I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and will recommend it often to lovers of mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels!

Edinburgh Dusk – Carole Lawrence

I will start this review by issuing a warning. If you find child abuse and exploitation then please give this book a miss. Although it’s not written gratuitously it is rather graphic.

This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed the change of pace and stepping away from modern forensic techniques. I wasn’t aware till recently that she has also written Novellas and Poetry.

Stepping back to nineteenth century Scotland we find DI Ian Hamilton and partner DS Dickerson with Physician Sophia Jex-Blake investigating the suspicious death of one of her patients. Then there are more bodies appearing having been poisoned causing members of the public to begin to worry.

I absolutely loved the involvement of medical student ‘Arthur Conan Doyle’ with his cheeky reference to doing a little writing and popping in the Shakespeare quotations amused me.

Read for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer Publishers

Edinburgh Dusk
By: Carole Lawrence
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: September 18, 2018

Edinburgh Dusk is the second book in the Inspector-Detective Ian Hamilton mystery series. The original cast of characters is back plus some engaging historical figures. The story starts our with Sophia Jex-Blake, the first practicing woman doctor in Scotland, coming to the station to report what she believes was a murder by poisoning. This would not be the poisoners only victim. Hamilton discovers that these men who are poisoned all have one thing in common, sleaziness. With the help of Sergeant Dickerson and a young medical student by the name of Arthur Conan Doyle, Hamilton races to find the murderer before any more unnecessary deaths occur.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, and relished this second one even more. We learn more about the characters in this book which helps us to understand them and their actions even more. This story involves a very dark plot that is slowly wound up and then eventually unveiled. The reader is taken along a pitch-dark ride through Edinburgh’s seedy side and through the immoral acts committed there. The ride starts all the way in the beginning and runs right through the end of the novel.

In addition to the engrossing storyline, we are also introduced to a couple of new characters that seem to have the potential of being included in the next novel. Hamilton tries to come to the aid of a woman named Fiona Stuart. Fiona Stuart, however, is none too happy that Hamilton intervened on her behalf, and is not too shy to tell him. They continue to have a very tumultuous relationship throughout the story, but she is set up as a possible love interest. Hamilton is also introduced to Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle helps Hamilton with the medical aspects in the case, and in the process the two develop a budding friendship. A friendship that I hope to learn more about in the next installment.

This story reminds me very much of a dark version of Murdoch Mysteries. In fact, Doyle shows up in that series too, but is much older and is a world renowned author by then.

Thanks to Net Galley and Thomas & Mercer Publishers for an ARC of this book. #NetGalley #EdinburghDusk

I am very happy I stumbled upon this series. The first book was great and the second installment does not disappoint. All of the characters are back (a little less Derek though) plus an new character.... Arthur Conan Doyle! I am interested to see how Ian and Arthur's friendship develops down the road. What I like about this series is that no character is safe from the murder and mayhem within the story. Now we wait for #3.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

3.5 stars.
Having enjoyed the world and the characters that Carole Lawrence created in the first novel, I was looking forward to delving back in. In EDINBURGH DUSK we return to Ian Hamilton's beat as detective to Scotland's rugged underbelly. A series of poisoning deaths leads to Hamilton working deeper in Edinburgh's medical community, and pairs him with young medical student, Arthur Conan Doyle. They must solve these crimes, before he (or she?) strikes again.
After reading ARTHUR & GEORGE, I've been curious about more fictionalized lives of authors before we "know" them. Including Mr. Conan Doyle seamlessly into this world cemented this novel for me. I loved how Lawrence integrated Hamilton's family live into his current investigation; I felt like the map of the novel was very well thought out.
The one element of the novel I could have done without was the chapters from the murderer's POV. I understand the psychological/intrinsic want to include them, but I prefer to go in blind, and put the pieces together myself.
I'm curious if there will be more installments - how many future adventures will be get with Detective Hamilton?
I received a digital copy of the novel from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful mystery that opens up the Victorian world with noted historical figure and author, Arthur Conan Doyle, as a character during his medical school days. The only downside to this book is the fact I want more of Ian Hamilton!

Wow this series keeps getting better , it's a bit darker then the first book but that's way I love it , love the main characters , and how they seem to grew as the series progresses , can't wait to read more of this series .With that said thanks netgalley for letting me read and review it in change for my honest opinion.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Detective Inspector Hamilton is back. I was very excited to have been approved to read an ARC of this and promptly decided to put my schoolwork on hold until I had finished reading it, which only took about two days. Once you start this story, you won’t stop until the last page.
DI Hamilton is just as introverted and unsociable as ever. Always quick with a cheeky remark and ready to solve another case. I was glad the story also included most of the secondary characters from the first book and also took its time to develop them a bit further.
The character of the murderer was an interesting one and contains sensitive subject matter that was well handled by the author.
The story was fast-paced and was thankfully without any unnecessary red herrings or plot twists in an attempt to create suspense.
The writing flowed nicely and wouldn’t let the reader’s attention dwindle even just for a second.
Overall, this was a great sequel to an even greater series. I felt it ended way too quickly and my fingers are itching to read the next installment. It was a perfect murder mystery in, what I hope, will be a long-standing series, always keeping the reader wanting more. I highly recommend it.

2.5 stars, rounded down
The overt sex with dead bodies turned me off. I deeply understand that there is evil in the world. I don’t need graphically descriptive depictions of father-child sex abuse to understand motives. Lawrence used the phrase, “perverted and degrading things” in another context, and unfortunately the perverse descriptions RUINED my enjoyment of a decent historical mystery.
I still liked Detective Ian Hamilton, wise Aunt Lilly and brother, Donald. It was fun to meet Arthur Conan Doyle, future author of the iconic Sherlock Holmes mysteries. “Derek McNair - Street urchin, thief, pickpocket, and one of Ian’s most valuable assets” was a big asset to the book too.
The writing and the plot are as expected, with short alternating story lines moving the plot along. Well written landscape descriptions contribute to the book. Most chapter endings created a dark atmosphere. “Edinburgh Castle stood silhouetted in the gathering gloom, still and watchful atop its rocky perch, as the reluctant sun slunk toward its looming parapets.”
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.

This book captured me from the first paragraph & held my interest & anticipation to the last. I really liked the book.

I did enjoy this book. I typically do not enjoy books with much violence in them but it was limited to some extent and violence does certainly exist in our world. I love the unfolding of the complicated pasts of the characters. The storyline is great and kept me guessing. I did see hints of the perpetrators guilt but they were very subtle! Just a minor note; I am pretty sure no one knew about viruses in those days, not even a particularly good doctor. Funny how little things like that will prick my thumbs so to speak! I will be anxious for the next.

“Edinburgh Dusk: Ian Hamilton Mysteries, Book 2” by Carole Lawrence brings us back to the author’s atmospheric setting of nineteenth-century Scotland, in an addictive read that teams physician Sophia Jex-Blake with Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton to investigate the suspicious death of one of her patients, a railroad lineman. Significantly, the man had many sexual transgressions although he was married.

As they seek answers to his untimely death, which the good doctor believes is due to arsenic poisoning, Detective Hamilton returns for the first time since the unexplained fire that killed his parents to the Royal Infirmary, to confer with brilliant medical student Arthur Conan Doyle. Then another victim is found — a well-known banker who died in the bed of a prostitute — and the bodies stack up while the public panics. Hamilton and Doyle are forced to burrow in the city’s seedy underbelly for clues, where anything is possible and not even friends can be trusted.

Edinburgh, a 19th century female doc, Holmes, sex — what’s not to love? In my estimation, “Edinburgh Dusk” has it all goin’ on! 5/5

A Note From the Publisher
Author Carole Lawrence is an award-winning novelist, poet, composer, and playwright. Her previous novels include Edinburgh Twilight, the first Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton novel. She is also the author of six novellas and dozens of short stories, articles, and poems—many of which appear in translation internationally. She is a two-time Pushcart Poetry Prize nominee and winner of the Euphoria Poetry Prize, the Eve of St. Agnes Poetry Award, the Maxim Mazumdar playwriting prize, the Jerry Jazz Musician award for short fiction, and the Chronogram Literary Fiction Award. Her plays and musicals have been produced in several countries as well as on NPR; her physics play Strings, nominated for an Innovative Theatre Award, was recently produced at the Kennedy Center. A Hawthornden Fellow, she is on the faculty of NYU and Gotham Writers, as well as the Cape Cod and San Miguel Writers’ Conferences. She enjoys outdoor sports such as hiking, biking, and horseback riding, and you can often find her cooking and hunting for wild mushrooms.

Pub Date 18 Sep 2018

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#EdinburghDusk #NetGalley

I was eagerly waiting this book and it's finally here! I am so happy because it was really great! The story is interesting, the characters are lovable as always, and it is tied into history with real life characters. Can't wait for more! You can find my more detailed review (and praise) on my Tumblr and Goodreads pages.

An interesting and unusual story set in Edinburgh. Strong characters with their own stories. I'm sure we will read more of this detective.

In Edinburgh Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake wants Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton to investigate the death of the husband of one of her patients. During the case he meets Dr Bell and Conan Doyle whos knowledge of medical matters helps his case. But then another victim is discovered.
The characters are well-drawn and fleshed out. I found this well-written story enjoyable and interesting and look forward to the next in the series.
This second in the series is easily read as a standalone story

I really like the Ian Hamilton Mysteries series. DI Hamilton and the other set character are nicely being developed over the course of the series. It makes the story a great mix of a character based and a plot based novel.

The rest of the cast of characters in Edinburgh Dusk give a great atmosphere to the book and helps create the setting of the novel. This one includes historical figures Arthur Conan Doyle & Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake. This added element was a nice touch to the story and combined nicely with the fictional.

If you are looking for a good police crime series definitely give this one a try.

Poisonings, prostitutes, and physicians in 1880s Edinburgh! Ian Hamilton is a wonderful protagonist. He's smart but he's also smart enough to know when he needs help, which is how we meet Arthur Conan Doyle. The cast of characters in this is terrific= sometimes it's only a cameo but you'll remember Aunt Lillian, William Dickerson, Kate, Derek, and the others. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical mysteries, this one has some twisty turns. It's well written and entertaining.

A good historical mystery with an interesting plot and likeable characters.
I really enjoyed this book and had no problems in understanding the characters and their relationship even if it's the second instalment in a series.
I surely read other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for this ARC

A new author for me and I was delighted with this book. It is #2 in a series but I had no issues with it as a standalone novel.
The author, Carole Lawrence, is American but through research and consultation with a Scottish expert, she captures the very essence of Edinburgh and its inhabitants at the time of the setting which is late 19th Century.
It is a wonderful whodunnit detective story with the denouement a fitting and apt end to the tale; I say no more on that to avoid a spoiler.
The characters are great and well fleshed-out. They range from DI Hamilton himself, a thinking, sensitive policeman with his own demons through to Derek, the street urchin who is an informant for both police and newspaper. There are many in between characters, not least the strong female characters ranging from a doctor to nurses and fallen women.
The book is littered with literary references and the author uses them to great, and sometimes, comical effect. She even has a character called Arthur Conan Doyle. Indeed, the entire book is reminiscent of some of the Sherlock Holmes works by that author. I did note the use of the word "fiend" on a few occasions which I believe was a literary reference to those famous books, as it's not a word I expect to see in contemporary fiction.
On the same topic, the author also touches on the sexuality of DI Hamilton's brother. It wasn't done gratuitously in my opinion, though it formed no part of the plot. Instead it got me thinking about the sexuality of DI Hamilton himself and his relationship in the book with the fictional Arthur Conan Doyle who in the book is a medical doctor - a deliberate reversal of roles? A budding Sherlock Holmes the medical man (Watson) and DI Hamilton the sleuth?
The plot is excellent and is told at a steady pace. It starts off with a man found dead - poisoned. He appears to be the first victim of a series of poisonings but with different poisons. DI Hamilton works hard through all the possible and baffling scenarios with his trusty Sergeant at his side. Eventually he cracks the case in a literally dramatic finale to this wonderful book.
Ms. Lawrence is one talented writer. Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley. I was under no obligation to review it and all opinions are my own.

Edinburgh Dusk is the second installment in a mystery series by Carole Lawrence. Set in 1880, Ian Hamilton, a Shakespeare-quoting Detective Inspector, and his associate, Sergeant Dickerson, are drawn into a poisoning case when Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake reports the death of the first victim, the husband of a client who gets help at her clinic for poor women. More victims follow, including a banker visiting Margaret, a prostitute at Fair Kate’s. The investigation leads Hamilton and Dickerson through brothels, pawn shops and back alleys in the Old Town section of Edinburgh.

Character development is good, even for most secondary characters. Detective Inspector Ian Hamilton is a good-looking loner who buries himself in his work. He carries some emotional baggage that stems from a mysterious fire that killed his parents. At the beginning of Edinburgh Dusk his only friendships are with Aunt Lillian, his mother’s sister, and his associate, Sergeant William Dickerson. Even these innocuous attachments are stretched when Hamilton discovers a letter that indicates his aunt has been keeping secrets from him about his parents.
There are a few stock secondary characters, such as Fair Kate, a madame who runs a brothel where one of the victims meets his death. Fair Kate is a bit formulaic in her kind-hearted mothering of the women in her brothel. Fiona Stuart, a nurse at the local hospital, is pretty and prickly. She is so insistent that she can take care of herself that she often comes off as a stereotypical harridan. However, these characters still come across as likeable during the story’s course.

Hamilton and Dickerson meet Arthur Conan Doyle, a medical student, and his real-life mentor, Dr. Bell; both work at the hospital where Hamilton and others are taken due to beatings and attempted poisonings. Doyle, in this novel and real, enjoys crime solving. Doyle befriends Hamilton and helps him out with scientific and medical insights. An implication here is that the fictional Hamilton and Dickerson are precursors for Doyle’s own Holmes and Watson characters.

Overall, this addition to the Ian Hamilton series is an interesting read that moves along relatively smartly. The reader is kept guessing until the dénouement at the end.

I look forward to going back to read the first installment of the series, Edinburgh Twilight. One can only hope that future installments will have more inventive titles. Dusk and twilight are synonymous and might imply that the stories are equally interchangeable.