A Corruption of Blood

Description

Edinburgh. This city will bleed you dry. Dr Will Raven is a man seldom shocked by human remains, but even he is disturbed by the contents of a package washed up at the Port of Leith. Stranger still, a man Raven has long detested is pleading for his help to escape the hangman. Back at 52 Queen Street, Sarah Fisher has set her sights on learning to practise medicine. Almost everyone seems intent on dissuading her from this ambition, but when word reaches her that a woman has recently obtained a medical degree despite her gender, Sarah decides to seek her out. Raven's efforts to prove his erstwhile adversary's innocence are failing and he desperately needs Sarah's help. Putting their feelings for one another aside, their investigations will take them to both extremes of Edinburgh's social divide, where they discover that wealth and status cannot alter a fate written in the blood. Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain." VAL McDERMID "Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted and immaculately realised, these thrillers pull off the most difficult double-whammy of all: beneath blood and butchery so real they almost stain the pages lie both heart and soul . . . Wherever Parry takes them, I'll follow" -- MICK HERRON "A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19th-century Edinburgh. The book brings both city and period to colourful life and is a joy to read" -- IAN RANKIN ― Guardian "Menacing, witty and ingeniously plotted, Ambrose Parry's debut draws you into the dark heart of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and won't let you go until the final page" -- S.J. PARRIS "Gleeful, romping . . . The fog and stench of Edinburgh's Old Town definitely jump off the page . . . The central relationship between loveable rogue Raven and proto-feminist Fisher is the beating heart of The Art of Dying. Both characters are drawn with real empathy and nuance, and their complicated feelings for each other drive the book as much as the smart storylines. A great piece of storytelling" ― Big Issue "An astonishing debut. The dark and dangerous past is brought thrillingly to life. I can't wait to read more of Raven and Sarah" -- MARK BILLINGHAM "Utterly compelling, this tale of Old Edinburgh is so full of characters and startling incident that I never wanted it to end" -- DENISE MINA "A thoroughly entertaining tale of murder and misadventure in 1840s Edinburgh" ― Sunday Times "Full of twists and turns - a great read" ― Evening Times "A dynamic new arrival . . . Ambrose Parry's The Way of All Flesh is set in an 1840s Edinburgh where new science and old beliefs rub shoulders. Its twisty gothic plot is based on grisly real events" -- NICCI FRENCH ― Observer