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The Way of All Flesh cover art

The Way of All Flesh

By: Ambrose Parry
Narrated by: Bryan Dick, Louise Brealey
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Summary

Edinburgh, 1847. City of Medicine, Money, Murder.

Young women are being discovered dead across the Old Town, all having suffered similarly gruesome ends. In the New Town, medical student Will Raven is about to start his apprenticeship with the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson.

Simpson's patients range from the richest to the poorest of this divided city. His house is like no other, full of visiting luminaries and daring experiments in the new medical frontier of anaesthesia. It is here that Raven meets housemaid Sarah Fisher, who recognises trouble when she sees it and takes an immediate dislike to him. She has all of his intelligence but none of his privileges, in particular his medical education.

With each having their own motive to look deeper into these deaths, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh's underworld, where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to make it out alive.

©2018 Ambrose Parry (P)2018 Canongate Books Ltd

Critic reviews

"Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain." (Val McDermid)
"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)
"Utterly compelling, this tale of Old Edinburgh is so full of characters and startling incident that I never wanted it to end." (Denise Mina)

What listeners say about The Way of All Flesh

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  • 27-11-18

Fabulous book

I loved this mix of historical fiction, detective and history of medicine within the vivid setting of Edinburgh. I listened to this after a friend recommended it and will be keen to read much more from this duo! I only wish it had been much longer, I didn’t want it to end.

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8 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great historical background

To begin it takes some time to get into . I was wondering where it is going. I like the historical back ground of Dr Simpson and Ye olde Edinburgh. I guess this ending could lead to a sequel. Is this Chris B writing under a pseudonym?

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story, well told but female narrator was poor

The story of a male midwife who with a housemaid follow the trail of a murderer was well plotted, the characters well developed and very easy to become absorbed by.

The male narrator was superb in his delivery, I looked forward to the chapters where he took-over the story telling however the female narrator had an awkwardness and nasal tone to her delivery that sounded like she was reading the book for the first time.

Overall this was one of the best books I have listened to on audible in terms of story and delivery - much like ‘The Blood’ which I would highly recommend to anyone who also enjoyed this book.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging mix of Edinburgh 19thC fact and fiction

An entertaining combination of the history of Edinburgh obstetrician Dr James Simpson's pioneering work on the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and a fictional story of investigations into a series of deaths of young women. Peopled by convincing characters the two strands work well together and make for an excellent listen ably narrated by two voices. The writing is an authentic-sounding pastiche of Victorian fiction written by modern crime novelist Christopher Brookmyre who vividly evokes the contrast between the genteel world of the Edinburgh New town and the poverty and crime of the Old Town with its dark closes and towering tenements.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Superb historical fiction

Incredibly interesting & well researched historical crime novel. Great narrators. Really looking forward to the next in the series.

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Historical more than Crime

The historical value is excellent, as I know Edinburgh like the back of my hand and of it's past.
The history of midwifery attaining to Professor Simpson was interesting, however, this covered most of the story line and the crime element was quite sparse.
The listening of this book was spoiled for me by having two narrators, it would have been better left to Bryan Dick to tell the whole tale.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Victorian melodrama

An enjoyable romp through Victorian Edinburgh via a murderous path. A cross between Hammer Horror and Conan Doyle, with a touch of penny dreadfuls. Unconvincing way that 21st century sensibilities were brought to bear on mid -19th century awareness in places, eg messages about women's rights were far from subtle and could have been more adept. This lacked the sharpness and insight of some of Brookmyre's other novels, but was an entertaining read set against an jnteresting backdrop showing the historical development of anaesthesia.

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2 people found this helpful

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A Victorian thriller!

I thought it very intriguing and it gave an insight into the Victorian era of medicine and in particular obstetrics. I liked the use of 2 narrators for the 2 protagonists, especially considering the role and view of women of that time.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!

Fantastic story and I loved the old Edinburgh setting along with the historical references. The only part I didn’t like was the two different narrators. No need for it.

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1 person found this helpful

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This would make a great TV series!

Haven’t enjoyed a book like this in a while. Loved the medical history intertwined with the drama.

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1 person found this helpful