Real Mary King’s Close tour to see the rooms, streets and spaces underneath the famous Royal Mile, and Edinburgh’s only preserved 17th century street, so even though that was 2 centuries further back in time to when this novel is set it still went a massive way to bringing the past even further into my cozy reading chair!!

Set in 1840’s Edinburgh, when Edinburgh led the world in the field of medicine, in both medical practices and procedures and also pioneering drugs and anaesthetics.

As well as being a historical medical thriller it also brings to life Dr Simpson who was a real, pioneering figure of the time. Wanting to find better drugs and anaesthetics for his patients we get some great scenes of the research done by these medical practitioners of old which included nights spent with some of the city’s top surgeons sitting round the dinner table sampling various substances looking to find the perfect anaesthetic!!

Dr Simpson makes his discovery of chloroform following some of these sampling sessions 😂

The plot is simply brilliant full of twists and turns, and some great characters, especially Sarah and Raven. They stole the show for me. Will Raven is a young medical student recently apprenticed to Dr Simpson and Sarah, a housemaid for Dr Simpson who has her own ambitions to work in medicine herself, despite their being little opportunity to do so for those born the ‘inferior sex’ as well as her social status.

When a couple of young women are found dead in similar suspicious circumstances, Sarah and Raven take it upon themselves to investigate the deaths as they both fear a more unscrupulous doctor operating illegally and naturally their investigations lead them into a whole host of trouble!

The medical reality in 1847 is horrifically compelling with some fairly narly procedures described throughout the book but they haven’t just been thrown in for a gross out factor, they serve a purpose and bring the story further to life.

Blending a historical tale with an intriguing mystery and even a little splash of romance this book really does have something for everyone.

If you are a fan of historical fiction or maybe interested in medical procedures and their histories you really don’t want to miss this book. I will go as far as to say that this is by far, hands down, the best historical fiction book you will read this year!!

And now for the cherry on top of the cake – It’s the first in a new series 😍 The only downside to that is the wait for the sequel to hit the shelves 😭

I’m already looking forward to it and can’t wait!!

And if you need an even bigger cherry on top to read this book, well apparently there are already rumours flying around that it is set to become a tv series starring Benedict Cumberbatch!! 🙀

The Way of All Flesh was published today 30th Aug 18 and you can grab a copy now ( )

This is a very disappointing book. It feels like a standard template has been used to write it and then some interesting historical facts were mixed in. It is dull, unimaginative and the plot points are all very obvious. ( )

Although I didn't much care for the opening chapter, otherwise I was impressed with this book, apparently the first in a series set in 1840's Edinburgh. The authors (a husband and wife team) did a first rate job of building a plot around real characters - thanks to Google I was able to authenticate both people and medical developments of the age.

And as always, I love reading books set in places I've visited. Although now cleaned up and gentrified, many of the locations in the book are still quite vibrant in today's Edinburgh, and it was fun tracking the events against my place memories. (We really need to get back to Scotland ... )

The plot was well presented, with plenty of characters who might or might not be what they seem, providing opportunities for speculation about just what was going on and who was responsible. My two fellow buddy-readers disliked the male arrogance that permeated the story, particularly with regard to Raven, the main male character. He seemed to evolve as the book went along, and although I am probably overly sensitive to that sort of thing in a contemporary setting, I was able to overlook here as it undoubtedly reflected reality.

All in all, a good read. ( )