London, 1867, class-consciousness, PTSD, entitled-attitude, family, medical-doctor, medical-examiner, historical-fiction, historical-mystery, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, greed, suspense, law-enforcement, artist, serial-murder, misogynistic-era, misogyny, art-critic, art-exhibition, Scotland Yard, dyes, suicide, investigations, murders*****

Paris Green is deadly.
Dr. Julia Lewis is an MD schooled in America who has a clinic and is a Medical Examiner in London. DI Richard Tennant has proved to be an ally as they are both Crimean War veterans and have a strong need for justice. The murders and social problems that underlaid them were the abuses of single women who were lured from posing clothed for artists to the consumption of laudanum that put them at risk for other non-consensual activities which led to their deaths. While digging into these particular women's deaths they found too many things that "nice people" just don't want to talk about. Good lessons in social history in Victorian times as well as solid investigations.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Kensington Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Feb 25, 2025
#ASlashofEmerald #NetGalley #DrJuliaLewisMysteriesBk2

Another excellent book in the Dr. Julia Lewis series. A dark look at the Victorian era’s organized sex slavery and treatment of women. This was classic murder mystery, with less guts and gore than Murder By Lamplight, the first in the series.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC.

Dr. Julia Lewis and Inspector Richard Tennant are back with a new case, only a few weeks after their first. This time, the investigation involves murdered artists’ sitters, with plenty of twists and turns that make for a great read. The case takes interesting directions, and the subtle inclusion of historical details added a layer of authenticity to the story. I especially appreciated how the case concluded.
However, my main issue was that, despite the series being called the “Dr. Julia Lewis series,” Julia’s presence in this book felt rather limited. Inspector Tennant takes the lead throughout most of the plot, with only occasional insights from Julia. While the story itself was engaging, I had expected more chapters from Julia’s perspective and found myself constantly waiting for her parts. I love her character and just wish she had been more prominent in this book.
The cliffhanger ending also left me a bit confused, but I’m still curious to see where the series will take Julia and Richard next. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next book!
I would like to thank NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and the author Patrice Mcdonough for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This thrilling series started with A Murder by Lamplight and continues with this episode A Slash of Emerald. Both books are well researched and immersive, you can almost see the fog and smell the coal fires. The story continues to follow Doctor Lewis and Inspector Tennant in another case. Excellent entertaining book, looking forward to more.

A Victorian mystery which touches on some of the contentious issues of the day.
A Slash of Emerald in book two in a series of Victorian mysteries, centred around Dr Julia Lewis. Julia is unusual in that she was a female doctor (trained in America) practising in England via a loophole in UK law (women were not permitted to train as doctors at the time).
The enlightened Inspector Richard Tennant calls upon Julia to perform the physical examination of women detained under the Contagious Diseases Act. The worlds of medicine, art, and detection become entangled after a near fatal accident involving a doyen of the art world and his sister, an artist.
The emerald referred to in the title is the green paint used by artists, which contains a high arsenic content. Needless to say there is a mysterious death by poisoning with green pigment and some bizarre vandalism of artworks involving emerald paint. The story also follows the murder and disappearance of artists models, some shady pornographic art works, and a despicable trade in trafficked women.
There is much to like about A Slash of Emerald. The highlights are the Victorian setting and that real hot topics of the day formed part of the plot line (such as the controversial Contagious Diseases Act and the age of consent being 12.) The story has a strong premise and the interwoven strands were neatly knitted together.
This was so close to being a great read, but for me just didn’t quite get there. It’s hard to pin down why, but perhaps it was a nagging impression that Julia led a comfortable existence flitting between the occasional patient and being summoned to do the odd post mortem. She seemed to have a remarkable amount of spare time in which to pursue investigations and with very little at stake personally. Just a minor gripe, but one that wouldn’t go away and stopped me getting more engaged.
A 3.5 star read, rounded up to a 4.

Another enjoyable victorian mystery, the 2nd in the series. Engaging mystery and I didn't guess the killer at all. I hope to see more books in the series.

A Slash of Emerald is the second book featuring Dr Julia Lewis and Inspector Richard Tennant. Female physicians are extremely rare in 1867 London, but Julia earned her degree in America and has taken over her grandfather’s medical practice. She has assisted the police at the request of Inspector Tennant on several cases and she once again is drawn in to help him when several murders occur connected to the London art scene. The plight of females in this era is highlighted as shopgirls go missing, artists’ models are murdered, and women of all ages are forced into prostitution among other horrible situations. The author manages to create interesting characters, authentic historical details, and a twisty plot that kept me turning pages. The ending was a bit of an emotional surprise and I cannot wait to read the next book to see what happens next. #NetGalley. #ASlashofEmerald

This is the second entry in the Dr. Julia Lewis' series.

Well written and well plotted as the first one, it will not disappoint the lovers of historical mysteries.

This one kept me on my toes until the very end, I would never have guessed the culprit!

A page turner, really difficult to put down, and on top of that the huge cliffhanger it ends on has left me wanting for more!

I have received an advance copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily, thanks to the author for it.

A Slash of Emerald by Patrice Mcdonough

Thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 25th, 2025.

This Victorian London mystery really grew on me with its abundance of female characters pursuing professions and activities still unusual at the time (1867). Julia Lewis is a doctor and medical examiner who is called on to do post-mortems on women and to inspect suspected prostitutes for venereal disease (!) I love the historical note that Julia — trained in the US — is able to practice medicine in Britain (where medical schools do not admit women) though a loophole: Parliament added doctors with foreign degrees to the medical register in 1858 without specifying that they had to be men. Absolutely delightful piece of (real world) trivia! She is paired with the rather open-minded Inspector Tennant in this second installment of the Dr. Julia Lewis Mysteries.

This episode centers on the art world of Victorian England, the narrative flowing between competition for the Royal Academic annual exhibition and the frustrations of the female artists who wish to pursue art as a profession, rather than a genteel pastime. I enjoyed the fully fleshed out setting which opened an entire world of models, studios, galleries, technique, and inspiration with just enough well-researched detail. I particularly enjoyed the comment of one artist who pointed out that the best models were actresses who were able to channel the painter’s intention while posing.

Decent writing, strong women characters, and full marks for an historical setting that is detailed, interesting, and accurate. I’m going back to read book number one!

Once again, incredible & meticulous historical research was executed here to create the murky but spellbinding backdrop and pave the way for all sorts of intriguing, and some sinister, characters.

Great mystery element and sense of thrill. Pacing was more rampant in the first half and then slowed a tiny bit too languidly in the second, however, the attention to detail was never lost and the urgency to put all the puzzle pieces together never faded.

Very curious to see what the future holds for Doctor Julia Lewis and Inspector Tennant with the way that the story ended. Hopefully their stories continue in a book 3. Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the digital ARC!

I'm a huge fan of historical murder mysteries with female protagonists... and this is one of those. And it was so enjoyable, I'm on the lookout for the author's first book. Quick read; good characters; and will Dr Lewis EVER hook up with Inspector Richard? Fun!

Dr. Julia Lewis and Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Tennant are on the case again in the riveting A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough. For the second volume in the series, the Victorian duo are investigating deaths related to the art world, but then are driven into a bigger, and even more sinister, mystery as well.

I had really thoroughly enjoyed the first installment to this series, and this one captivated me even more! McDonough not only has written an intriguing case and mystery - which is fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat - but also is fantastic at characterization. One thing I think a lot of mystery series writers shy away from is bringing up past events that happened in the prior novels because they want the books to be able to be read more or less in any order, but McDonough does a great job touching upon them that for me as a reader of the first book makes perfect sense, but also summarizes it in a way that make it understandable to a new reader to not put them off. That said, I think they will be likely to seek out the first volume anyway, because this book is that good.

The way that both Julia and Richard are written is with care, and as someone who reads this genre a lot, I like how while many of these tropes have of course been done so any times, McDonough presents them in way that feels fresh even though familiar. I love that we are still building upon their pasts, and fleshing them out even more as we go on, and I look forward to their future developments. The side characters are interesting as well, and add to the series. I also love the descriptions of the settings that really make you feel like you are in 1860s London, and not just vaguely Victorian.

This ending of the book is definitely set up for a third installment, and I have to admit it was a little infuriating to have the cliffhanger, but it's a testament to the writing and the characters that I am left craving more!

(I will note that I did catch a few grammar/spelling/formatting errors that I assume will be fixed before finalized draft, but it did not take away from reading this ARC).

I recommend this series to fans of historical mysteries with a romantic undertone, and I do believe it's one of the best ones currently being published.

5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for providing this copy, which was given in exchange for a fair and honest review.