Book Review: The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry

The Art of Dying is my second review of 2021 and I'm delighted to say that 2021 books are well and truly off to a great start. I thoroughly enjoyed this historical murder mystery. My stop on the blog tour today is sharing my thoughts on this fantastic book.

REVIEW

Set in Victorian Edinburgh, patients are dying across the city and no doctor able to find a cure even the esteemed Dr James Simpson cannot find the cause. Not only this, but there are whisperings about his part in the death of a patient in suspect circumstances. However his assistant Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah are determined to clear his name. As their investigation gets underway and Will and Sarah plunge in Edinburgh's deadly streets, they discover the real reason for these deaths. 
I am slightly ashamed to admit that I didn't realise The Art of Dying was the sequel to The Ways of the Flesh, but even though I was slightly missing in some of the back story, I quite happily read this as a stand alone.
This book was so atmospheric, it truly transports you to Victorian Edinburgh, along with a sinister undertone setting the scene for the story. This is clearly very well researched and reading about some of the treatments for patients back then and what was used as an anesthetic made me very grateful we have significantly moved on from a lot of these practices.
The characters in The Art of Dying are exquisitely crafted, they each come with their own crosses to bear, giving them a depth I wasn't expecting.
I also really liked the feminist aspect of the book, where the ladies in the story were wanting more than what they were only allowed in life. I hugely admired Sarah for wanting to learn more about medicine, but we get the true attitude to women expressed by another unknown character.
This was a fascinating historical fiction book. I think what I love most about these books is that they teach me so much of history and I get a great story to go with it. I am going to have to go back to the first book.
The Art of Dying is out now

This review was part of The Art of Dying Blog Tour