Thank goodness Ambrose Parry have brought out another Raven and Fisher mystery. This time we have mesmerism and spiritualism, and of course a murder. An old adversary makes a return to confuse. Body parts have been found around London and Will and Sarah find themselves personally involved. Poor Sarah is still very frustrated about not being allowed to play a 'real' part in medicine, which is denied to women. I think to get the most from the books, they should be read in order.

The world of Will Raven simply expands and becomes richer in detail with each book. Mid-nineteenth century Edinburgh brought to life with the most wonderful characters: giants, criminals, charlatans, magicians alongside the employer, lover, children and wife. The twists and turns keep you riveted to the story, and the characters are wonderfully believable and interesting. What more could you ask?

This is a great series that never disappoints. The research behind it all is fantastic and I love to see where the members of the Simpson household will find themselves next.

Will is about to be a father and Sarah is feeling that she is not using her talents to the full. Enter the strange and interesting new craft of mesmerism, and we find ourselves in the middle of yet another exciting Edinburgh mystery.

Is Sarah thinking clearly or is she grasping at straws for a way to move herself and her career forward?

Are even the members of the household telling each other the truth?

Another impressive read and one which only leaves me wanting to know more

I think I should have started with the first in this series - as the characters have already developed in the past three books and understanding the background too. However, it was still an engaging read.
What particularly drew me in was that all of these advancements in medicine were made at the time, combine this with a murder mystery and voila! You have yourself the Voices of the Dead book.

An Arc was sent to me via NetGalley.

**I hadn't appreciate that this was midway through the series - my mistake. So I will give this 5 stars, whilst unread, and revisit my review after reading the first 3 books in the series!**

Another fantastic story following Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher as they investigate a murder, that involves body parts being found in various locations in Edinburgh.

The story also involves Ravens family and Sarah's strive to be more in the medical world, even going as far as studying mesmerising patients, learning from an American doctor who is taking Edinburgh by storm.

Can be read alone, but is much more immersive as many past characters crop up, so to know their background is better.

Can't wait for the next instalment!

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

I was sent a copy of Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry to read and review by NetGalley. The fourth in the Raven and Fisher series of novels, we are taken back to Edinburgh a few more years further on in 1854. I found this novel to be much slower and a bit more repetitive than the previous books in the series, with the ‘action’ coming very late on in the story. We are well acquainted with the main characters and there are hints to previous escapades, so this could be read as a stand-alone. I was really interested in the aspect of mesmerism, which is a core subject of this novel, and the references to illusionists and magicians. Full of believable characters and atmosphere, I did enjoy this book but I personally feel that it lacked some of the tension of previous editions.

Another great collaboration from Chris Brookmyre and Dr. Marisa Haetzman. We're back in Edinburgh, and some time has passed since the last book. Will is still an eejit (and now a father to boot), and Sarah is still being criminally overlooked. I know it's the 1850s, but grr, it still gets my goat!

However, this is a highly enjoyable mystery filled with twists and drama. As a series, this just keeps getting stronger. If you're new to these books, do start at the beginning. If you're a fan of audiobooks, then these are excellent in that format.

You can find a full synopsis here:

https://canongate.co.uk/books/3931-voices-of-the-dead/

It can be purchased here:

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/voices-of-the-dead-ambrose-parry/7409175?ean=9781838855475

I give profuse thanks to Net Galley and Canongate Books for the ARC of this book in return for an unbiased review. The profusion of thanks is because it forced me to read books 2 and 3 of the series before starting this one and because i enjoyed all three books enormously and recommend the series wholeheartedly.
As before, we are in 18th century Edinburgh, in the midst of the medical fraternity, with a mixture of real people and fictional characters. This time the plots concern spiritualism, hypnosis [mesmerism), magicians and murder (of course) alongside the ongoing relationship between Raven and Sarah and their career development. There are a number of very clever twists as we go along. As before, the language is elegant and appropriate.
When the next one appears I will be delighted.

This is the first book I have read in this series, I did not realise it was a series when I read it, but I will definitely go back and read the others (and then possibly this one again so I have read them in order. Body parts have shown up in various palaces in C19 Edinburgh. A really great thriller with all the atmosphere of Victorian Edinburgh. Full of twists and turns that will keep you reading, so clear some time before settling into this.

Victorian Edinburgh is the centre of development in medical learning and the city is excited by the new phenomenon of mesmerism. Sarah Fisher is fascinated by it and sees it as another area that she can try to work in, Will Raven is more sceptical. Meanwhile Raven is called in when parts of a body are found around the city and possibly linked to both a theatre and to Flint, the moneylender Will has encountered before. However it is also possible that mesmerism is complete sham and maybe everything is actually linked together.
I haven't read the last couple of books but this reminded me of how good the writing team of Ambrose Parry really is. The plots are really tight and whilst not impenetrable they are cleverly put together. The knowledge of 19th century Edinburgh is excellent and this is coupled with the research into medical history and day-to-day practice. Altogether a great historical medical mystery

A very interesting cast of characters for this story. I had not read any of the previous titles, but this was very good. Very moody Scottish drama/mystery dealing with a niche market in new medicine from bygone days. It certainly gave an insight to those times.
I enjoyed it.

Review posted with Waterstones

The second of this series I have read and it didn't disappoint. By embedding our characters in a peculiarly female area of medicine (birth and pregnancy) it opens our eyes to the risks of both in times past, especially at a time when women were still largely dismissed as of less importance. The storyline also revolves around another area of medicine I had no concept of - mesmerism - and it's fascinating what our forebears believed (and desperately wanted to be true). Hypnotherapy is now a recognised form of treatment for many issues, but not for physiological ones, so were our ancestors gullible, or desperate? This novel weaves murder and mystery with history and human nature to make a page-turner with depth.

Another wonderful chapter in the Raven and Sarah series of medical adventures in Victorian Edinburgh. This time dark deeds in mesmerism with body parts found in several places the search for the apparent suspect takes in a large part of the action until the shock revelations build one after another. Characters from the previous episodes especially the evil money lender Flint and the family at 52 Queen St. All the threads are neatly tied at the end but with enough left to warrant more from this super series.

I hadn't realised that this was part of a series of Books by Ambrose Parry & the characters of Raven & Sarah , unfortunately it took me much longer than usual to read as Health issues got in the way & the Fog of Pain left my levels of concentration waning ! I adore Books set in the historic city of Edinburgh as it lends itself so well to the dark & mysterious world of the here & now & those of times gone by! This was a good Victorian Yarn . #Goodreads,#NetGalley, #FB, #Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

This, the fourth in the Raven, Fisher and (to a lesser extent) Simpson series centres around the potential use of hypnotism in medicine and also its parallel cousin mediumship's use in haling spiritual wounds. Raven and Simpson are determined to disprove mediumship as a sham, meanwhile Sarah Fisher has found someone who will teach her in a new branch of medicine - the use of hypnotism in reducing pain and symptoms - something Raven is also determined to disprove.
Meanwhile body parts have started to pop up around Edinburgh leading to a new investgation.
I found this book to be a little more formulaic than the previous ones, with each new character being introduced eventually turning out to be involved in the body parts case (which is solved by working out that only "such and such" a person could possibly have done this - lo and behold one of those newly introduced characters). There was much less interest in the actual case and a lot more in almost a historical essay on the use of hypnotism in medicine - admittedly this is part of what I loved about the first book, but here it feels less well woven into the story.
I still really enjoyed the book, but found the somewhat laboured (pun intended) focus on hypnotism to be to the detriment of the book as a whole.
I received a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first time I had read anything by Ambrose Parry and I absolutely loved it. A great cast of characters, in complicated relationships which were deftly drawn. The setting, though, was particularly compelling. A great read which I would highly recommend.

An interesting mystery novel filled with twists and turns to grab your interest.
Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.

Voices of The Dead is the latest addition to the brilliant series written by Ambrose Parry, which seems to get better and better. All the familiar characters are there as well as some great new ones, and plenty of the exciting adventures, which we now come to expect. Of course, there are also murders, fights and plenty of secrets. I’d recommend reading all the previous books from the series, in order to understand the complex characters and their relationships, however, the book can also work as a stand alone. I can’t wait for the next instalment.

Another entertaining historical / medical crime thriller from this duo. This one has a lot to do with stage magicians, which works as a nifty metaphor for crime fiction itself - yes, you can see one of the twists coming a mile off, but that’s because the authors are making you look at this one thing in front of you while they’re doing something else over there. A fun read.