A Corruption of Blood
Published on 19. August 2021
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-1-78689-985-9 (ISBN)
Description
A Raven and Fisher Mystery: Book 3
Edinburgh, 1850. This city will bleed you dry.
Dr Will Raven is a man seldom shocked by human remains, but even he is disturbed by the contents of a package washed up at the Port of Leith. Stranger still, a man Raven has long detested is pleading for his help to escape the hangman.
Back in the townhouse of Dr James Simpson, Sarah Fisher has set her sights on learning to practise medicine. Almost everyone seems intent on dissuading her from this ambition, but when word reaches her that a woman has recently obtained a medical degree despite her gender, Sarah decides to seek her out.
Raven's efforts to prove his former adversary's innocence are failing and he desperately needs Sarah's help. Putting their feelings for one another aside, their investigations take them to both extremes of Edinburgh's social divide, where they discover that wealth and status cannot alter a fate written in the blood.
Edinburgh, 1850. This city will bleed you dry.
Dr Will Raven is a man seldom shocked by human remains, but even he is disturbed by the contents of a package washed up at the Port of Leith. Stranger still, a man Raven has long detested is pleading for his help to escape the hangman.
Back in the townhouse of Dr James Simpson, Sarah Fisher has set her sights on learning to practise medicine. Almost everyone seems intent on dissuading her from this ambition, but when word reaches her that a woman has recently obtained a medical degree despite her gender, Sarah decides to seek her out.
Raven's efforts to prove his former adversary's innocence are failing and he desperately needs Sarah's help. Putting their feelings for one another aside, their investigations take them to both extremes of Edinburgh's social divide, where they discover that wealth and status cannot alter a fate written in the blood.
Reviews / Votes
A real slow burner of a novel which is a marvellous tale of murder and deception in Victorian Edinburgh. It handles some difficult subject matter with sensitivity and care and has a real feeling of authenticity * * Bloody Scotland, McIlvanney Prize Shortlist * * The ambience of mid-nineteenth-century Edinburgh is well captured and makes for a gripping read. The authors are astute observers of human behaviour and outlook. The three novels in the trilogy are clearly well researched and shine a light on the cruelties, injustices and inequalities of the period described . . . Based on some actual events it's more than mere entertainment * * Bookmunch * * [A] stellar third whodunit set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh . . . The integration of real history enhances a page-turning plot * * Publishers Weekly (starred review) * * Another brilliant evocation of mid-nineteenth century Scotland, this series just gets better and better. The backstory of the characters, loves, careers and ambitions, is as riveting as the mystery . . . A mix of drama, romance and thriller * * NB Magazine * * A thoroughly enjoyable fast-paced romp through the darkened streets of Victorian Edinburgh -- Grace Edward * * Scottish Field * * Praise for the series: Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain -- VAL McDERMID Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted and immaculately realised, these thrillers pull off the most difficult double-whammy of all: beneath blood and butchery so real they almost stain the pages lie both heart and soul . . . Wherever Parry takes them, I'll follow -- MICK HERRON A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19th-century Edinburgh. The book brings both city and period to colourful life and is a joy to read -- IAN RANKIN * * Guardian * * Menacing, witty and ingeniously plotted, Ambrose Parry's debut draws you into the dark heart of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and won't let you go until the final page -- S.J. PARRIS Gleeful, romping . . . The fog and stench of Edinburgh's Old Town definitely jump off the page . . . The central relationship between loveable rogue Raven and proto-feminist Fisher is the beating heart of The Art of Dying. Both characters are drawn with real empathy and nuance, and their complicated feelings for each other drive the book as much as the smart storylines. A great piece of storytelling * * Big Issue * *More details
Series
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
640 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78689-985-9 (9781786899859)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ambrose Parry is the penname for two very different authors - the internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist of twenty years' experience, Dr Marisa Haetzman. Inspired by the gory details Haetzman uncovered during her History of Medicine degree, the couple teamed up to write a series of historical crime thrillers, featuring the darkest of Victorian Edinburgh's secrets. They are married and live in Scotland.
Both The Way of All Flesh and The Art of Dying were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. A Corruption of Blood is the third Raven and Fisher Mystery.
@ambroseparry
Both The Way of All Flesh and The Art of Dying were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. A Corruption of Blood is the third Raven and Fisher Mystery.
@ambroseparry