Thank You to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

As a gothic horror lover, this book delivered beautifully! The author’s research shines through, making the historical fiction elements feel authentic and immersive. Ironically, I was reading A Tale of Two Cities alongside The Resurrectionist, which felt perfectly fitting for my macabre Victorian mood. The eerie atmosphere and dark themes hit all the right notes for me. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to read this before publication!

The Resurrectionist is a historical novel set in 1820s Edinburgh, which was the centre of medical learning of the time. Not only were the ideas concerning medicine more enlightened, the students were able to study with actual human bodies, albeit those of the dead. But people weren’t exactly willing to donate their bodies to study medicine, so the only legally available bodies were those of people executed by hanging. It didn’t offer many opportunities, so the bodies had to be obtained by less legal manners, hence the rise of body-snatchers like Burke and Hare, who made steady business with providing bodies to anatomy schools.

James Willoughby is the third son of a landed gentry and is expected to find a profession to support himself. He spends a brief spell in Oxford, studying to become a clergyman, which he is wholly unsuited for. But science, especially medicine, draws him. So he abandons Oxford and declares to his family that he’ll be studying medicine in Edinburgh instead, leading to his father’s untimely death. That has unfortunate consequences for James, because it turns out, his father has gambled away the family fortune and there’s barely any money for his studies.

It doesn’t matter at first. He finds a cheap accommodation, throws himself to his studies, and makes some like-minded friends, enjoying the freedom of spirit Edinburgh offers. But then he learns about the anatomy schools that offer a proper chance to practice with human bodies, and he has to join one. Problem is, it costs money he doesn’t have.

Unwilling to let the opportunity go, he asks if he can help out at the school in exchange for a cheaper tuition. And the surgeon’s assistant, Aneurin MacKinnon, a dashing and brilliant if slightly eccentric young man, agrees. James is to be a lookout while Nye tries to capture body-snatchers. Only, that’s not what it’s really about, as James discovers for his horror. Nye is a body-snatcher too, or a resurrectionist, as he calls himself.

They part ways, but when James’s family informs him that the money is completely gone and order him to return home to become a businessman instead, desperation leads him back to Nye to become a body-snatcher too, as the money is good. It’s a life-changing experience for him. Things seem perfect at first; his friendship with Nye is blooming amid their criminal adventures, soon deepening to love and adding another thing he needs to hide from his friends. But this doesn’t last. A ruthless gang of body-snatchers arrive to Edinburgh, and James and Nye find themselves stepping on toes of Burke and Hare.

This was a good book, and an excellent debut. The story was interesting and flowed in a fairly fast pace. The narrative emulated 19th century prose very well, made fresher by the first-person point of view. James was a likeable if single-minded in his need to study medicine, but not always observant when it came to his surroundings and his friends, so the historical setting and side-characters apart from Nye remained slightly vague. It’s not a long book, and while it wasn’t a “Twisty Gothic Mystery” that the subtitle promised, it was entertaining. The ending was open enough that there might even be more adventures of James and Nye. I would be willing to read them.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

A Rae Dunlap debuts with The Resurrectionist, a dark historical thriller surrounding the body snatchers of 19th century Scotland. Add in true crime serial killers Burke and Hare, a naive medical student of certain station, and a captivating anatomist with an abundance of trickery and charm in equal parts? A Rae Dunlap produced a winner.

I am exactly the target audience for this book. I know this. I read all the stories surrounding resurrection men. I work in forensic science. But the book is also objectively good.

Dunlap cleverly interfaces true crime easter eggs into the story of James Willoughby as he begins medical school in Edinborough and is quickly convinced to serve as a lookout for Aneurin's team of Resurrection men as they snatch bodies from the graveyard behind James' lodging house. After all, half price tuition is half price tuition. Even acknowledging the clever weaving of historical facts and persons into the story, Dunlap expended a great deal of energy into making James and Aneurin compelling characters in their own right. Add in one queer love story, and there was no chance I could avoid being sucked right in. I purchased a hard copy at only 50% through. When you know you need a shelf trophy, you just know.

Is there room for criticism? Sure. The ending was a tad rushed and tied in a pretty bow, but I honestly didn't care. I was already tied in to James and Aneurin's scheme.

I would happily recommend this novel to fans of resurrection men stories (Anatomy A Love Story/The Corpse Queen) though seeking a bit more grit. Likewise, historical dark academia fans looking for queer stories a la Death in the Spires can find their match here too.

Wishing A Rae Dunlap much success and looking forward to future releases.

More like 4.25 stars!

Overall a really solid and interesting historical fiction debut! I was first interested because the premise reminded me of Anatomy by Dana Schwartz, which is one of my all-time favorite books, and I'm very happy that this did not disappoint either!

The atmosphere and writing style fit the vibe of the story really well in my opinion, and it was really easy to get into James's head right from the start (a particular feat for me since I rarely enjoy male protagonists who aren't Percy Jackson)! I also enjoyed his relationship with Nye and wish them all the happiness ever!!

I also went through the whole book not realizing it was based on a real case, so it was definitely cool to read the author's note and realize that afterwards! You definitely don't need to know anything about the real case to understand the book, but I'm definitely interested in learning more about the basis for the mystery!

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this if you're looking for an LGBTQ+ historical fiction and/or if you enjoyed books like Stalking Jack the Ripper or Anatomy (like myself)! I'm definitely interested to see what Dunlap writes next since this was a really great debut!

Rating: 4 stars

I received a digital copy of this book through the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review.

This book was an intriguingly interesting read to me. From beginning to end, I was captivated by the story told within this book’s pages, wanting to find out what was going to happen next to James and Nye. While I felt like I didn’t really know too much about either of them as I feel like this book’s focus is more on the events that transpire than character development, the story within The Resurrectionist was an enjoyable one for me.

What also helped draw me into the story here is the setting of this book. It takes place during a different time in Edinburgh when the world didn’t have the advancements in medicine and science that we have today. Back when there weren’t enough dead bodies to study in medical schools, they had to rely on body snatchers to bring fresh corpses to be used for scientific study. I felt like with The Resurrectionist, I was very easily swept into this time period with James as he talked about his experiences at his college and the private school he ended up attending. I felt like I was right along with James as he discovered the underbelly of life as a body snatcher and as the stakes in his life kept getting more and more dangerous. This book essentially drew me in through its descriptive storytelling when it comes to the world around James and his mates.

What I also enjoyed about The Resurrectionist along with the setting of the book is the story itself. The plot was fast-moving, with conflicts occurring every so often with James and his companion Nye. The story of James being in debt when he finally found somewhere he belonged and doing things most people would find morally questionable, to his life as a body snatcher, to the discovery of a group of people who are a threat to what James and Nye do, to their lives being in immediate danger when they become involved with Burke and Hare. It kept me on the edge, continuing to read to see what would happen next to James and Nye and how this story would conclude. Especially knowing what I do now that some of the characters in this historical fiction novel are based on real people and real killings that have taken place. Knowing that now intrigues me enough to want to learn more and see how events in this book connect with the true crimes committed by Burke and Hare.

Another piece of The Resurrectionist I enjoyed was seeing the relationship between James and Nye. Since there isn’t a lot of character development in this book, I was interested in their relationship because I wanted to see how it would develop. And while the direction it takes doesn’t surprise me, I wanted to see more of it unfold than what as a reader I get.

As a whole, I did enjoy reading this book. However, if there was anything with it I didn’t particularly like it would be lack of character development and information. I feel like this book does a marvelous job of describing the events that happened from James' point of view. As a reader, I get a good sense of what the world he lives in is like and what his life is like as a body snatcher. But that’s it. I feel like there’s a lot that happens in the story with these characters but there’s a minimal amount of character development with them. I also feel like this book does a wonderful job of giving us the events that happen but feel like at times I wanted more information when something happened as a lot of the conflicts that occurred were resolved pretty quickly. I felt like there could’ve been more here in this story than what was given, but enjoyed what I read, nonetheless.

The Resurrectionist is an enjoyable read that I highly recommend. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, true crime, medical crime, and anyone who likes a story that takes place near an academic institution. The Resurrectionist was published on December 24, 2024 for those interested in reading this book.

The book spun a fantastic atmosphere - Dunlap's writing style is good at drawing the reader in. As someone who is quite familiar with the setting and history of the book, I found it to be well-portrayed in the narrative. The pacing dragged in places, but it was made up for by how we were brought in to the mind of James, the protagonist. The narration style was a good fit for the book, and how James rationalised the events. The love story was also convincingly written. I'd love to read more from this author.

Loved everything about this book! Dark historical fiction is so amazing when done right, and Dunlap hits each mark with this story for sure. I cannot wait to purchase a copy for my shelves.

This is my dream historical fiction. Medical, morbid, gory, true crime/murder, and a gay love story intertwined. Perfection. Thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

A very interesting and macabre topic, based on true events of the resurrectionists. I had some trouble picking this back up after a while, because I felt like the pacing was slightly off. I really liked the characters and the story in general, but feel like I expected a bit more from it somehow.

Equal parts macabre and romantic, The Resurrectionist is an incredibly gripping story of a young physician who travels to Edinburgh to learn the careful art of surgery, and finds himself wrapped up in the illicit and gory world of body snatching that coloured much of Edinburgh’s 19th century. I loved the first person narration and how curious and determined James was both to learn and to make his way in the world. I’ve read several books set in this time period revolving around the graveyard antics of the underworld, but this was by far my favorite. The romance between James and Nye was the perfect dose of sweetness amidst the fast moving plot, and I love how their queerness wasn’t made a contentious plot line or something James grappled with - his friendship with Nye developed into more in a very believable and heartwarming way. Overall, I absolutely adored this story and will eagerly read whatever the author might write next!

This was a very beautifully written and engaging, twisting turny, dark book. I loved the gothic themes and historical atmosphere. I really loved the characters. I can agree with some reviews the pacing is a bit odd but I loved this debut novel and I’m excited to read more from this author!!

Thanks so much Kensington Publishing via NetGalley for allowing me early access to this book! 🌹🥀

I absolutely adored this debut from A. Rae Dunlap! A huge thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC. The writing style and choice of language instantly transported me to the time and place the story takes place. I felt immediately connected to our protagonist, James; I could envision his life growing up as the odd one out, struggling towards his calling and making a name and a life of his own away from a family more concerned with their reputation and standing in high society than his personal wellbeing. I found myself going through the same mental gymnastics as James as he came into the world of bodysnatching, becoming a Resurrectionist; the warring of social mores with justifications for scientific progress. I loved the progress of his acquaintanceship, partnership, and companionship with Nye. It was at every turn hilarious and heartwarming. There were shocking moments sprinkled throughout so masterfully that it kept me quickly turning the pages to find out what happened next. I highly recommend this book and I truly hope to see some striking special editions in the future!

#TheResurrectionist #NetGalley

This was super interesting! I had no idea about the real life inspiration behind this so that was really fun to learn about and get a fictional view on a real historical event. The writing was also phenomenal I was blown away from the very first page how great the writing was! And I loved the characters and the story and really connected to them.

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap is about a slippery slope of difficult choices in front of a young medical student, set in 1820s Scotland.

James Willoughby is already fighting family expectations when he ends up facing some unexpected financial constraints after a pivot to studying medicine and surgery. Trying to juggle this with the need to get hands-on surgical practice, he finds himself caught up in grave robbing to fill the demand for cadavers. Amongst the dissection and death, love blossoms for him.

This felt like a well-paced and engaging read, with some genuine moments of tension. James’ gradual understanding of what he's committing himself to is a great example of how willing people can be to convince themselves of what they want to believe. There’s lots of grey morality and “at least we're not as bad as those other guys who are doing the same thing for the wrong reasons!”.

The book weaves in elements of true crime. I'd heard of Burke and Hare before, but wasn't very familiar with the case, so you definitely don’t need to know much going in. This isn’t a book for people who are squeamish about some gruesome descriptions of bodies (alive and dead).

There’s a romantic subplot, which I found really compelling. Especially that ‘a-ha’ moment of “oh that's why I find him so captivating”. It would have been really interesting to see more from Nye’s perspective as he clearly has a fascinating backstory, that we only get a few tantalising glimpses of. Overall, strongly recommend for people who enjoy historical dark academia vibes with a slow-burn satisfying romance strand weaving through.

Thank you to Kensington Publishing for giving me an ARC through NetGalley!

What a fun and dark debut! I had a hard time with choosing categories for this book because while there are horror elements, namely body horror, it isn't a true horror. There is a mystery, but it isn't quite a true mystery. The only genres I could confidently list it under is lgbtq, romance, and historical fiction, but if you like historical romance you are probably not looking for a book like this, even if I think you should be.

The book follows James Willoughby, a man from a well off family whose love of medicine takes him away to Edinburgh from the life his family wants him to have in London and quickly finds himself in financial straits leading to a job with the resurrectionists, or body snatchers. Dunlop clearly took great care with the world building and historical parts of the novel, using real world crimes and fictionalizing them for the book which adds an extra layer to the story.

Nye was a fun character and brought levity to the dark story which appreciated and I loved the romance between him and James develop throughout the book. I would have liked a little more time with some of the side characters but there are only so many words you can fit in a book and I feel like if the book was considerably longer I would not have liked it as much.

If you like a plot heavy book with great world building, science, a dash of mystery and horror, and a quippy romance, you'll love this one.

Rated 4.5 rounded up.

The writing style and the humor was good and even though the pacing was slightly off in a few chapters I would def recommend this to someone looking for a slightly gothic dark read

*Rating is actually 3.5 stars but rounded down to 3 in places where half ratings aren’t available*

The Resurrectionist follows James as he enters the world of surgical schools and body snatching in this dark academia/historical gothic novel (with a side of romance)!

Atmospheric in its depictions of 19th century Scotland! The writing style/language also adds to the story and makes the characters feel more realistic. This was an interesting look at the body snatching industry for the purposes of advancing medical/scientific knowledge, and the moral questions that come along with the industry!

It started off well but the last 50% was a total slog 🙃 The novel’s pacing was all over the place, the first 30% or so was great and the last 15% exciting, but the middle slumped and the main action is at the beginning and end of the novel only.

The seriousness of the plot mixed with the funny, loveable moments between the characters was a great balance! But at times it felt like we were missing things as we got long slow burn depictions of the events throughout the book but then we’d skip weeks at a time, coming into a new chapter at what felt like mid scene. While I loved the cast of characters and the main romance, I felt like I was missing pieces of the puzzle for their relationship.

The synopsis talks about Burke and Hare but we don’t see them until towards the end so it led to feeling rushed in that respect of the plot and I feel like the execution could have been better if the novel stuck to the body snatching industry and anatomy schools’ rivalries as opposed to shoehorning in these serial killers into the mix.

Finally, the chapters were too long for my taste so despite how interesting the story was, I often times set it aside because I didn’t want to sit through another 30 minute chapter 😭 Even if the previous chapter ended on a cliffhanger I was preferring to scroll on my phone than continue the book.

Overall it was entertaining and has made me want to research Burke and Hare, as well as 19th century body snatching further, but it fell flat in some areas as well making it a slower read than I anticipated.

I really enjoyed this story. It was beautifully written.

It follows two young men in Scotland in the 1800s. James is a medical student at a university who comes from money, and the Aneurin is a medical assistant at an anatomy school who does not. They form a relationship based on their financial need for one another, but it grows into a real friendship as the story progresses.

There was a lot of development of both characters throughout the story. I enjoyed getting to know the side characters as well. I think they played a pivotal role in the growth of James and Aneurin.

The world was easily imaginable with descriptive writing. It was very macabre, which I absolutely loved.

There were moments of laughter, joy, pure shock, and even sadness. Like my mouth was wide open at one point, and my eyes were watering at another.

Reading The Resurrectionist has led to me a new obsession with this type of story. Truly phenomenal.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest opinion in this review

If I could rate this book higher than 5 stars, I would. For the last 10 pages, I had to get up and pace in my parents' basement room I'm currently staying in. This book was PHENOMENAL.

Firstly, I want to say how the author, A. Rae Dunlap, is brilliant. Reading the Author's Note at the end genuinely made me so happy for a variety of reasons. 1. LOVE Lore. Totally forgotten about the episode on the serial killers, but happily so!! I loved the shock when I realized this was based on something that actually happened, largely. 2. I am assuming the actor Nye was based on was Aneurin Barnard, and I have been a MASSIVE fan of his since The Goldfinch movie, where he played Older Boris. I am beyond obsessed if he was the inspiration, easily seeing Nye's mannerisms and characteristics in my mind through him. 3. The section on media with queer storylines. Not going to lie, hit me hard. It feels as if we have been sliding backwards in regards to outwardly making characters queer. As someone who went through the "Klance" debacle in real-time, that's saying a lot. I've repeatedly been seeing shows and movies hint at there being something romantic between two characters, but leaving it "up to interpretation." I don't want interpretation, I want two men kissing on my TV! So reading about Dunlap's insistence on being sure James and Nye are read as romantic meant so, so much to me. And immediately solidified my endearment with this novel, as if it hadn't been the moment James described Nye using a paragraph of lovely adjectives.

Now, the book itself. I will admit, I am one who loves the aesthetic of dark academia. In part because of my love of reading and books and whatnot, but also because it is just so damn cool looking. So already, off the bat, the vibes of this book were immaculate. Plus, seeing how it was tagged as LGBT+ only made me even more excited. This has been on my NetGalley shelf for months now, as it felt due SO far away I wanted to save it for future-me. But then, you see, I started it, fell in love, and continued to put it off because I didn't want it to end. So now, here I am, frantically typing this review at 11:54 p.m. the night before its publication date. And I am, honestly, devastated that it is over, however the end made me lose my mind a little bit (in a good way!!). Won't spoil, but the gift made me put the book down and rant to my cat about how insanely romantic that is.

On to the plot! I apologize, this review is incredibly long. I don't know how the author did this, but James' voice was incredibly written. I was shocked at how well it seemed to sound in comparison with history and the like, it was a perfect rendition. And not for nothing, either, it completely threw me into the setting and time that the book took place, allowing me to easily find myself falling into the story and out of reality many times. Not only that, but everything historical in general. SO well though out and researched, it's clear the author put a lot of time and energy into making this historically accurate, and it paid off. James' character was also very, very well done. Allowing him to become acquainted with his new job easily, but not in a way that seemed wholly unrealistic. The reader could understand his train of thought, his reasons for accepting the position, as well as the rest of the story. His reactions to his family, to learning the truth of his initial job, etc. Also, that of his many connections and acquaintances, it never felt like any character was just a throw away, or an NPC to deliver a line. They all had purpose, and were all written very well!

Nye was a character I, along with James, absolutely fell in love with. I could tell from the start, that somewhat aloof character with a dazzling smile and a lot of knowledge. Dirk Gently, Howl Pendragon, The Doctor, Neil Perry, Jesper Fahey. And it only worsened with each page. His and James' banter and laughs made me outwardly grin at my Kindle. Although he was a bit... I wouldn't say impulsive, as he felt too calculated for that adjective, but something akin to that. It reminded me frighteningly of myself at times, making huge decisions and assuming I can make it work in the end. Definitely made me go "ohh... That's what it looks like from an outsider's perspective." Nye's love for science and for reason and logic was fascinating to read about, as, although I am not on particularly interested in sciences beyond random deep-dives related to whatever I'm fixated on, I can understand him. The need for logic, to know why something is happening. It's a universal need for anyone, really. And seeing it in a more scientific and literal light, finding out how the body works, was incredible. And very well written, not too many technicalities to make it a tad confusing, but enough to let the reader learn something, depending on their level of knowledge on the topic.

I loved this book. Like, made-a-playlist-for-it loved. Although I am incredibly behind on ARCs, I may have to just accept I'll miss a date and reread it anyways as I already miss the familiarity I grew to feel with it. I can not wait to see more of this author's works, their writing is phenomenal at worst and just incredibly pristine, if that makes any sense to describe writing. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC, I am so thrilled to have had the privilege of reading it

3 out of 5 stars for “The Resurrectionist” by A. Rae Dunlap.

A young man in the 19th century, James wants nothing more than the best medical education money can buy. Unfortunately for him, his father’s passing leaves him with unexpected debt and brand new challenges. He’s already learning to move through the world in a way unfamiliar to him, but now with the introduction of the eccentric Aneurin, even the world itself is being revealed in a whole new light.

I found “The Resurrectionist” to be a difficult book to get into, but I enjoyed it much more after the first few chapters. I’m absolutely glad I stuck with it and I do recommend giving it a try! The gothic, dark atmosphere and fascinating subject matter (along with glorious queer undertones) make for a very interesting journey.

*Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for the ARC!