This book had been on my Tolino for a long time and as I wanted to read another historical thriller, it came at just the right time.

1847: Edinburgh is shaken by a brutal series of murders of young women. All the victims have died in the same gruesome way. At the same time, medical student Will Raven takes up a position with the brilliant and renowned obstetrician Dr Simpson, in whose house ground-breaking experiments with newly discovered anaesthetics are regularly carried out. Here Will meets the inquisitive housemaid Sarah, who, however, gives him a wide berth and quickly realises that he is carrying a dark secret around with him. Both have very personal motives for wanting to solve the murders. Their investigation leads them into the darkest corners of Edinburgh's underworld and only if they manage to overcome their mutual dislike will they have a chance of making it out alive. ( )

"The Way of All Flesh," by Chris Brookmyre and his wife, Dr. Marisa Haetzman, who collaborate under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry, is set in Edinburgh in 1847. The young hero, Will Raven, is the penniless product of a dysfunctional family. Although he has limited prospects, Will is studying medicine and much to his relief, has landed a position as an apprentice to the acclaimed Dr. James Simpson. Highborn expectant mothers are willing to pay a handsome fee to be cared for by the well-regarded Dr. Simpson. Unlike many of his peers, this physician is neither self-serving nor greedy; he regularly offers his services to the poor for free.

Alas, Will Raven is a troubled young man with a penchant for getting into trouble. After a close friend, Evie Lawson, begs him for two guineas, he unwisely borrows it from a "cut-throat usurer" named Flint. Will has no means to repay the loan, and when it comes due, Flint's violent henchmen come after him. In addition, when Will discovers that prostitutes are dying under mysterious circumstances, he launches his own investigation to find out who is killing them and why. Another key character is an intelligent and outspoken housemaid, Sarah Fletcher, who is interested in anatomy, chemistry, and pharmacology. At first, Will and Sarah grate on one another's nerves, but they later join forces to foil a cold-blooded villain.

Parry’s Edinburgh is a place of "public decorum and private sin, city of a thousand secret selves." Moreover, doctors and surgeons in the mid-nineteenth century did not consistently follow the dictum, "Do no harm." In their eagerness to concoct new potions--including a safer and more effective anesthetic--some practitioners experimented on themselves and others, heedless of the dangers involved. The authors explore the evils of greed, sexism, and religious intolerance, and emphasize that, in those days, there was an unbridgeable gap between the privileged classes and the lowborn who were mired in poverty. The plot incorporates a touch of romance and a promise of further adventures to come. Will is just beginning to realize that he must rein in his tendency to lash out if he is to become a mature and competent person worthy of respect. "The Way of All Flesh" is a bit too long and concludes with a predictable and melodramatic finale. Nevertheless, this is a compelling and colorful novel, the descriptive writing is first-rate, and Parry whets our appetite for the next installment in what promises to be an absorbing series.
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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. ( )

I loved this book. It has a great combination of all my favourite ingredients: pitch perfect characterisation, vibrant sense of place, a driving plot and a clearly depicted historical setting. Set against the backdrop of medical developments in anaesthesia and childbirth, this felt a fresh take on historical mysteries. I could not put it down and can’t wait for Ambrose Parry’s next offering. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It is fast-moving and has interesting and likeable main characters and I loved reading about Edinburgh. The mystery is intriguing even though I had my suspicions. I look forward to reading more of Raven, Fisher and Simpson adventures. ( )

The authors took an interesting period and local and used them with all the finesse of a ham bone. The fictional characters are not likable with better than their times internal monologues and for all Edinburgh seems fascinating outside of this story, they have managed to completely miss adding any of that to this book. ( )

This mystery and the historical setting of 1840's London really worked well for me. The characters were idiosyncratic and well-developed, especially Will Raven and Sarah Fisher. The adventure felt very credible, the medical difficulties of difficult births amongst the poor all too real, but handled sensitively by the authors.

While it became somewhat obvious who the culprit was, the story was generally engrossing, despite some overly repetitious medical details. The outcome was fittingly satisfying, though as a murder mystery the narrative was overshadowed by medical practice drama of the times. I did admire the twist at the end. Recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and can cope with the portrayal of life in the reality of the mid-19th century. ( )

Second time of reading it, for Kirkwall library book group this time. Enjoyed it and would read more by this duo

This is Victorian Nancy Drew in gruesome Edinburgh Scotland along with her sidekick, Will Raven. Raven is really the main character in this book which is easily read, a page turner in places, yet overall pretty historically accurate. Will has become an apprentice to the well-respected Dr. Simpson who delivers babies and takes care of women. The book opens with a dead prostitute who was a friend of Will's. Will borrows money to help her out of some kind of trouble before she turns up dead. The loan sharks rough Will up and he begins his apprenticeship with a horrible wound to the head. Dr. Simpson's house includes his unmarried sister-in-law, Mina, and a housemaid, Sarah Fisher who first dislikes Will, but soon they become "partners" in searching out the truth behind the deaths of several young women. Along the way, there is much about chloroform, ether, abortion, and methods of delivering babies (many of which are brutal). It is an interesting look at the time when medicine was experimental and poor patients were often the subjects.

This isn't particularly deep, the characters are not particularly well-drawn, but it still has an appeal for a summer's day read on the porch. ( )

Given the book´s setting, focus on class struggles, & the subject of women´s reproductive rights et al., I wanted it to be better than it was. It took a *long* time before the actual story kickstarted, & I was tempted to toss the book aside on several occasions. I´m glad that I kept with it although I could easily have done without the inevitable sexual chemistry bteween the 2 protagonists (the female being head & shoulders more interesting than her male counterpart). As much as I enjoyed the character of the housemaid, well read or not, she spoke like a 40-year old who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. All in all, a good yarn. ( )

The first in a detective series featuring a young apprentice midwife and his mentor's housemaid. They both have issues to deal with, hers is being clever and stuck in position of housemaid, his is a turbulent past that may or may not include murdering his father. It's a lot to take in at once. They join forces reluctantly in order to uncover what has been happening to cause young women to be dying in contorted positions with evidence of abortions. Set in Edinburgh, the place is as much a character as the people in the book.
It was fun, the pace accelerated and there was an interesting array of people, a mixture of classes presented. The only thing that annoyed me is I can quite happily work with male colleagues without wanting to jump them, so why is it any male/female double act always includes a sexual attraction. It's not necessary, really it's not! Despite that, I can see myself looking out book 2. ( )

This historical crime novel is set in the Victorian Era, specifically in 1847 Edinburgh, Scotland. Will Raven, 19, is newly apprenticed to the eminent physician James Simpson (an actual figure from real life), who specialized in gynecology, or as it was known then, midwifery.

When the story begins, Will has just discovered the death of a prostitute, Evie Lawson, a woman he first encountered as her customer but then befriended. Will had come to visit her and found her corpse in a gruesome state of contortion. Will fled from the scene lest he be implicated, but became obsessed with finding out what happened to Evie. He knew the police would have no interest in investigating the fate of “just another deid hoor” as one officer dismissed the case.

Before her death, Evie had made a desperate plea to Will for money. He didn’t know what it was for, but having few resources of his own, he borrowed from a less-than-savory money lender to help her. The night before he was to begin his apprenticeship, goons working for the money lender caught up with him on the street and cut his face to show they were serious about getting repaid.

Dr. Simpson takes Will along with him on the many emergency calls he receives, and has Will administer ether to patients whose families allow it. Some don’t; there was a great deal of prejudice at the time against anesthesia, mostly from religious quarters. As Will recapitulated their objections for his friend Henry, a surgical intern:

“Pain in labour is natural, a manifestation of the life force, an ordinance from the Almighty and therefore painless childbirth is unnatural and improper. Under the influence of anaesthesia, some women have been heard to use obscene and disgusting language - words that they should never have had the opportunity to hear - which of course means that it is wrong ever to employ it.”

At any rate, ether had its dangers, and Dr. Simpson was ever on the lookout for a safer method to produce a reversible insensibility during surgery.

Sarah Fisher was a housemaid at the Simpson’s and also assisted with Dr. Simpson’s clinic. At first she found Will arrogant - albeit admittedly good-looking - but hoped he would eventually learn that she could be a valuable asset to him. Indeed, he does; Sarah is very bright and capable.

Nevertheless, Sarah is constantly told it is only appropriate for a man to do certain things.

Speaking of her male peers, Sarah mused:

“Given the same chance, she was confident she would excel over any of them, so it stung when all they saw was a housemaid.”

She thought Will, too, exhibited “the male trait of believing the world revolved around them, usually because it did.”

The women in the Simpson household have accepted the hegemony of men, telling Sarah that “a woman’s God-given role is to be a wife and mother.” Thus, Sarah noted, women were “encouraged to fuss over fripperies as they concerned themselves with how they might adorn themselves the better to please men.” At the same time, they were excoriated for employing these same fripperies to "tempt" men to engage in “sinful” behavior.

Before long, the bodies other women - mostly from the lower class, were discovered in the same contorted throes of death as Evie had suffered. Sarah and Will began to work together to solve the mystery of what was happening.

The authors conclude with a Historical Note, in which they state that many of the characters and incidents depicted are based on real events and real people, and they provide examples.

Discussion: Much of the plot turns on two medical controversies swirling at the time; as indicated above, one involved the use of anesthesia during surgery - especially during childbirth - and the other involved the supervision of women’s bodies by men. Alas, over 170 years later, in August 2019, I came across this in an article:

"Women’s bodies are one of the biggest political battlegrounds of our time. What should in many ways be personal – a woman’s body – is instead political. The assault ranges from the recent clampdown on family planning in the United States (and its global gag rule prohibiting funding for international family-planning organisations that discuss or offer abortion), to new repressive restrictions on clothing, including ‘burqa bans’, or new laws in a growing number of European countries that aim to abolish women’s ability to monetise their bodies. Everyone, it seems, has a view on what women should or shouldn’t be doing with their own bodies."

Moreover, the article continues:

"Still, today, almost one in two pregnancies globally are not intended, and more than 200 million women worldwide who would like to control their fertility have no access to birth-control technology. . . . In the US, the assault on family planning includes headline-grabbing changes to abortion law in certain states, renewed offensives on Planned Parenthood, an organisation that provides birth control and sexual health services for millions of the poorest women in the US . . . .”

It should be noted that Ambrose Parry is the pseudonym for the married couple Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Brookmyre has written over twenty novels for which he has won a number of awards, and Dr. Haetzman is a consultant anesthetist. The information provided on the authors explained that Dr. Haetzman uncovered the material for this novel while doing research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine.

Evaluation: Although there were two authors writing this novel (see Discussion, above), the writing was seamless. The Edinburgh setting appealed to me, as well as the evolution of the main characters. There were a number of twists, and the ending caught me completely by surprise.

It turns out that this book is to be the first in a series, with Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SunnyMarch already pre-empting the television rights. I’m delighted to hear it; I look forward to returning to these characters as well as to Victorian Edinburgh and the history of medicine. ( )

Will Raven is not blessed with a rich family but he has enough of a name to ensure that he can study medicine and become apprentice to renowned gynaecologist Dr Simpson. Hounded by the moneylender he borrowed from and haunted by the death of his former lover Raven throws himself into the exciting medical life in the new Town.Also resident at the house is the maid Sarah, clever but not blessed with being male or from money. As several women are found dead from poisoning Will and Sarah find the answers are a little too close to home.
This book is from a new writing team comprising an experienced novelist and a consultant anaesthesiologist and it shows. the two aspects are treated with equal respect, ie a cracking plot and a good understanding of the history of medicine. Add in a great setting in mid-Victorian Edinburgh and the scene is set for a great read. ( )

This is an entertaining – and often illuminating – novel set in 1840s Edinburgh from husband and wife team Christopher Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman, writing as Ambrose Parry.

Women are dying, and young Will Raven, newly apprenticed to the renowned Dr James Young Simpson, has his own reasons for trying to find the culprit. The story is well-paced and keeps the reader entertained, and the backdrop of Edinburgh in the 1840s – the juxtaposition between the squalor of the Old Town and the genteel façade of the New Town – is the setting for an array of characters from all walks of life. Raven is aided in his quest by Sarah Fisher, a maid in the Simpson household but who has ambitions to use her intelligence and determination to improve her position in a male-dominated society and profession.

Planned as the first in a series of adventures, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The setting is an excellent way for the author to explore wider issues of the advancement of medicine, the position of women in society, and the contrasting social worlds of rich and poor. The two main characters have their own flaws, and as the book develops their respective stories reveal aspects of their own personal reasons for wanting to solve the series of murders. There is much to commend this book; if you are looking for a fast-paced, intelligently written crime novel with an historical setting then you should find this an enjoyable read. Throw in the Edinburgh setting, some breathless chasing around the city, a few ne’er-do-well lowlife thugs, and the development of medical practices with some suitably grisly descriptions, and you have a very satisfying read. I am already looking forward to the next book in the series!! ( )

Will Raven is beginning an apprenticeship with legendary medical man Dr. Simpson, whose work in obstetrics and anesthesia is revolutionizing Edinburgh’s medical scene. Raven’s hoping that he’ll earn enough from this apprenticeship to pay off his debt to an unsavoury figure in the Old Town, and that he’ll learn enough to make his own mark as a professional. While living in Dr. Simpson’s house, Raven encounters Sarah Fisher, a housemaid who spends her spare time doing crowd control and triage at Dr. Simpson’s clinic and who’s just as smart as Raven in medical matters, but lacking his opportunities. The two of them get a chance to work together, though, when it’s revealed that women are dying throughout New Town, and nobody seems to care how or why.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of this novel very much. The authors behind the Ambrose Parry pen name (Chris Brookmyre and Dr. Marisa Haetzman) have constructed a seamless, well-researched novel. That said, the mystery was much less prominent than I would have expected, especially given that I’d heard about the book at Bloody Scotland. I suspect my reaction to the book is likely down to improperly calibrated expectations, so I would still recommend this book if it interested you. (And I’d certainly read another book if it became a series.) ( )

The Way of All Flesh is a great historical fiction crime novel. Parry (a husband and wife writing duo) combine his years of writing mysteries and her expertise as a doctor to create a fascinating book starring Will Raven, a medical student turned amateur detective. Raven is joined by housemaid Sarah, and together they go about looking for clues of the death of Raven's friend, Evie, and soon others.

Parry does a great job detailing 1847 Edinburgh and at the medical procedures of that time. You get completely immersed in the descriptions they wrote. It is clearly a well-researched piece of fiction, one that I believe historical fiction and mystery lovers alike will enjoy. ( )

I received this book in exchange for a review.
A historical crime novel interwoven with medical mysteries, my kind of novel!
The characters were well written. Sarah was my favorite, strong , independent, inquisitive. The romance wasn't over the top, which I appreciated.
I enjoyed reading about this era,the struggles of women, medical discoveries. The ending-loved it!
I hope to read more from these authors in the future. ( )

This mystery is quite dark, a little too dark for me. Set in mid-19th Century Edinburgh, the period feel and language of the book is wonderful. I liked that the protagonist Raven had both flaws and goodness. And, of course, there is an intrepid heroine, in this case, a housemaid, Sarah. I cared about them There were suspicious deaths but the mystery was not as strong as it could have been, although there were some red herrings thrown out.

The mystery is in a medical setting, and some of the treatments and descriptions were quite gruesome and brutal. That was hard for me to read. But the experiments with the newly used ether and chloroform were interesting. Quite a nice mystery if you can set aside your empathy. ( )

A good look at Edinburgh medical world when it was the cutting edge for innovation and experimentation. A medical apprentice and a bright earnest housemaid team up to track a poisonous killer. Lots of insights into the art and practice of medicine at a time when religion and culture align against new procedures and practices. Characterization is solid and the story moves along nicely. ( )

This novel is a smart and engaging tour of Victorian Edinburgh, rife with danger around every foggy corner. Our heroes are Raven, a young doctor, and Sarah, maid at the household where he is apprenticed. In pursuit of a charlatan taking advantage of women at the fringe of society, Raven and Sarah are participants in the era’s medical developments as well as the timeless barriers that women face, both in seeking an education and in the ability to control their own reproductive choices.

I greatly enjoyed the entwining of fiction and fact; several characters and their historic discoveries walk right out of the medical history books. There is also a delightful map of old Edinburgh in the preliminary pages. There are a number of characters to keep track of and I sometimes wished the chapters weren’t quite so short, but overall this was a memorable and thoughtful mystery to recline with. ( )

This The Way of All Flesh shares a setting in the early Victorian period with Samuel Butler’s novel of the same name, but apart from an examination of the hypocrisy of the times, little else. This book has the structure of a noir murder mystery in Edinburgh, seen from the viewpoints of a young medical student and a maid in the household where he holds an apprenticeship. The two main characters are a natural for author “Ambrose Parry,” in reality Scottish mystery writer Chris Brookmyre and his wife, Marisa Haetzman, an anesthetist with a master’s degree in medical history. Brookmyre’s experience as a writer shows through in clean, straightforward story-telling here, while his partner’s knowledge illuminates the state of medicine, and mid-wifery in particular, in mid-19th Century Edinburgh.

I found the book a little heavy on the local color and technical descriptions, at the expense of the actual mystery, which resolved itself predictably. Some of the passing comments on feminism clanged a bit anachronistic. ( )