The Art of Dying

Written by Ambrose Parry

Narrated by Louise Brealey, Bryan Dick and Jayne Mckenna

The next in the series of gripping historical crime novels from bestselling author Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman, set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh

Edinburgh, 1849. Hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. And a whispering campaign seeks to paint Dr James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform, as a murderer.

Determined to clear Simpson’s name, his protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher must plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets and find out who or what is behind the deaths. Soon they discover that the cause of the
deaths has evaded detection purely because it is so unthinkable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781705042274

Ambrose Parry

Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The couple are married and live in Scotland. Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of twenty-one novels, including Black Widow, winner of both the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year. Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, whose research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which this novel was based.

Reviews for The Art of Dying

[jamespurcell · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Dr. Raven has become a boring and tiresome character. Too bad, I enjoyed the first book.

[ahs7wolfy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

After continuing his education in Europe Will Raven returns to Edinburgh to take up the recently vacated post of assistant to the renowned Dr. James Simpson. Things have changed considerably at his former practice with Sarah now married to another doctor and Simpson has become the target of the rumour mill concerning a patient that died under his care. It may fall to Will & Sarah to once again don their investigative hats and get to the root of the malicious lies being used to try and destroy their patron.This is the second novel in the historical crime series by the writing husband and wife team of Chris Brookmyre & Marisa Haetzman. Set in mid-19th century Edinburgh after the recent discovery of chloroform for which Simpson’s reputation has increased. A lot of the incidental events in the book actually happened but the investigation itself along with the two main protagonists are fictional and the crime itself while being based on real events has been moved in both time and location. It’s a bit of a slow build of the mystery but that does mean we get to see and feel what things were like for the time period. This is especially true for the social norms of the times with how genders are treated differently and the class structure very much set in place. Although this is a self-contained story I’d still recommend picking up the first book in the series prior to reading this one as there are character/relationship developments that carry over.

[vesper1931 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dr Will Raven has returned to Edinburgh and Dr James Simpson's household, only to find Sarah married and Dr Simpson under suspicion concerning the death of a patient. But what they uncover is even more unlikely.
An entertaining and well-written Victorian mystery with its mixture of detecting and the hint of romance. Add to this mix a cast of interesting characters and overall it makes for an enjoyable read.
A NetGalley Book

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second in a historical fiction crime series set in the Victorian Era in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1849. In the previous book, The Way of All Flesh, which took place two years earlier, Will Raven, at age 19, was newly apprenticed to the eminent physician James Simpson (an actual figure from real life), who specialized in gynecology, or as it was known then, midwifery. Simpson was also famous for his discovery of chloroform which transformed surgical practice at the time.Now Will is a doctor, having spent time abroad studying at top medical schools on the continent, and Dr. Simpson has offered him the position of his new assistant. When he returns, he is both astonished and dismayed to find out that Sarah, a former housemaid to Dr. Simpson, was now married and also serving as an assistant for Dr. Simpson’s clinic. Before Raven left, he and Sarah had something of a relationship, but Raven, bound by ideas of “propriety” believed there could be no future with a housemaid, and had not even contacted Sarah since he left. He could not forget her, however, and found that his feelings for Sarah, now Mrs. Banks, had not diminished. Shockingly, to Raven’s mind, Sarah’s husband Archie was a doctor but cared little for social opinion over his relationship with Sarah. He had told her, “Life is too short to be held back from pursuing one’s wishes by something as vapid as what other people might think.” In this he was the opposite of Will Raven.When Raven returns, Sarah tries to enlist his help to redeem Dr. Simpson’s reputation after one of his patient’s died unexpectedly. In fact, there are a number of unexpected deaths occurring, and the narration alternates with a woman who is a killer, and whose identity we only learn late into the story.At first Raven resists Sarah’s entreaties; he is still overly concerned with his own reputation. Other complications weave through the plot: So much about the human body was still a mystery and perplexing those who dedicated their lives to healing; Raven was still involved with a loan shark who retained power over him; there was money going missing from Dr. Simpson’s household; something was wrong with Sarah’s husband; and Raven was struggling with being in such close proximity with Sarah. By the time Raven finally joins Sarah in trying to get to the bottom of what is killing patients, and finally lets his reason temper his ego in determining the cause, it may be too late for all of them, for they are all in danger.The authors conclude with a Historical Note, in which they state that many of the characters and incidents depicted are based on real events and real people, and they provide examples.Discussion: It should be noted that Ambrose Parry is the pseudonym for the married couple Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Brookmyre has written over twenty novels for which he has won a number of awards, and Dr. Haetzman is a consultant anesthetist. The information provided on the authors explained that Dr. Haetzman uncovered the material for this novel while doing research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine.This book was shortlisted for the 2019 McIlvanney Prize (Bloody Scotland’s annual prize awarded to the best Scottish Crime book of the year) and longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (one of the UK's top crime-fiction awards).Evaluation: Although there were two authors writing this novel (see Discussion, above), the writing was seamless. The Edinburgh setting appealed to me, as well as the evolution of the main characters. There were a number of twists, and the ending caught me by surprise.