This was a random find on Netgalley and so grateful to have been given permission to read it. I had never come across the first book and didn't realise this was the second in a series but I loved it so much I went and got the first one.

What a totally absorbing and intriguing book. Edinburgh in the Victorian era; the beginnings of 'modern' medicine; excellent research; at times dark yet quirky; two excellent young protagonists and a mystery, what more could I want? While this is the second book it easily reads as a stand alone with enough back story to explain the characters' histories without giving too much away.

If you love your UK based historical mysteries you can't go past this one.

After a shooting in an alleyway and his friend was shot, Will Raven fears he's done nothing with his life and wishes to return to Edinburgh to find himself. He goes back to his former employer Dr Simpson, the Dr who pioneered chloroform and his housemaid Sarah. After quite a few deaths the blame is pointed at Dr Simpson. Will and Sarah need to clear his name.

I enjoyed this book and I was soon drawn into the world of Will and Sarah. It turns into quite the page turner as they delve into the darker side of life. This is a powerful, thrilling, historical fiction. I loved how the plot came together. Brilliantly written and well researched.

The Art of Dying.
Luckily, this is a stand alone novel, I didn’t get approved for the first book, but hey, no hard feelings!!
This is a fascinating and brilliant mix of medicine and social values, set in Edinburgh in 1850. We see the poverty and hardships of just existing in poor areas, the dangers of dying in childbirth, and all those children, who never made it past their fifth birthday.
Medicine and the art of being a physician is restricted to men, even in the field of obstetrics, women are not allowed. Will Raven is such a person, and after gaining medical experience in London, Paris, Vienna, Leipzig, he has been tempted back to Edinburgh to become an assistant to Professor Simpson, who is experimenting with chloroform in both surgery and childbirth. Raven becomes reacquainted with Sarah Fisher, they had a previous relationship, but that ended as she was not his social equal.
Sarah is now married to a doctor, and he is supportive of her ambitions to become a doctor, although society decrees this is a wholly unsuitable occupation for a female. Sarah has to be content as being an assistant to both Raven and Dr Simpson, whilst not being acknowledged as such.
This being Edinburgh, there are a series of unexplained deaths in the city, the symptoms include delirium, dilated pupils and being in an un rousable state, it transpires that opioids could be responsible for this, and a serial killer is on the loose. Raven and Sarah must work together to prevent further tragedies.
As a nurse, I loved the wealth of medical detail and the research that went into this novel. How we take chloroform for granted today, plus the difference it made in surgical procedures, that cannot be underestimated. I loved the complex harmonies between Raven and Sarah, Raven is curious, well meaning and is devoted to exploring the new opportunities that are happening in medicine, Sarah is a strong and frustrated female, who sees her sex denying her an opportunity to do a worthwhile job.
There was a brief discussion of McNaughton’s Rule in relation to guilt. It was touched upon briefly in the book, then my Policeman husband expanded upon this for a good 20 minutes, another fascinating aspect, this novel has a steep learning curve.
This work is likeable in both story and location. It is an intriguing murder mystery that challenges perceptions. I loved the blood and guts that added colour and knowledge to this story.
I give this a five star rating, and will try and read the first book. I know there will be others in this series, and I look forward to reading them. This is my honest review, thank you for my ARC. I will post to Goodreads and Amazon when pages are open.

Medicine, madness and murder. I liked these ingredients in an excellent crime thriller set in the murky, but also well heeled, streets of Edinburgh in 1849. Returning from Germany after a tour to improve his medical experience Will Raven (not averse to a bit of violence himself) settles back with Dr James Simpson in his medical practise. Simpson is now a leading pioneer of chloroform but certain voices in the city are raising doubts about his professionalism. When patients start dying across the city, seemingly after medical intervention, Simpson is put on ethical trial by his colleagues.
But the reunion of Will Raven with former servant Sarah Fisher, now assisting Simpson and gaining in medical expertise herself, combine to make a likeable duo who try to work out who the real killer is. Based on the real life tale of Jane Toppan in America, who was known as 'Jolly Jane' and worked as a nurse, the beginnings of scientific discoveries in medicine lie against the fear that taking away pain at the end of life may have led to people being killed without consent. Topical.
The simmering romance between Will and Sarah (now married) cause happiness and then despair. This is obviously one of a series and immensely entertaining.
Great darkness of atmosphere and for those (like me) with an interest in the historical context of medicine as it developed in the 19th century lots to learn too. Thoroughly good.

I really enjoyed this book and finished in a weekend the mystery was fascinating and the characters were wonderful I can't wait to read more.

The Art of Dying sweeps outwardly into a panoramic scope of life during the Victorian era. It was a time of incredible advancements in political and scientific philosophies and methods. The field of medicine was on the threshold of new surgical procedures and medications. But, alas, societal roles were still doomed in a timewarp of poverty, illiteracy, and male dominance.

But women likeSarah Fisher didn't wish to be placed in their place. Instead, Sarah, left her lowly position of housemaid in the residence of Dr. James Simpson and became his medical assistant. Dr. Simpson recognized Sarah's voracious love of his medical library. She viewed procedures and became invaluable to him. But Sarah also knew that she would be limited in her pursuit of being a female physician in 1850 in Edinbug. Brilliant minds set adrift because of gender.

If you read the first installment, The Way of All Flesh, you would know that Sarah and Will Raven were deeply drawn to one another. Raven pursued his medical degree by traveling to Berlin, Paris, and Vienna. Misguided, Raven didn't wish to marry Sarah because of her being a former maid. But he's now returned to Edinburg as the assistant of Dr. Simpson. Much to his regret, Raven finds that Sarah has moved on.

The Art of Dying can read as a standalone, but I would encourage you to read the first book in this series, not only for background, but purely for enjoyment as well. This series has been created by the husband/wife team known as Ambrose Parry. There is remarkable research here and the Afterword informs us that many of the characters and situations were based on true facts. If you appreciate history, the Victorian era, and a striking observation of previous medical flaws leading to upward advancements, then The Art of Dying should be on your list. Superbly written with a deep injection of human behavior.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Black Thorn Publishing (Canongate Books) and to Ambrose Parry for the opportunity.

A perfect sequel to the excellent 'The Way of All Flesh', this book reunites Will Raven and Sarah Fisher, the aspirant doctor and the maid who is far more knowledgeable than her station suggests.
The characters are well drawn out and the story whips along at speed. The streets of Edinburgh are so well described you can smell the fog on the air!
The authors build real-life personalities into the story and supplement them with their own rogue's gallery to form a cast of fascinating characters.
If I have a complaint, it's that the book describes too much of the previous volume when a short synopsis would suffice, but otherwise it's a very enjoyable way to spend a wintry day, I'd prescribe pairing with good tea and biscuits at regular intervals!

This series just isn't working.

This is the second book in the series; I read the first and didn't really like it. I disliked this one for all the same reasons, so I doubt whether I will read any further. Firstly, the only character I like is the one that we see least of - Professor Simpson. We hear a lot about him but he appears little in this book. Will Raven is even more unlikable than he was in the first book. Pompous, self-absorbed, conceited and arrogant, he makes a poor protagonist. Sarah Banks, nee Fisher, is little better. Even though she has obviously risen above her humble origins and appears to be living quite a good life, she is constantly complaining of her lot. I don't say that she should rest on her laurels and be content with what she has, but she might seem a little happier about it. The glass for Sarah is always half empty, never half full.

I was not keen on the interludes where we hear from the murderer. It spoils the suspense and also gives away the whole mystery. As soon as it was clear that this voice was from a woman (and this was clear from the first of these interludes), that was that - the murderer was obvious. As a detective story, this was a poor specimen of the genre. No mystery, no clues, no deductions or detection. Most of the story was given over to life-and-times accounts of the two main protagonists - Will and Sarah. As aforementioned, both of these people are quite unlikable and I found it quite funny that they both seem keen on each other when it is quite clear that they would be a most incompatible couple if they ever did get together. If they married they would be at each other's throats within weeks. Their temperaments are so unsympathetic to each other. This led to one other jarring note in the book - the burgeoning romance between these two. I was expecting Agatha Christie not Barbara Cartland - was ever a romance misplaced in a novel!

Yet another aspect of this novel that I found somewhat tiresome, and the first book also suffered from the same, but to a lesser degree than this one, is the way in which it constantly returns to the theme of the inequality of women, and the lack of opportunities for them. This may well be true - moreso then than now - but the constant revisiting of this theme by almost every woman in the book (the murderer included) is not only unendurable, it is extremely unlikely. Even if every woman felt the same way, I am sure it did not occupy their every thought and shape their every action, as it seems to with the women in this book! I am a woman myself and also feel the lack of fairness between the sexes, but this pent up negativity that this causes within the main female characters in this book paints them in a very poor light. It appears that one cannot escape gender politics, even in a simple murder mystery!

The whole book was a mish-mash. There was no central story - not even the murders really, nor yet the search for the killer. The thread about Will and his underworld dealings seemed totally disconnected and from another book entirely. The threads about the underbelly of Edinburgh and the deaths amongst the gentry and were disjointed and not at all well interwoven. There was the romance angle, which was awkward and stilted, as these episodes between Will and Sarah always are (and, indeed, are all of their interactions). The interludes from the POV of the murderer were again disjointed and appeared to serve no purpose. We did not gain any idea of her motivation or any reason why she did what she did. Her life was indeed horrific and she suffered much as a small child, but none of this explained why she ended up with the particular perversion she did. It seemed to make no sense or have any connection at all. And the end of the book was so abrupt and sudden. The conclusion appeared from nowhere and although from my point of view the book couldn't have ended soon enough, it was a bit like a rake-handle to the face. At least, if there is another book, it appears that Sarah will not be in it. Not at all a bad thing.

The first book in this series is The Way of All Flesh and it got almost 4.000 ratings on Goodreads alone. I read and reviewed the book in October 2018 and I just loved it. Book two takes us back to Edinburgh – of course, because all three main characters return in this story. Will Raven travelled through Europe to learn from the best doctors at the best universities. When Dr Simpson offers him the position of assistant however, he is very keen to accept. The first disappointment for him is that Sarah is no longer the clever and lovable house maid. She has a whole other position now and Will realizes that maybe not asking her to marry him earlier was a mistake. The second disappointment is that Will, although he’s learned a lot, is still treated as a mere assistant by Dr Simpson, who goes on treating patients the way he always did. Only now, chloroform seems to play a bigger role in every treatment.
It doesn’t take long before Will and Sarah have to set out together again to find out why whole families are dying. Sarah is hindered by the fact she’s a woman – although she’s learned that in America, there are already female doctors, in Scotland she can be never more than a nurse. Nothing wrong with being a nurse, but she aims higher. Will is hindered by the fact that he, too, sometimes attributes Sarah’s findings to her being a woman, not to clever thinking.
Apart from the fact that this book is an interesting mystery, has brilliant characters and deals with ‘modern’ medicine, it is the writing style that I like the most. So flowing, so beautiful, so attractive. I had to look up some words so it’s educational too. Next to that, we learn a lot about society during the mid-nineteenth century. At one point, there is a remark regarding women taking their husbands’ last names. Apparently this was not always the case. I’m curious as to why this changed in later years, so that there are still countries now where a married woman has to give up her own identity and cannot be found anymore under her birth name. It’s a small thing but I like discovering small bits of information like this in a book, especially in historical fiction.
There is a lot going on in this story but we also see the characters developing even more than they did in the first book. I sincerely hope to read the third book in this series soon.
Thanks to Netgalley for this digital review copy.

I realised that I had read this book before. My review is belo.

This is a really good sequel. I also think it would work well as a standalone. There is plenty of action set in beautiful Edinburgh. It is a great account of how medicine was practiced in the 1800s. I hope there are more books to come. Raven and Sarah are interesting characters to read about.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

So, fun fact. You don’t need to have read the first book in order to have a clue what’s going on. Bought the book for someone else, kept meaning to ‘borrow’ it and never got round it it.

This is a little cracker of a book. History fiction? Check. Set in my city of Edinburgh? Yes Ma’am. Full of murrrrrderrr? You bet’cha.

Set in 1850, this is the story about chloroform, Dr Raven, a scamp of a doctor who loves getting involved with things most people would turn away from, Dr Simpson, Raven’s esteemed master who’s name and reputation is well known throughout the city, and Sarah Fisher, a woman who desires long for more that one city and societal restraint.

Our story starts with the scamp returning from Berlin to take up the coveted position as Simpson’s assistant but with a slight ulterior motive; to find a new disease which will make his name famous. Little does he know that he’ll end up in the middle of an intertwined and clever murder plot.

You’ll be thrown into the world throughout this book with details about Edinburgh that a lot of people local to Edinburgh won’t notice, but made a resident very happy. You’ll be intrigued about this murderous persona who pops up in their own mini chapters from time to time. You’ll love this book.

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry
Having read and enjoyed The Way of All Flesh by this husband and wife team Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman I was keen to read the further adventures involving Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. This novel opens in Germany with Will Raven in Germany becoming involved in yet another altercation which results in him fleeing back to Edinburgh where he takes up a post as assistant to Dr Simpson. He however finds much changed upon his return.
This book once again deals with the difficult role which women had in the 1850’s: despite her skill and aptitude Sarah would be unable to train to be a doctor. There are suggestions that this may be possible in other countries such as America. This is historical crime fiction of the highest calibre and interwoven amongst the events of the novel are real people and events. Will and Sarah are again called upon to investigate a series of unexplained deaths and also to rescue the reputation of Dr Simpson.
I am keen to see where this pair are led in the future and am grateful to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. With a realistic background, characters based on real people who played significant roles in modernising medicine and two leading 'fictional' characters who blend well with the real ones, this book is going to be a popular addition to the genre.

It is well written, all the characters are well drawn, have flaws and are believable. I would recommend it to anyone.

With thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for an advance copy.

I did not realize this was the second in a series when I requested it - nowhere on the description page does it mention that... Praise for the first book, The Way of All Flesh, is provided, but nowhere does it say that's the first-in-series; I therefore thought it was just another book by the author (and frankly don't always/often read the advance praise because I don't find much value in the statements). So when I went to add this to my GoodReads "currently reading", I was irritated to find that it was #2 in a set. I don't like reading series books out of order, because you miss a LOT of backstory that way and it makes it tough to do a review without running the risk of criticizing the author for not explaining things that were explained, just not in this current volume. I've complained about this on here often; I think publishers do themselves and their authors a disservice not being upfront about a book's position in a series.

So I did what I usually do when I'm intrigued by a title I didn't realize fell somewhere in the middle, and looked for the first book. I could borrow it from the online library so did and promptly started reading...and shortly thereafter stopped. I could NOT get into these characters' lives for anything... I don't think there's anything wrong with the writing, it just never got under my skin in a way that made me care about what was happening. Raven was insufferable, plain and simple. The descriptions and plot just never hooked me. And while Simpson and Sarah were interesting enough characters, there wasn't enough of them (at least as far as I got) to keep me engaged enough to work my way through the rest.

As you can imagine, from there I was nervous about starting this, the actual review book, but I did figuring I'd give it a shot and if it grabbed me, I'd make my way back to the first and work my way through it to catch up. Unfortunately, I found my reading experience almost exactly the same. Raven irked me, the plot didn't grab, and this time Sarah felt less fully fleshed than she had in even my partial read of the first book. Her marriage and insecurities made her less, rather than more, interesting this time around as they seemed to define her rather than her competence did in the first book.

A lot of other readers love these books; the premise for both intrigued me straightaway, so I can see where the interest generated. Unfortunately I never connected with them enough to find my way with them. Apparently this just is not the series for me. I hate leaving a starred review for a book I didn't finish, but NetGalley makes you, so I'm forced to go with two since I couldn't even finish...

This book dazzled me from the beginning. I plunged into 1850 Edinburgh so deeply that it was difficult to emerge from under the authors' spell. I didn't want to stop reading to eat dinner and dessert with my family. Even chocolate cake couldn't overcome the power of this book. I gobbled up my cake in the 21st century and rushed back to the 19th century as quickly as possible. And then I was back in Edinburgh . . .

The dark streets where women didn't dare walk. The sordid slums of the poor and beautifully-decorated parlors of the wealthy.

The social hierarchy that dictated who could marry whom. The scandal when a brave few threw off societal restraints and married for love.

The ever-present threat of dying in childbirth. The number of children who died in infancy or early childhood.

The list goes on.

I felt like I was physically there. More importantly, I was emotionally present. The tumultuous emotions swirling in the atmosphere were my emotions, the characters existed in my life, and I cared about them deeply.

I immediately liked both Sarah Fisher Banks and Will Raven. (He's usually called Raven in the book). Sarah is smart, eager to learn about medicine, and chaffs under the social dictates for her gender. Though she and Will were romantically involved in the previous book, he refused to marry someone beneath his social class and fled to Europe to study medicine. In the meantime, she married Archie Banks, a doctor with quite egalitarian views who encourages her to study medicine.

When Dr Simpson's reputation is smeared, Raven and Sarah butt heads over the proper response. She wants to investigate; he wants to stay out of it. I enjoyed watching the two spar over this and other issues. Even when they team up, the two don't always work well together. Both have secrets. Both are stubborn and have huge blind spots. And Sarah's marriage puts a barrier between them. When they need to be in agreement, too often they miss clues because they interpret them in different ways. This gives their unseen enemy an advantage, an advantage that the killer will exploit . . .

At points, the killer narrates from a first person point of view. Though it soon becomes obvious who this woman is, I didn't work out how all of the elements fit together until the climax. Her voice commanded my attention. She demanded that I see her impoverished childhood, abused teenage years, the way she became who she was, even when I wanted to look away.

The Art of Dying is a beautifully-written historical mystery. The book captivated me, sweeping me away with its masterful prose, deep characters, and tight control of the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it! An enthusiastic 5 stars.

(Thanks to Netgalley and BlackThorn press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)

Note: this review will be posted on my blog on March 1, 2021.

As I’m interested in the history of medicine this is a book that appeals. ✔️ Set in Edinburgh? Another ✔️. Featuring Dr James Simpson of chloroform fame? ✔️ Brilliant characters in the aforementioned Simpson, Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher? ✔️ An intriguing mystery? ✔️ I could go on!! Will returns to Edinburgh after studying in various places in Europe and adding to his medical knowledge. He is now Simpson’s assistant. To his dismay Sarah is now married to the immensely likeable Dr Archie Banks. Simpson finds himself at the centre of controversy over the death of Mrs Johnstone with other doctors accusing him of causing her death ( this is based on fact) meanwhile a monster masquerading as an angel in hour of need is adding to her death tally. The story is told from various perspectives intriguingly interspersed with the killers thoughts. This is a really well written book which uses language appropriate to the century and is compulsive and gripping reading.

There is so much to admire in this book, the characters are masterfully crafted and spring of the page. There’s Simpson so full of life, energy and coiled like a spring. Will is very interesting with his inner turmoil and brawling, he ably defends himself with his Liston knife (Robert Liston, the high speed surgeon, check out his operation with 300% mortality rate!) and clever Sarah with her ambition to be a doctor. Other characters are equally colourful though some of very dubious intent. The chloroform debate is very interesting and it is central to a lot in this story which is full of twists and unexpected turns with key characters at risk. I also like the feminist aspect of the book too which is evident through Sarah who is encouraged both by Archie and patient Mrs Glassford. Female trail blazers in medicine and in literature inspire Sarah however, the accepted 19th attitude to women is firmly expressed by one unlikable female character.

Overall, I love this book which kept my interest from start to finish. This is a fascinating book that I will certainly remember and I’m very keen to find out where life takes Sarah and Will in the future. Highly recommended.

This is a powerful, well-researched book, and a sequel to The Ways of All Flesh. On the surface, it is a gripping, historical medical mystery, but it is much more than that. Set in Edinburgh, 1850, it details medical practices of that time and is based on some real-life historical characters. This atmospheric story highlights the squalid, unhygienic, dangerous lot of the poor, high infant mortality, infectious diseases, and inept policing procedures in a Victorian-era city teeming with criminality.


Conservative medical practices, jealousies and rivalries among ambitious doctors, their reluctance to accept innovative new practices and denial that deadly germs could be spread due to lack of sanitation prevailed. What stood out for me was social restrictions imposed on women and the lack of feminist advocates.

This works well as a standalone novel, but reading the first gives one a deeper understanding of recurring characters. Sarah had worked as a housemaid, but her keen intelligence, observations, and her study of medical texts while serving in the home of a prominent doctor, made this independent woman a valued assistant to her employer, Dr. James Simpson, renowned for his discovery of chloroform to alleviate pain during surgery. Even Sarah’s competent role as a medical assistant was frowned upon by society including other doctors and most patients. A woman doctor would not only be unacceptable but also unthinkable.

Will Raven had been apprenticed to Dr. Simpson. He had formed romantic feelings towards Sarah, but in his arrogance rejected marriage to her, feeling that she was below his social status, and such a marriage would impede his ambition to become a successful doctor.

Dr. Will Raven has now completed his medical requirements and has been expanding his knowledge by travelling to centres in Europe for a year, gaining insight from physicians and medical lecturers in cities he visited. Although he rejected marriage with Sarah, he still has feelings for her and is anxious to resume their relationship. He is anticipating a position as a doctor with his mentor, Dr. Simpson on his return to Edinburgh. To his chagrin, he learns that Sarah is now Dr. Simpson’s trusted assistant, but that she married during his absence. He is stunned to discover that her new husband is not only a doctor but a man who encourages his wife’s career in the medical field.

Dr. Simpson, having made a name for himself for his discovery of chloroform, is now having his reputation tarnished. He is finding himself unjustly accused of malpractice, causing the death of another doctor’s wife following surgery he performed. Sarah approaches Dr. Will Raven for help in restoring Dr. Simpson’s good reputation. Will is reluctant to work with Sarah in any capacity, being heartsick and jealous of her position as a doctor’s wife and her ongoing work as a medical assistant. Later, he relents, and they try to get to the cause of the rumours and put an end to them.

Meanwhile, there is a mysterious new illness that no one can diagnose and cure. It affects entire families killing all those afflicted over a period of time. Will regards this as an opportunity for fame and fortune. He hopes to find a cause and cure for this communicable new epidemic which he thinks will carry his name. Sarah suspects that a cunning serial killer is behind these deaths, arguing with Will that it is not a disease. Will finally realizes that the more vigilant Sarah is correct and that they now have a difficult, relentless task of solving this crime. Will takes a major step in his personal outlook as his arrogance diminishes.

As their relationship develops, I expected a different ending after all the twists and revelations. I was surprised and gratified by the next step in Sarah’s heroic story. I am anticipating a sequel focusing on the same main characters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blackthorn Books for this impressive novel in return for an honest review. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Canongate for the eARC.
Edinburgh 1950. Will Raven has returned to the city after a year-long trip through major cities in Europe, increasing his medical experience and is now a qualified medic. He's working as an assistant to Dr. Simpson, the renowned physician who discovered chloroform. To his dismay, Sarah Fisher, the housemaid he became close with, is no longer a housemaid and has also married ... and her husband is a doctor! After deciding nothing could come of their relationship due to her lowly status, he's shocked not only at that, but also how much it hurts him.
Mysterious deaths are occurring all over the city and Raven believes he may have found a new disease, something that could make his name in medical history. Sarah, however, believes something much more evil is going on and soon the two off them are on the hunt for a stone cold killer.
The story is terrific. The atmosphere of Edinburgh in those days, society's strict rules for women, the medical practices, as well as the fact that several of the characters were actually real people (even the killer!) make for an absorbing read. Great research; and even though I hadn't read the first in the series, it works well as a standalone. Highly recommended.