I was so curious about this book, and I'm a sucker fora Victorian crime mystery.
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry didn't let me down. You should read it!
The story is set in Edinburgh in 1847. We follow the two main characters Will Raven and Sarah Fisher, and they are investigating some weird deaths.
It's more interesting to me to read about ordinary people trying to resolve a crime. And I really enjoyed these two. The story was easy to follow, pulling you in. There are some grimy scenes just to warn.

Overall, a solid Victorian crime novel fitting October vibes.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This Edinburgh set Victorian crime novel (not to be confused with the classic novel by Samuel Butler with the same title which was very much a reaction against Victorianism) is the first collaboration between husband and wife anaesthesia expert Marisa Haetzman and crime novelist Chris Brookmyre, (he has some 23 novels to date none of which I have read) written under the pen name Ambrose Parry.

Chris has never before written a novel set in the past but with Marisa’s knowledge of the history of medicine and especially the development of anaesthetics which has a significant part to play in this they have produced a thoroughly entertaining joint effort, a good slab of historical crime fiction, the first in a proposed new series.

There are two very good main characters here. Will Raven has a background from the tougher parts of Edinburgh Old Town and the night before he begins an apprenticeship with esteemed childbirth specialist Dr Simpson he encounters a corpse and is beaten and badly cut up giving him both a disreputable appearance and rendering him a marked man in his new environment of the respectable New Town. Simpson’s housemaid Sarah, fascinated by the medical goings on in the house is held back because of Victorian society’s view of women and the two are forced by circumstances to come together to investigate agonising deaths of young women from both sides of town.

Alongside the involving plot we have the growth of the use of ether in routine procedures and the search for more effective and safer methods to sedate patients. The medical history aspect is inserted seamlessly into the plot and adds much to the enjoyment of the novel.

I felt that the Edinburgh location with its split personality of the poverty- stricken Old Town and the comparative grandeur of the New is very effective, especially with childbirth happening in both areas causing the medical men to adapt to all kinds of patient. Plot-wise I thought I had worked out what was going on but I hadn’t. The twists did surprise me. I would certainly be on the lookout for future collaborations as well as digging into the sizeable Brookmyre back catalogue.

Tantalizing • Eerie • Magnificent

"No decent story ought to begin with a dead prostitute, and for that, apologies, for it is not something upon which respectable persons would desire to dwell."
- Ambrose Parry

Think about that title! THE WAY OF ALL FLESH. What is the way of all flesh? Is there a commonality in the behavior of all flesh? Is it a reaction of all flesh? Is it the growth or decomposition of all flesh? Or is it merely the greed of those with flesh? As I was reading this novel, it made me think more and more how powerful of a title this really is.


Edinburgh 1847

"That was Edinburgh for you: public decorum and private sin, city of a thousand secret selves."
-Ambrose Parry

Will Raven, medical student, finds a prostitute friend dead in her place in a mangled, aggravated position telling of a gruesome death. As some say, she was just another “deid hoor”, however Raven keeps thinking there has to be more to this case.

Sarah Fisher, the house maid of Dr. Simpson, also helps out in the practice waiting room. The daily cases include consumption, ringworm, scabies, coughing, fevers etc. and the waiting area is always packed. Sarah is fascinated in medicine, but her place in society leave her but poor without opportunities. Luckily for her, she has access to medical journals and textbooks, so she studies on her own. Her interest lie in the idea of compounds of certain chemicals to aid in surgeries. The common practice at the current time is the use of ether.

Raven’s cases involve mostly the use of ether in childbirth. Often in those days, there weren’t many options when complications arose, and mother and or child were lost. The alleviation of all pain and suffering seemed a lofty ambition. One Raven isn’t sure if it is possible.

"In such circumstances, we can save the life of the mother by sacrificing that of her pregnancy. By opening the head of the infant by means of perforating instruments, we can remove the contents of the cranium and then break down the vault of the skull, bringing away the fragments until only the base of the cranium and the bones of the face remain to be extracted by means of the crochet."
–Ambrose Parry

(So cruel)

Reverend Grissom from a local church is campaigning against the use of ether in childbirth. He believes the Bible verse: “in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” and is advocating against the practice of ether.

This novel explores themes of money, social status and ethical questions or beliefs, as well as the abuse of those in the advancements of medicine. Chloroform is the next great discovery in the aid of anesthetizing patients. An area that Raven is in the beginnings of exploration.

Many woman ‘afflicted’ with pregnancy resort to suicide or to the “relief of obstruction” (the unborn child), often with the risk of of death. There is word on the streets, that a midwife from Paris is selling pills to do just that without the aid of knitting needles. The added numbers of dead bodies of woman found around town and the body parts of infants rotting in canals, challenge Raven to do his own investigations.

Will Raven with the help of Sarah be able to sort through government corruptions and disguises? How about those brutes he still owes some money too? How close will he come to losing his career?

***

This novel has that gothic feel….foggy cobblestone streets, low lighted streetlamps, and ale and pleasure houses. Very atmospheric.

The thematic is interesting and gruesome at the same time. 19th century medicine made leaps and grave missteps in its development of anesthetics. These early practices were cutting edge at the time in a field mainly destined for male practitioners. A slice or division of the cultural and socioeconomic picture in the plot shows the role of woman at that time. Wrapped into a mystery, this historical fiction novel is a page turner with respect. It is just a snippet into the darker side of medicine and early practices in surgery and childbirth. I want to say that I am glad to not have lived through those crude beginnings, yet my knowledge interjects this thought. There are still new advancements with experiments being made today just at a much grander scale and level (of terrifying).

Fall is a great time to read book 1 of this series. It simply complements this atmospheric novel perfectly.

Enjoy.

The Way of All Flesh is a highly atmospheric and thoroughly engrossing mystery full of historical medical fact and details, which are, at times, rather gruesome. If you're a fan of C.S. Harris' Sebastian St. Cyr historical mystery series, The Way of All Flesh is not to be missed.

Will Raven is a young medical student who is beginning an apprenticeship with a renowned and celebrated gynaecologist, Dr. Simpson. Before starting at his new position, Raven discovers a young woman dead, and soon after more and more woman turn up deceased in a similar matter. What connects all of these women is the fact that they had sought out some means of terminating a pregnancy. Due to the class of many of these women, the police aren't exactly working that hard to find the culprit. For Raven, he can't quite let go of the death of his friend, Ellie, and starts making the connection between Ellie and the other women found. Assisting Raven is Sarah, a housemaid in Dr. Simpson's household, who is interested in medicine but redistricted by her gender.

While this historical details about medicine are fascinating, the characters of Raven and Sarah are what really drive the plot. Raven is a young man with many secrets, and Sarah accidentally stumbles upon some of them. Sarah was driven by a desire for more but felt keenly the restrictions of her sex, and its that drive that I found the most compelling. Both of these characters are flawed (especially Raven and his somewhat morally ambiguous choices), making the mystery all the more engaging because of these two interesting and developed characters. There is a hint of romance between these two, but it's not something that overwhelms the plot.

The Way of All Flesh is a fantastic introduction to a new series in historical Edinburgh. Fans of historical fiction and historical mysteries will find lots to love in this one. Looking forward to book 2!

The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry is a great crime novel, a definite must read.
The story is set in Edinburgh in 1847. We follow the two main characters Will Raven and Sarah Fisher as they investigate some weird deaths.

One of the thing I most enjoyed were the characters. It"s always more fun for me when ordinary people investigate crimes not cops. That makes me feel closer to a character, feels like they have more reason to find out what really happened.

The plot was easy to follow.. It was exciting and sometimes nauseating to read about how obstetricians helped children to born.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

I love to read all things medical. When I learned this was set in mid-1800s Scotland I was doubly intrigued to see where this story would take me. Turns out there are strong correlations to Call the Midwife because the main character, Will Raven, is under the supervision of Dr Simpson a practicing midwife. Add in a suspicious death or two and off we go.

After the first quarter of the book this reader experienced some significant sprawl in the storyline. A variety of topics are covered, including: ether as anesthesia and the search for more effective alternatives, a couple of young women’s bodies discovered with mysterious sequelae, developing romantic relationships, an exploration of early photography, herbs and their uses in homeopathic healing, and graphic scenes from the surgical chamber. It could use a little tightening to enhance the suspense and to find broader appeal.

In the final quarter of the book all the wandering storylines come together with the missing information and answers to all the questions. The end is a perfect setup for a continuing series with these characters. Thank you to #NetGalley and #Canongate for this #advancereaderscopy.

Superb historical thriller! Parry knocks it out of the park with this exciting read!! Definitely looking for more books from this author.

An atmosphere, almost gothic read peppered with lots of facts to bring the dark and dingy time period to life. Clearly well-researched. I'll definitely pick up the next book the comes out, though I hope it is a bit shorter. I guessed some of the developments and felt it took a while to get to the ultimate conclusion.

An interesting story and historically fascinating. I enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Cannongate Books for a review copy of The Way of All Flesh, a historical crime novel set in Edinburgh, 1847.

Will Raven is eager to start his apprenticeship with famous obstetrician Dr Simpson but on the eve of it he discovers his friend Evie dead from convulsions. He suspects poison but has no way of investigating until he hears about a similar death from housemaid Sarah Fisher. Despite their mutual antipathy they start to investigate together.

I enjoyed The Way of All Flesh which is an engrossing read. I was attracted to it when I learned that Christopher Brookmyre was one of the authors and although very different from his usual offerings it didn't disappoint. Like many historical novels it is slow to start, apart from the discovery of Evie's body and Raven's troubles, with much of the first third of the novel being taken up with scene setting and character establishment. It is well done, seeming effortless and natural in the way all the relevant information is imparted. It has a very readable style and is obviously extremely well researched, especially in the detailed descriptions of the prevailing (and, to my mind, barbaric) medical procedures which may not appeal to the more squeamish. Once the plot gets going it fairly bowls along with a series of well paced reveals, some unexpected twists and a very clever ending which I loved.

The characters are as well drawn as the setting with Raven being the main protagonist. He is a strange mixture of arrogance and insecurity, the latter probably producing the former, with secrets to hide. It is easy to forget that he is young, poor and desperate to make his mark. Sarah is a woman ahead of her time who chafes at her position in life. Smart and inquisitive she is unable to make the most of her skills because she is poor and female. It is difficult to know if modern sensibilities have shaped her character or if women really did feel as she does at the time. Dr Simpson is the third main character. He is in stark contrast to his colleagues, having none of their pomposity, a genuine interest in helping his patients, a sense of humour and a zest for new discoveries. Again, is he too modern or were there people like that?

The Way of All Flesh is a good, interesting read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Set in 1800's Edinburgh, the story follows Raven, a doctor in training, who interns with the preeminent obstetrician of his time. Raven has come from nothing and now finds himself living in a wealthy home with servants and doctors alike. When he discovers his friend dead from apparent poison of some sort, he and his employer's maid link it to another mysterious death.

The book is extremely detailed; so much so that I at times I found it difficult to sledge through. The characters are interesting and flawed, like good characters should be. The plot was interesting enough to pull me through to the end, but dragged at some points. While the first half or more I found myself thinking "Will this book never end?" by the end I was was really enjoying it and wishing that there was more. If you like detailed, atmospheric, historical fiction, this book will sing to your soul.

This was a book that I felt had enormous potential but just fell a bit short of being amazing.
I was really drawn to the setting of this story in Edinburgh at a time where great medical advances were being made and the city was at the forefront of medical innovation in anesthesia. The story was chock-full of important historical figures and interesting facts about the city and medical practices during the time. The sections exploring the dangers of child-birth and the methods used by midwifery practitioners of the day were absolutely heart-wrenching at times and really served to illuminate the struggles of women in a time where marriage was the highest aspiration a woman could have.
The focus on the limited options that women had during this period was well shown through Sarah, the housemaid. Sarah’s curiosity and intelligence as well as her compassion and loyalty served to make her a loveable main character as well as an example of how an incredible woman could be faced with no avenue to broaden her knowledge and display her intellect. I really felt her frustration at her circumstances and desire for more out of life.
Will Raven, the other main character was flawed, but not unlikeable. His early façade of a slightly egotistical man, not aware of his privilege gave way as the story progressed to show a deep compassion for people of all walks of life and an emotional vulnerability. I feel there is much more to his past than was revealed in this book and anticipate that being explored in further books.
One issue I had with this book was that I felt beyond the two main characters the rest of the cast were very one-dimensional. There was very little detail provided about most of the characters and some of them felt like there were just ‘there’, not giving anything to the story. As a result of this, I knew pretty early on in the story who the culprit was based on the depth of their backstory and developed character.
The other problem I had with this book that stopped it from being 5 stars for me was the pace of the plot. I felt that the murder mystery took at back seat to focus on the medical advancement storyline. I did feel that all this detail added to an understanding of the circumstances of the time and that this was important to the villain’s motives, however I felt that it dragged on a bit with too much detail and not enough plot progression. Towards the end the murder plot took centre stage but at that point it felt rushed and seemed to be solved almost accidentally rather than through impressive deductive reasoning and investigation.
Overall I enjoyed this book for it’s engaging main characters and vibrant historical setting and will be looking out for the next books in the series!

I was attracted to this by the Chris Brookymre connection. It's very different from those novels (there's a lot less swearing, for a start), but it's still a good read. It's a very atmospheric book. The historical setting is well evoked, and it switches easily between the class divisions rampant in society at this time. The medical element of the story comes across as very authentic (not that surprising seeing as the other author, Marisa Haetzman, has a Masters in the history of medicine), and some of the descriptions of nineteenth century labour and associated problems are genuinely horrific. The actual crime element is maybe backgrounded a little too much and wrapped up a tad too easily, but it's a price I'm willing to pay for the atmosphere and characterisation. More volumes are promised and the central three characters could become a great series team.

"Science never solves a problem without creating ten more." (George Bernard Shaw)

It's the winter of 1847 in Edinburgh. Medical science seems to pounce upon new and innovative means of so-called advancements. Avant-garde, experiemental methods are in both the hands of the charlatans and in the hands of the highly skilled. Your social status, unfortunately, will determine whose hands will guide your fate.

Will Ravens, a young medical apprentice, quickly closes the door of Evie's room. Until this moment, Evie was a young woman who sold her wares for a determined price. Although engaging, at times, in Evie's trade, Will became friends with the young woman. When she appeared frightened over a debt, Will took on some unseemingly bad loans on the street in order to help her himself. Behind that closed door now lay a lifeless Evie on the floor with a liquor bottle next to her. Was it the drink or something else that opened death's door to the unfortunate Evie?

Ambrose Parry presents a well-researched glimpse into medical practices during the Victorian era. Over zealous physicians tended to experiment on the old and the young. A life of privilege would provide access to the latest developments. However, even societal mavens would suffer a painful end because of lack of precisement in dosage and a rush for doctors to engage in experimental practices in order to appear at the top of their professions. Heaven help the poor whose lives held little or no value.

Parry introduces the readers to Sarah Fisher, housemaid extraordinaire, who sidelines for her employer, the renowned Dr. James Simpson. Dr. Simpson allows Sarah to pursue her highly evolved interest in herbs and salves. She is adept at working with his patients within his at-home practice. It is here that Will becomes taken with Sarah as he pursues his apprenticeship under Dr. Simpson.

Soon other young women are found dead in Old Town. Several have disappeared without a trace. Will tells Sarah about Evie and they both combine their efforts into finding out what happened to these unfortunate women.

The Way of All Flesh is a smart, highly entertaining read with eye-opening views into medical practices of the time period. It is my hope that Ambrose Parry will give consideration to turning this into a forthcoming series. After all, nothing like an intelligent woman with the skills of a Madame Currie on the horizon.......

I received a copy of The Way of All Flesh through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Canongate Books and to Ambrose Parry for the opportunity.

I was looking forward to starting this book, and it certainly did not disappoint.

I loved that it was set in Edinburgh, which is one of my favourite cities, and even though the book is set in the 1840s, I could imagine the streets and the layout of the town. It is a city rich with history, particularly relating to the medical profession, and also a very gruesome history in a lot of aspects. I think the author did Edinburgh justice in the descriptions, and the story suited the setting well. I also thought that the language used helped to set the scene and reinforce the place in history,

Character wise I really liked Raven, his roll as a loveable rogue worked well, and he's just the sort of 'rough around the edges' character I like to read about. Sarah irritated me at first, but I soon became enamoured with her too. I think Parry did a good job of developing both the main characters and also the supporting cast, well enough that I had a good impression of who they all were and the personalities involved.

I enjoyed the storyline, and thought the plot moved along really well. Within the first few pages I was fully into the story and wanted to keep reading. I read the last 50% in pretty much one sitting, which says something about how engrossing the story is.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, and will be looking out for more in the series

What do you do when you really are too busy to read anything, but you have a book that intrigues you so much, you just have to read on? That was my situation with “The Way of all Flesh” and I begged, stole and scrimped snatches of time to delve into the tale of Wilberforce Raven. Coming from the rough end of Edinburgh in the early 19th century and newly apprenticed to Dr Simpson, a surgeon in fashionable New Town Raven is leaving behind a dead friend and a gaggle of ruthless debt collectors. The surgeon’s family with which he lodges has an interesting dynamic of upstairs and downstairs characters that bring about Raven’s near constant sense of awkwardness. Painstakingly (!) described scenes of operating theatres and Simpson’s surgery alternate with decriptions of Raven’s state of mind, his ambition, his relation to peers and his fears. When the maid of a nearby family is found dead, Raven is reminded of his dead friend. Is there a poisoner about town, were both deaths caused by the ubiquitous quackery of the time? Or are there sinister motives at play where a clergyman tries to cover his tracks? Together with the ambitious housemaid Sarah, he pursues the case. I admit I followed all the red herrings like a hungry cat. The last bit I read at four in the morning, peeking out from Raven’s pocket, willing him on, shouting a warning. And in the end I wanted to shake Sarah’s hand, wishing her the very best of luck for the future. And THAT’S a GOOD book!

I prefer to read about new detectives rather than the polished kind of the classic mysteries, most of the time. I tend to find them more believable because they make mistakes and—let me be honest—because I stand a chance at solving the case before they do. But in Ambrose Parry’s The Way of All Flesh, one our two amateur detectives makes dangerous mistakes while he and his ad hoc partner attempt to solve the murders of a series of poor women in 1847 Edinburgh. The tension in this book comes not just from the case but also from wondering if one of the protagonists will get himself killed before resolving the matter.

We meet one of our protagonists on one of the worst nights of his life. Will Raven, a medical student, has just discovered the dead body of the woman he loved. Fearing that he will be blamed for the death, he runs…only to run into a pair of enforcers who work for the loan shark he just borrowed a large sum. It’s a miracle that he remains in one piece long enough to make it to the first day of his apprenticeship with the famous obstetrician, Sir James Young Simpson. (Renowned surgeon James Syme also appears in this book.) It’s at Simpson’s house that we meet our second protagonist, Sarah Fisher, who works there as a housemaid and lady’s maid to Simpson’s sister-in-law. While Will has a shot at becoming a wealthy doctor if he applies himself, Sarah’s intelligence and gleaned medical knowledge are almost certain to go to waste because of her gender.

Will and Sarah get off on the wrong foot almost immediately and engage in an unwitting battle of wills while more dead women are discovered around Edinburgh. Because the women are sex workers or housemaids, they don’t receive much attention from the law. Instead, the law is more interested in finding out how an infant’s leg (without the rest of the body) come to be found on a city street. Will’s questions turn up clues that point towards a rogue abortionist (though it takes Will a painfully long time to put the pieces together). It also takes him a distressingly long time to put aside his prejudices and join forces with Sarah to stop the murders.

The mystery in The Way of All Flesh meanders, mostly because Will and Sarah are amateurs and have day jobs that prevent them from working ’round the clock on the case. The villain is an absolute fiend, which adds spice to the mystery plot. But what interested me more was the medical history that is liberally folded into the story. Between Simpson’s experiments with chloroform—a godsend for laboring women—and the terrifying practice of gynaecology and obstetrics in the 1847s, I was absolutely hooked on this novel. I’m a ghoul for medical history and The Way of All Flesh was catnip for me. Readers with a similar interest will probably enjoy this book, if they can get over Will’s moments of righteous temper. Readers who don’t have a strong stomach might want to skip sections if they are otherwise invested in the mystery.

I enjoyed this historical mystery set in 1840s Edinburgh.

The story revolves around Will Raven, an assistant to a prominent male midwife, who along with a brilliant housemaid, sets out to solve some gruesome deaths of pregnant lower class women.

My only complaint here is the length. At 400+ pages it was simply too long and could have been wrapped up much sooner.

Good character development, interesting anesthesia history from that time but be forewarned that there is quite a bit of medical gruesomeness owing to the lack of knowledge/technology at that time.

Apparently there are to be a few more in this series, and yes, I’d definitely read more. However I do hope the pacing issue will be resolved in future efforts. There was not a lot of mystery solving taking place until around 75% through.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Canongate for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.

This had all the ingredients to mean that it would be an ideal read for me: historical fiction, crime thriller, set in Scotland, sounding a bit like Conan Doyle or Poe.

The principal characters Will Raven and Sarah are well-drawn and I found them utterly believable. The descriptions of Old Town Edinburgh are nightmarish and atmospheric. The authorial team (here known under the pseudonym "Ambrose Parry") live in Scotland and no doubt have their own experience to drawn upon for this. The second half of the book really picks up in pace and the way in which the mystery is wrapped up is very satisfying.

Having said the above, as much as I like the medical problem-solving in Sherlock or Dupin fashion, I found the medical descriptions in this book in some cases, totally overwhelming and shocking (particularly one labour that I will struggle to forget) and while I'm all for being as realistic as possible, some realities are too horrific. I went on to read that one of the authors has a medical background and no doubt that added to the realism and also to the grotesque descriptions of operations in that era.

If you can get past the birth gore, this is a good book and is the first in a longer series. For me it's a 3.5***

Many thanks to NetGalley, Canongate Books US and the authors for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ambrose Parry is the writing partnership of Chris Brookmyre (one of my very favourite authors) and his wife. He is an expert at writing thrillers, she has an expert knowledge of the history of medicine. Together they have produced this book, the first in a series about Will Raven (who is a doctor apprenticed to Edinburgh obstetrician Dr Simpson - an actual historical character) and Dr Simpson's housemaid Sarah. Set to a background of Edinburgh society and the invention of chloroform, the plot concerns a series of gruesome deaths of young girls, but this book is about so much more than that. The medical descriptions were fascinating, the characters really well drawn, and by the end I was reluctant to leave their company and their world. Although this is very different to Brookmyre's usual books, I loved it and I cannot wait to read the next in the series.