#Blogtour The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry.  The fifth instalment in the thrilling Raven and Fisher series. written by Ambrose Parry, the husband and wife duo of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. Paperback published 4th June 2026 by Canongate books. Tour courtesy of Random Things Tours.

About the Author/s

Chris Brookmyre is an internationaly bestseling and multi-award-winning author and Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience. The couple teamed up to write a series of historical crime thrillers, featuring the darkest of Victorian Edinburgh’s secrets. 

The Way of All Flesh was a Waterstones Thriller and Scottish Crime Book of the Month, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Award and shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The Art of Dying and A Corruption of Blood were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. A Corruption of Blood was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2022. In 2024, Voices of the Dead was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger and their short story A Spendthrift and the Swallow was shortlisted for the CWA Short Dagger Award. Follow @ambroseparry on X or on bsky.app/profile

About the book

When you are a prisoner of your secrets, the death of shame is the only path to liberty. Annabel Banks was promised work as a maid with a prestigious Edinburgh family. But on her first day, she’s nowhere to be found. Concerned relatives contact Sarah Fisher to help. Sarah might know her way around the city – its light sides and dark – but soon she’ll discover the plight of dozens of girls ensnared in its many brothels: lured, abused and left ruined in the eyes of the world.

Meanwhile, a prominent society figure throws himself from the Scott Monument. Will Raven is asked to establish whether the death was suicide or if someone else was involved. Drawing upon real historical events, The Death of Shame takes the Raven and Fisher series into a treacherous labyrinth of shame and the pitfalls of a culture obsessed with moral purity.

Review

It should come as no surprise that the exploitation of women is a highly profitable business in any era or place in history, and this story features said exploitation in the Victorian era. Perhaps not as visible due to a clear separation between money, class and status, never the twain shall meet unless someone wants to profit from the exploitation.

Ambrose Parry (husband and wife writig duo) have created a popular historical crime fiction series that has left its mark. The combination of social constrictions and expectations, with complex ever evolving characters, whilst battling the scandals and crimes in the Victorian era.

Raven is tasked with, or rather tasks himself, with solving the death of someone close to him. The relevations lead him on a dangerous path, one he can't really afford to be on because his marriage is already fragile. Meanwhile Fisher is drawn into a despicable quagmire of exploitation and despair. Eyes wide shut, as they say.

I recommend reading the historical note the author/s added. It really gives the story that added layer of depth and comprehension, even the title they picked. It also gives the reader a certain element of comparison - the beginning and roots of both media and technology in crime and exploitation of the vulnerable and the powerful, then look at the sevenheaded hydra of corruption it has become.

I have to say the ending was unexpected, and yet also the right way to go from a developent perspective. It opens the doors to Fisher and Raven, it might not fall into place, but it brings them out of the tightly knitted corner they were wedged into.

It's always an enjoyable read and experience, may there be many more.

Buy The Death of Shame at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Canongate Books, Publication date: ‎4 Jun. 2026. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry.

About the Author/s

Ambrose Parry is the penname for two authors – the internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, Dr Marisa Haetzman. Inspired by the gory details Haetzman uncovered during her History of Medicine degree, the couple teamed up to write a series of historical crime thrillers, featuring the darkest of Victorian Edinburgh’s secrets. 

They are married and live in Scotland. The Way of All Flesh, The Art of Dying and A Corruption of Blood were shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. A Corruption of Blood was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2022. Follow @ambroseparry on Twitter

About the book

Edinburgh, 1853. In a city of science, discovery can be deadly . . . In a time of unprecedented scientific discovery, the public’s appetite for wonder has seen a resurgence of interest in mesmerism, spiritualism and other unexplained phenomena.

Dr Will Raven is wary of the shadowlands that lie between progress and quackery, but Sarah Fisher can’t afford to be so picky. Frustrated in her medical ambitions, she sees opportunity in a new therapeutic field not already closed off to women.

Raven has enough on his hands as it is. Body parts have been found at Surgeons' Hall, and they’re not anatomy specimens. In a city still haunted by the crimes of Burke and Hare, he is tasked with heading off a scandal. When further human remains are found, Raven is able to identify a prime suspect, and the hunt is on before he kills again. Unfortunately, the individual he seeks happens to be an accomplished actor, a man of a thousand faces and a renowned master of disguise. With the lines between science and spectacle dangerously blurred, the stage is set for a grand and deadly illusion . . .

Review

I'm not sure about the relationship between Sarah and Raven anymore. I think in the beginning, at least that's the way I remember it, the pull between them was strong and the interactions more playful. There was perhaps a certain expectation of a relationship, and yet as the series has grown the further the two of them have grown apart. Ambition, societal expectations, the disappointment of the realisation that being a mere mortal comes with miscalculations and mistakes - it starts to chip away at the relationship between the two of them. 

Raven can be a bit of a strange one, he doesn't always fit the description of the perfect one that just happens to be bound with wife and child. There is perhaps a level of manipulation, you can't have everything you want and tick all the boxes society wants you to at the same time.

It does however make him the perfect person to be thrown into the deep end of the exploratory, advancing and ever evolving field of surgical medical care. What appears to us now as insanity, experimental hazards and playing with human life as if they were all just subjects in a rather large laboratory, was set in stone as the experienced surgeon and medical men doing their utmost to save their patients.

Throwing mystery, murder and mayhem into the mix by weaving historical fact from the profession with the depravity of crime plus the fascination with the world of the occult and the fraudulent practises of the surgical use of mesmerism - it makes for a fascinating read. This author duo never disappoints when it comes to a riveting read.

Buy Voices of the Dead at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Canongate Books; pub date 15 Jun. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.

#Blogtour The Medici Murders by David Hewson

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Medici Murders by David Hewson.

About the Author

David Hewson is a former journalist with The Times, Sunday Times and Independent. He is the author of more than twenty-five novels, including his Rome-based Nic Costa series which has been published in fifteen languages, and his Amsterdam-based series featuring detective Pieter Vos. He has also written three acclaimed adaptations of the Danish TV series, The Killing. He lives near Canterbury in Kent. Follow @david_hewson on Twitter, Visit davidhewson.com

About the book

Venice is a city full of secrets. For hundreds of years it has been the scene of scandal, intrigue and murderous rivalries. And it remains so today. 1548, Lorenzino de Medici, himself a murderer and a man few will miss, is assassinated by two hired killers.

Today, Marmaduke Godolphin, British TV historian and a man even fewer will miss, is stabbed by a stiletto blade on the exact same spot, his body dropping into the canal.

Can the story of the first murder explain the attack on Godolphin? The Carabinieri certainly think so. They recruit retired archivist Arnold Clover to unpick the mystery and to help solve the case. But the conspiracy against Godolphin runs deeper than anyone imagined.

Review

When the reader starts this journey into the investigation or clarification of the death of Marmaduke Godolphin, it seems to be an almost normal thing thing for Capitano Fabbri to ask for help from someone who knew him - knew of him. Is it though? In what way could a simple archivist possibly contribute to unravelling the mystery surrounding the demise of Godolphin, unless of course there really is a connection between a assassination of a de Medici committed many centuries ago.

Towards the end I felt as if Capitano Valentina Fabbri was perhaps from the very beginning of the story an instinctive and astute Columbo, but with an element of compassion where the law should supersede the emotional context of the scenario or crime.

Only a small side note: Valentina should have laughed not giggled, it's not in keeping with her character. The assertive, confident person insistent on being viewed as without the usual stereotypical traits society deems womanly and in equal measures as a sign of weakness in comparison to men - she would have laughed.

I enjoyed the way past, present and the surroundings soaked in centuries of both told and untold history are woven into the fabric of the story, thereby elevating the characters just ever so slightly from their imposing background drop and the baggage that walks along with them.

It reminded me in some ways of Dibdin mastery, who also had this talent for enhancing story and character with art and history. I'd be interested in seeing whether Valentina, Arnold and hopefully Luca, will continue to enthral us with tales of mystery, vengeance and the fragility of human nature.

Buy The Medici Murders at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Canongate books;  Publication date: 4th May 2023 - Paperback £9.99 - eBook £4.79. Buy at Amazon com.

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry is historical crime fiction that blends fact and fiction perfectly to create a compelling read.

About the Author/s
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 over twenty novels, including Black Widow, winner of both the Theakston 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. The Way of All Flesh is the first book in the series, The Art of Dying is the second in this historical crime series.

Follow @ambroseparry on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy The Art of Dying

About the book
Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson - a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances.

Simpson's protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron's name. But with Raven battling against the dark side of his own nature, and Sarah endeavouring to expand her own medical knowledge beyond what society deems acceptable for a woman, the pair struggle to understand the cause of the deaths.

Will and Sarah must unite and plunge into Edinburgh's deadliest streets to clear Simpson's name. But soon they discover that the true cause of these deaths has evaded suspicion purely because it is so unthinkable.

Review
This is the second book featuring Sarah Fisher and Will Raven. If you haven't read The Way of All Flesh I highly recommend it, however it is worth noting that both books can be read as standalone novels.

A few years have passed since Raven and Fisher solved their first crimes and went their separate ways. For some reason Raven seems to think swanning off to embark on a prestigious path of education for quite some time made time come to a complete standstill where Sarah is concerned. I truly believe he expected to find her still working as a housemaid for Dr Simpson.

Not that it isn't an assumption that wouldn't usually be true of a young woman in that era, however he seems to have forgotten just how ambitious Sarah is. In a way Raven is also guilty of adhering to the patriarchal systems and automatically presuming Sarah will not advance in her own endeavours to educate herself and become part of the medical establishment.

Sarah the housemaid is now Sarah the respectable wife of a man who supports her ambitions and thirst for knowledge. The fact Sarah isn't found pining and waiting awakens Raven to his feelings for her.

This time the two of them are caught up in a malicious campaign to ruin the career of a man they both respect. Little do they know that behind all the whispers something and someone more nefarious lurks.

It's historical crime fiction that blends fact and fiction perfectly to create a compelling read. Parry is right up there with Sansom and Perry, although I would argue that Parry focuses on medical crime of the time period and is less inclined to pull pure political machinations into the plot.

The series is entertaining and riveting, and at times also an intriguing learning experience, which is the best kind of historical fiction.

Buy The Art of Dying at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Canongate Books; pub date 29 Aug. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Hive.co.uk

Read my review of The Way of All Flesh  Buy The Way of All Flesh

#BlogTour The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Way of the Flesh by Ambrose Parry. It's historical crime fiction with accurate historical facts, strong characters and a compelling plot.

About the Author
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 over twenty novels, including Black Widow, winner of both the Theakston 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. The Way of All Flesh is the first book in the series.

Follow @ambroseparry on Twitter,
Buy The Way of All Flesh

About the book
Edinburgh, 1847. Will Raven is a medical student, apprenticing for the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Sarah Fisher is Simpson’s housemaid, and has all of Raven’s intelligence but none of his privileges. As bodies begin to appear across the Old Town, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld. And if either of them are to make it out alive, they will have to work together to find out who’s responsible for the gruesome deaths.

Review
Ambrose Parry is the pseudonym of a writing duo who have combined their respective talents to create this compelling crime fiction. Parry reminds me of Anne Perry, CJ Sansom and Laura Shepherd-Robinson. The fluid combination of historical facts and intriguing fiction with a great cast of characters.

Will Raven and Sarah Fisher seem like an unlikely sleuthing duo at first glance. They butt heads, because Raven acts like a boorish snob and Fisher oversteps the boundaries of her station. The truth is the two of them probably have more in common than they realise, aside from both of them living in a slightly eccentric household. Raven stumbles across a connection in a series of deaths, which propels the both of them into the dangerous path of quite ruthless individuals.

What drives this story is the medical history, discoveries and advancement made during that era, whilst the crime element of the story flows smoothly alongside. Simultaneously Parry shows the gender inequality and how society tries to repress the intellect,  and educational and career development of women.

The majority of well-researched historical fiction, even crime fiction, will often include facts or events that readers may previously have been unaware of or had little knowledge of. I like that aspect of reading, the feeling of acquiring something, whilst enjoying the worlds created and penned by others.

However those facts or events can be shocking, disturbing and unpleasant at times. I would certainly put some of the elements and scenes from this story into those categories. In particular the details surrounding the birthing process, in particular the craniotomy procedure. Reading it made me glad I had my children in the 20th and 21st century, although maternal mortality rates, stillbirth and infant mortality are still quite high considering we are in the 21st century. We have come a long way since the barbaric methods tested, tried and used in previous centuries.

It's historical crime fiction with accurate historical facts, strong characters and a compelling plot. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series and hope this is the first of many more.

Buy The Way of All Flesh at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Canongate Books; pub date 30 April 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Waterstones.

Raven and Fisher will return in The Art of Dying, publishing in hardback 29.08.19.