My favourite of the series so far
A Corruption of Blood is the third instalment of Ambrose Parry's 'Raven, Fisher and Simpson' series, all of which have been solid four-star reviews for me so far.
Ambrose Parry is the pen name for a husband and wife team - Chris Brookmyre, a crime novelist and Dr Marisa Heitzman, a consultant anaesthetist. The novels are historical fiction, grounded with real characters and settings, set in Edinburgh in Dr Simpson's household. Although previous books I have lamented felt a little dry in terms of too much medical knowledge, this third offering felt a lot more like a crime thriller than the others and I really enjoyed it.
The characters are always interesting, and the text alternates chapters from the perspectives of Raven: a doctor's assistant with a darker side and Sarah: newly widowed and trying to make a career for herself in the very male dominated world of medicine. In this book, Raven tries to exonerate a friend from the murder of his father and Sarah tries to get to the bottom of a baby-farmer who has set up shop in the town. Both plot strands mingle nicely and both sides are just as interesting and engaging. All the characters felt very well-drawn, although there are sometimes quite a lot of characters introduced, which helped to keep things nicely muddied and made it hard to guess who was responsible for the murder until right near the end.
There is of course, plenty of character development within this book. Sarah goes abroad to speak to the first woman to gain a medical qualification and finds that her prospects might not be all she imagined they were. Raven is courting a woman with a mysterious past. The two are still love interests and so the restraint and 'will-they-won't-they' is still an interesting read. There is a massive event in this book which felt almost glossed over and I'm sure will complicate things going forward. It isn't a happy book, and the characters don't seem to get the endings they want but the ones they must have in society at the time.
With more of an emphasis on the crime thriller elements of the story, 'A Corruption of Blood' was my favourite read of the series so far. Thank you to NetGalley & Canongate Books for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
