Reviews - Die Tinktur des Todes

527 reviews for:

Die Tinktur des Todes

Ambrose Parry

3.82 AVERAGE

myweebooknook's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This one’s a murder mystery set in 1840s Edinburgh; an era of relentless medical experimentation and some extremely questionable ethics, especially if you were poor and therefore basically considered disposable.

We follow Raven, a medical student apprenticing under the famous obstetrician Dr Simpson, and Sarah, his boss’s housemaid, who is clever, observant, and frankly much better at this whole detecting business than Raven. When young women start dying mysteriously, including Raven’s friend Evie, the unlikely pair team up, and their investigation drags them deep into Edinburgh’s criminal underbelly.

What I loved most? The setting. You can practically feel the cobblestones under your feet and smell the rank alleyways. Edinburgh here is dark, gritty, and split down the middle: wealth and opulence at one end, crushing poverty at the other. Meanwhile, medicine is teetering on the edge of modern discovery. Anaesthetics are just starting to emerge, there’s experimentation everywhere, and plenty of room for disaster. Or for doctors to do whatever they want.

The murder mystery runs alongside the story of medical research, and I really enjoyed how the two threads constantly intertwined. But be warned: some of the surgical descriptions are truly horrifying. The early scene with a certain obstetric procedure? Genuinely made me boke and close the book for the night. Not for the faint of stomach.

Dark, atmospheric, and gruesome in all the right ways, with just enough light from Raven and Sarah’s partnership to keep you turning the pages.

bagpuss_janet's review against another edition

4.0

Enjoyed this lots! It's a joint effort from husband and wife team Chris Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman. Loved the two narrators. Will definitely listen to the next two in the series (more, if they write them and the series carries on being as good).

bassgirl456's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sevireene's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

oatmilktea's review against another edition

2.5

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Way of All Flesh is a middling historical crime novel. Neither did it seriously offend me, nor did it impress me. I couldn’t empathise with the characters, wasn’t interested in their relationships, and the stakes in the beginning weren’t high enough for me to care. Only on the final 50 pages or so were the stakes properly raised, which was too little, too late. The female characters felt a bit stereotypical (especially Sarah, Mina, and basically all of the sex workers) and the authors didn’t offer a fresh perspective on anything, really. I figured out "whodunit" way too early and

Beattie deceiving women while posing as one kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, because it falls into transphobic narratives to an extent, but I’ll assume this wasn’t done in bad faith.

This novel is well researched, however, and if you’re interested in medical history, especially in the fields of obstetrics and anaesthetics, in 19th century Edinburgh, The Way of All Flesh might be a good pick for you. I appreciate the attention to detail concerning the setting and the historical figures as well as the real medical cases.

I was initially furious at Sarah for drinking the tea because she was clearly suspicious two sentences prior, and so relieved once she explained she hadn’t done it. The tea coming full circle in this story was a nice touch.

The Way of All Flesh is not terrible, I just found it bland and it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Content Warnings