Rae Dunlap’s The Resurrectionist is an exquisite dive into 19th-century Edinburgh, weaving a seamless blend of historical fiction, true crime, and dark academia. The depth of detail is nothing short of miraculous, bringing the grimy streets, shadowy alleys, and macabre underworld of body-snatching vividly to life. This book stands out as one of the most original stories I’ve read in a long time, a refreshing and haunting tale that lingers long after the final page.

The book’s exploration of the grisly origins of modern medicine is both unsettling and thought-provoking. It raises poignant questions about the cost of progress and the lengths to which individuals will go in pursuit of knowledge. Dunlap doesn’t shy away from the moral complexities of her subject matter, crafting a story that is as intellectually stimulating as it is emotionally gripping.

The Resurrectionist is not just a story of body snatching and murder; it’s a haunting meditation on ambition, desire, and the shadows we cast in our pursuit of greatness. This book is a must-read for lovers of dark academia and historical fiction, and I cannot recommend it enough.

I really liked this book. The cover is stunning and the plot very interesting. Sometimes a bit creepy but the vibes from Scotland at that time period is enough to make we scream yeah! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

James arrives in Edinburge to study medicine. Its the late 1820s and he is ready to start a new life away from his family. Excited to start school, his new friends inform him that the best way to learn about medicine is through hands on learning with real cadavers at one of the private schools.
After going to see a surgery lecture at Malstroms medical school, James new friends enroll. Wanting to get the best medical education, James tries to join too. Despite not having the money to pay for this higher education, Masltroms assistant, Nye, lets him in at a lower fee. That is, so long as James helps Nye take “body snatch” by taking bodies from a graveyard to supply to cadavers for the medical school. Hence how James becomes “a resurrectionist.”
A. Rae Dunlap explores the genre of historical fiction beautifully. Because we view it throught James perespecitve, it stays very true to the historcal setting. Later in the book, we are introcudced to the Burke and Hare, two real life killers who were active in Edingburough during the 1820s. The book seamlessly combindes the historical events with the fictional characters, humanzing an event that seems so distant.
The growing relationship between Nye and James is powerful and beautiful. The dynamics between James and everyone in his life feel developed and natural. James himself feels like a relatable character who make the stakes feel to real.

Thanks to the folks at Kensington Publishing for providing this ebook in exchange for an honest review!
***
3.5 stars
Low-key spoilers
The Resurrectionist, was entertaining, it was a wild ride. I must confess I was expecting a bit more but the ending came to a pleasing conclusion (and the relief of a nice ending after picking up hints that it would not be so). I liked the setting and the characters and the romance. Thanks again!

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In The Resurrectionist, we follow James Willoughby as he chooses to abandon his privileged life as part of the English upper class to pursue his dream of studying medicine in Edinburgh. In an effort to gain admission to one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, he finds himself in need of money to keep his dream alive, which inadvertently leads him to become an accomplice in the act of snatching bodies from graveyards.

Let me start by saying that the premise of this book is right up my alley, so I’m not the least bit surprised that it hit the spot for me. The atmosphere of this book completely blew me away—I was fully immersed in the world after only a few chapters. The prose was deliciously beautiful, making it incredibly difficult to put the book down.

I found the characters genuine and likable, even if James was a bit of a loser—but that aligns perfectly with his posh upbringing. I absolutely adored Nye; his charm elevated every scene, and the chemistry between the characters was just delightful. All the relationships developed naturally and felt entirely authentic.

The Resurrectionist is an incredibly impressive debut that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more works from this author.

This one was absolutely fascinating, although extremely gory in parts, so anyone squeamish (like me!) should read with caution!

Set in the 1800’s in Edinburgh, the story follows trainee surgeon James Willoughby. Struggling to pay his tuition after his father’s death bankrupts the family, James is offered a novel way of making money… join Nye McKinnon’s crew of body snatchers, robbing graves to sell corpses to the medical schools for study.

At first horrified by the idea, James quickly realises that the scientific advancement that the corpses will help bring is enough to overcome his aversion to digging graves. Plus, he soon comes to realise that he will do anything for charming and charismatic Nye. But both men’s lives are plunged into chaos when they uncover a scandal… rival body snatchers Burke and Hare are procuring bodies at a terrifying rate, and it’s starting to look like some of their corpses were never even underground to start with…

This book is historical fiction with a side-plot of queer romance; the world of Edinburgh’s medical schools is fascinating and the lives of body snatchers that supplied the schools is both morbid and incredibly interesting! Burke and Hare were real people, and although the book is fiction, teams of people procuring bodies for medical study was very much a thing!

I loved James and Nye; James is a morally flexible member of the upper classes who wants nothing more than to escape his title of gentleman in favour of being a surgeon. Nye is a mercurial sweetheart; an expert storyteller and charmer, him and James are in perfect contrast to each other!

Read The Ressurectionist for:
✨ Historical Fiction; 1800s Edinburgh
✨ Loosely based on true events
✨ Queer romance sub-plot
✨ Digging up corpses for science
✨ Medical study (in some detail, beware!)
✨ Threat of murder
✨ They’re morally grey nerds in love

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an ARC of this book. It’s available on 24th December 2024 💕

The writing was incredibly immersive and so beautiful that I was immediately drawn in. The book is full of real life people/characters and you can tell the author took a lot of time to do thorough research prior to writing the book. I really really enjoyed it

I'm going to be completely honest, I requested this book on a whim because I had just talked to a customer about Burke and Hare and when I saw them mentioned in the synopsis I was like "oh, it's fate". When I was actually approved for it a few days later though I kind of regretted it, because it seemed rather impulsive and I wasn't entirely sure if this book was worth my time. Holy crap am I glad I both requested this and then actually decided to give it a chance, because it really surprised me. This book is a few different things, it's a historical fiction with elements of true crime, it's a mystery/thriller, and a love story, and honestly I'm not sure it should really work, but it does. I loved following our main character around, even when he was just doing mundane things like going to class. The love story was also just great. It feels real, but there's also that element of danger, because this is a historical novel, and thus affection between two men was considered a very serious crime. I think that the weakest part of this book was probably the mystery element, which I will admit felt a little rushed. It really only appeared in the last quarter or so of the book. If you go into this book looking for a full-blown mystery novel I do think you will be disappointed, because while there are mystery elements that's not what it's about. It's about a young man coming of age and learning to live on his own and figure out what and who he is. Part of how he does this is by becoming a resurrectionist, and that leads him into a mystery element, but I would argue that at it's core that's not really the point of the book. Either way, for what it was and how I went into it (with basically no expectations at all) I was so pleasantly surprised. I think the only issue I could really find is that there was only one female character, and the role she played was only serving to move the story forward. Seeing as she was an actual historical figure though, and the setting the book takes place in (at that point in time women were not known to be overly involved in body snatching or medical schools) it wasn't overly unbelievable. In the end this book really ended up standing out to me, and I really hope it finds its audience. I certainly will be recommending it to as many people as I can, and I'll be working on a shelf-talker to be put up when it arrives. I'll be eagerly awaiting Dunlap's next novel, and will have my fingers crossed these two main characters might even get to come back in a sequel, because while things are wrapped up well enough for the story to be a stand-alone, I do believe there are enough threads left open for another story to be told later down the line.

A stunning and impressive debut, in the same lane as Daniel Kraus's <i> Rotters </i>, Donna Tart's <i> Secret History </i>, and Andrew Joseph White's <I> The Spirit Bares its Teeth <i>.

I was hooked on <I>The Resurrectonist</i> from the first page. The writing style is reminiscent of gothic classics, which adds to the immersive experience of the novel itself. The traditional writing doesn't deter from the modern touch, however. In fact, Dunlap uses plenty of modern tropes in a classical way that make the story and the romance that much more interesting.

Truly an addictive, high-stakes book with a charming romance. An instant-buy for me and my library. A. Rae Dunlap is a promising author and I look forward to reading more from her.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Resurrectionist is a stunning debut novel, set in 19th century Edinburgh. James is setting out on a path to become a surgeon, but is led off the 'straight and narrow' University path when he meets Aneurin (Nye) who takes him under his wing and into the seedy underworld of body snatching. James becomes ensconced with the so-called "Resurrectionists" and gets caught-up in their life-or-death schemes as rival gangs move in and fight for power and prestige. Everything comes to a head when James and Nye find themselves working with Burke and Hare (yes, the infamous Burke and Hare) and inadvertently put targets on their backs and must escape with their lives.

The story and characters are beautifully written, managing to mix science, body-snatching, and murder with a story of love, courage and personal resilience. The narrative definitely does not shy away from the visceral realities of the era, describing blood-soaked scenes of dissection and corpses with detail. These elements make the story feel authentic. A great combination of fact and fiction and excellent character development.

This book was exquisitely macabre and very entertaining to read. You can't help but love James and Nye and their trials and tribulations. I will definitely be recommending this book to my dark academia and horror/thriller friends, and as the January book for my book club!

Aaarghhh this book is everything!! A gay graverobbing story set in a gloomy private surgical school of Victorian Edinburgh?!! YES YES YES 🖤

The (in)famous duo Burke and Hare play a big role within this work, and I have never read anything that combines all the elements i LOVE so much in one book. Could. Not. Get. Enough!!

What i loved the most tho, apart from the atmosphere, gruseome scenes and twisted sense of humor of the characters, was the relationship between James and Aneurin. Nye was a complex kid well developed, and i absolutely loved whatever came out of his wicked mouth.

Also, the writing was really refreshing. @araewrites used rather old words and expressions, making it seem like the main character James wrote it himself. It was him telling his story, and the choice of using such antique language was fitting and added a whole other dimension of succes.

There is one lil twist that made me want to throw my phone against the wall, and thats because these characters found a way in my heart and THAT WAS SO FREAKING UNFAIR!!!!

Will definitely buy a copy of this once it comes out. Adored it. Thanks a million to the author, publisher and Netgally for allowing me to read! 🖤

It was a solid book, I liked it but it has some flaws in the writing style. Still it was enjoyable, I liked the characters although the main character at times was kind of insufferable with all his naivety. With the writing my major complain is that there is an abuse in the using of adverbs, with such frecuency of them that it took me out of the reading mood several times.

The pacing at frist is pretty slow, but then when the main characters start to know each other gives the story a sense of progress, and it was fun to see their dynamic. I also liked the romance between them.

Despite its flaws, the book was entertaining even though I felt that there was much more that could be done with a story of this kind.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advance copy of this novel that looks at the lengths many young students used to have to go through to advance their medical knowledge, lengths including midnight shovel parties, dealing with unsavory people and even a little bit of murder.

For some reason, an unconscious reason I do swear, much of my recent readings have been quaint and curious books of medical history. I am not sure why, I have no real history in medicine, nor have any one I care about been ill or made infirm by disease, but medical history seems to be my reading du jour. And my word, much of it is simply grotesque. Large rooms filled with men trying to watch a man in waistcoats saw off a leg. The person losing said leg not with anything close to anesthesia or even ether, with the additional joy of having a 50/50 chance of losing the wrong limb. The doctor, self-proclaimed in many cases covered in blood from previous operations talking while cutting. Sometimes stabbing himself and later dying of infection maybe from a previous patient, as gentlemen never washed their hands. These men, always only men for a long period of time, learning their trade, and having to engage in a darker trade to find bodies to learn on. Recently expired, sometimes from disease, sometimes from something else. This is the world our protagonist finds himself, in the novel The Resurrectionist, by A. Rae Dunlap about a young man trying to find himself, and finding out the world is darker and uglier than he ever knew.

James Willoughby is a man who has never really found a place for himself. An extra son in a family of means, but not frivolity, Willoughby was chosen to enter the clergy, and was attending Oxford University when the truth occurred to him. Willoughby was not made for the clergy, but maybe for medicine. Willoughby shared this information with his family, and the same night his father leaves the Earth, leaving Willoughby even more confused. Edinburgh, Scotland is the place of learning for the medical arts, and Willoughby goes there, full of hopes and dreams, dreams that a lack of wealth soon come crashing down. Though he does make a friend in Aneurin “Nye” MacKinnon. Without money Willoughby can not afford to practice the skills he is being taught in school. Nye offers him a solution, one Willoughby is eager to take, until he finds out the truth. Nye needs Willoughby's help in his other occupation, digging up bodies who have recently passed and selling them to students for their education. Willoughby enters a world far darker than he thought possible, confused with feelings for both Nye, and learning. The the world of body snatching has many dark sides, and some of that darkness might be coming for Willoughby.

A very atmospheric dark tale told in a different style. One can tell that Dunlap did a lot of research, as the characters ring true and one gets a feeling for Edinburgh through the writing. And the dark trade of body snatching. There are many real people from history who appear in this story, and all of them are well-written and interesting. Willoughby might be a bit dumb sometimes, but that might be because of the feelings he has for Nye, the guilt he has, and the fact that the world is in many ways new to him. I liked the writing, a bit of Charles Palliser mixed with a tad of Ann Rule.

A nice spooky little tale. A good mix of history, medical, gore, and crime, and one with a lot of feeling and sense of place. Perfect to read before a fire, or waiting for the watchman to look the other way at the cemetery.

“This, dear reader, is the story of my Resurrection”

“For the first time ever, my life was mine, and I was determined to live it to the fullest”

A dark academia book with anatomy and a bit of a complicated love story? Sign me up!!! What a catchy and exciting beginning for a book!! The author manages to draw you in from the very start with the first chapter !!! A posh noble young man who was supposed to become entangled with the church, decided to study anatomy !!! What a plot !! Add to that a little bit of a love story that blossoms between secrets and bodies … this book was real fun !!! Fast and easy to get into and out. You can easily read it in a day as a palate cleanser from any other book. Getting through James’ story felt almost like reading a novel where you know the beginning and end but not really sure how you get there. The only thing you know is that you’ll enjoy the ride. Putting in the same book, mystery, anatomy, a bit of fun and a sweet LGBTQIA love story, feels like the perfect idea for a cozy book that allows you to get into the autumn/winter season you’re not sure how to define!!! Especially in that dark academia vibes !!! I really like the way this author writes the storyline and the poetry with which they describe love and relationship !!! A beautiful new experience and I can’t wait to read more!!!

“Alright. Let’s go rescue a corpse from some shrubbery”

“But don’t for one moment pretend that love was a choice. Love is duty. Love is sacrifice”

“For he was everything. And for all my inexperience and shy trepidation, for all my bashful rumblings and insecure ramblings, he was all I could want in moments of intimacy: tender, patient, and endlessly joyful. … It could never be unnatural”

4.5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC!

"I crave no absolution but yours."

James is a hopeful doctor in Edinburgh and the easiest way to earn money for tuition is to take his colleague Aneurin's (Nye's) offer on body snatching and grave digging. After experiencing some reservations about the job itself, James finds himself among friends with Nye's crew and maybe something more with Nye himself.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting! Not to say I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I started this book and got about 20% in before I put it down for a few days. Decided to pick it back up and give it an honest shot.

I liked James as a character, but I really loved Aneurin. I loved that there was no 3rd act breakup. I loved that it was silly and stupid and charming. My only critique is that Aneurin talked too much like James, despite being from Iona in the Inner Hebrides. It could be that it was just easier to have their dialog look and feel so similar, but there was only one scene with Nye speaking Gaelic that gave any indication that he wasn't also from London.

I was very pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this book; I’m not a fan of true crime, but perhaps the historical distance makes it more palatable to me, as opposed to a modern context in which the victims of a high profile case may be around to read the story. Instead, this novel focuses more on James’ journey of self-discovery, his intellectual interests and his romantic preferences, with the network of different degrees of crime in upholding a growing area of study with major teething problems, woven around his narrative. I also loved the development in James and Nye’s relationship as they learn to open up to and trust one another, keeping each other safe as they delve deeper into the turn of events upsetting the equilibrium of the body snatching network of Edinburgh’s private medical schools. As a bonus, I am also a big fan of James’ narrative voice and how the writing style incorporates his artistic tone as well as his scientifically inclined ways of thinking, of seeing and processing the world.

Wow this book stole my heart with its unique writing and gothic medical horror and to top it off a beautiful love story. In this book we follow James who unsure what he wants in life ends up in Edinburgh in medical school.Due to his family poor financial condition he finds himself desperate for money and gets sucked into an underground world of grave robbing he never expected. We follow along as James faces many conflicts both internal and in the real world.
To start with I am a sucker for 19th century medical story’s so I was definitely the audience for this book. With that being said the writing was amazing in this book it was unique and kept me engaged but felt so true to the time period of this book. I was also shocked this was a debut with the writing and characters being so engaging. I also loved the characters the romance between James and Nye was one I was rooting for. Look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

A little dark academia book set in Edinburgh during the grave robbing years? Sign me up.

This book had such a fantastic premise. I was hooked from page one. I loved the setting so much - classic Edinburgh is just the perfect backdrop for dark academia. The way characters were introduced was so natural and sweet, they had every hope of sticking with you.

However, this wasn't always the case. Characters that were supposed to be best friends never really delivered the weight that was promised. There were times I couldn't discern between James's friends. The other grave robbers were better developed, but the rare few times they were onscreen ultimately meant I wasn't quite as attached as I should've been. Which robbed me of some of the emotion of the gut wrenching discoveries later on in the story.

Dunlap's writing is beautiful, but a bit over-wrought. It lent well to traditional dark academia prose, but there were times I found myself completely lost in the middle of a long sentence. And the prolific use of italics in this book felt like I was being told how to read it. It took some of the liberty away from my own interpretation of characters and their speech/thought patterns.

And speaking of characters - Nye was beautifully rendered. He felt very real and I hung on his every word. James felt more like a plinth from which the reader could watch the story. Not altogether bad, particularly in this genre, but it didn't lend itself to what was ultimately a beautiful romance. This was either a study of medical students in grave-robbing Edinburgh, or a romance. When these 2 spheres overlapped, I found being stuck in James's POV a little constrictive. For example, I loved Nye through James's eyes, but I wish we'd gotten to see James in action as a medical student prodigy more often.

Overall, l'd recommend this book as a moody autumn dark academia romance with some macabre mystery.

I really enjoyed the different aspects of this novel. On one hand, we have social mobility, both upward and downward. There is also characterization of our main characters that gives them excellent and developed personality. The subtle differences that class and experience have on their personalities is great. As for the setting, I have no complaints; as a former resident of Edinburgh, it checks out and is easy to follow. The Resurrectionist puts forth the question: who pays the cost for development? It is a scientific and moral conundrum that continues in a different manner to this day.
I highly recommend this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing I had issue with was pacing.

This was a fabulous read this year, appealing to morbid curiosity and mystery alike! In the same vein as The Artful Dodger and The Alienist, our main characters were delightful and interesting to watch throughout the novel. I loved this! 4/5