Ambrose Parry is the pseudonym for the husband and wife team of Chris Brookmyre, an award winning crime writer, and Dr Marisa Haetzman, a consultant anaesthetist. They combine their talents and expertise to great effect in this story set in mid 1800s Edinburgh, a time when the discovery of chloroform opened the door for safer and more humane surgery.
Enter one Will Raven, a young medical student apprenticed to work for a brilliant doctor specialising in delivering babies, using ether when required. Will arrives troubled by the death of a prostitute and friend, her body contorted to suggest she was poisoned. Other prostitutes have met a similar fate. This isn’t his only problem. The night before he’s to begin his apprenticeship, he is set upon by thugs working for a loan shark. He turns up at Dr Simpson’s house filthy, wounded and dishevelled, but the eccentric doctor doesn’t seem particularly bothered, as there’s work to be done.
Our other main character is Sarah Fisher, a housemaid in the Simpson household who comes from a family of healers. She helps out in Simpson’s clinic when her long list of household duties allow, and soon forms a dislike of Raven who is surprised by her chutzpah. Sarah is just as smart as Raven, but held back by her place in society and by being a woman. Raven arrives with secrets and the burden of having to appeal to a miserly uncle to fund his studies.
Sarah tramped along Princes Street several paces behind Mina, giving her an interrupted view of the dirt that was becoming attached to Mina’s skirt. She was effectively sweeping the pavement with her numerous petticoats. Sarah added the cleaning of these to the perpetually lengthening list of chores that she would be expected to complete by the end of the day. She thought of Sisyphus and his giant boulder, condemned for all eternity to engage in an ultimately pointless task.
The two main characters become awkward allies in their determination to find who is murdering at-risk women when a maid Sarah is acquainted with becomes the next victim. The story bounces along with several subplots, including Simpson’s eventual use of chloroform, following a hilarious scene where the young doctors of the house and one or two others experiment on themselves. Peppered through it all are scenes of women in labour and babies being delivered. Some of these are tragic and grim, others with happier outcomes. Fortunately, the authors know when to hold back on the details, but it still makes you think how lucky we are to enjoy the benefits of modern medicine.
I loved the characters of Raven and Sarah, the way they bounce off each other, both struggling to be make their way in the medical world. Raven’s loan-shark thugs lurk, ready to do more damage, and there’s also the tension of a killer at large poised to strike again. We get a look into new technologies, in pharmaceuticals and also the burgeoning art of photography. It all brings the period to life, and descriptions of the streets Edinburgh are also evocatively rendered.
The Way of All Flesh is the first book about Raven and Fisher, and was such a brilliant read I rattled through it every chance I got. There are now five books in the series, which has garnered a bunch of nominations for Dagger Awards and the McIllvanney Prize. I love a well put-together historical mystery and this one ticks all the boxes. It’s a four-and-a-half-star read from me.
