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A review by daniellestarredpages
The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Isobel Tait was an amazing protagonist to follow, and Fixsen should be applauded for the character work in this book.
The emotional toll this tragedy took on Isobel was well described, and her behaviour reflected this throughout the book. At first, I was worried about how Isobel would get away with being the Doctor's housekeeper when he met her in person and there was a public incident at a viewing of his specimens, but the author wrote a brilliant character and included very believable scenarios to explain how Isobel got away with her "espionage".
I mentioned before that I loved following Isobel, but the reason was that she was such an intelligent character. The author didn't try to add tension or increase the length of the book by having Isobel make stupid decisions that put her in danger or have her fail to execute poorly thought-out plans. Isobel was a very methodical character, and she covered all her bases and planned and reacted appropriately to the situations she found herself in.
Through a connection with Isobel and the case of her son, we begin to follow the detective who is actually interested in solving the case. He was another brilliant character who was written to be intelligent as well as kind. I enjoyed his side plots just as much as Isobel's time living and working in the doctor's house.
This book tackled the very dark history surrounding medicine, specifically anatomy in the 1800s, and in my opinion, it did a very good job giving a perspective of the family members left behind after these crimes.
While I enjoyed my entire reading experience, I do think the ending was a bit rushed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for an ARC of this book.
The emotional toll this tragedy took on Isobel was well described, and her behaviour reflected this throughout the book. At first, I was worried about how Isobel would get away with being the Doctor's housekeeper when he met her in person and there was a public incident at a viewing of his specimens, but the author wrote a brilliant character and included very believable scenarios to explain how Isobel got away with her "espionage".
I mentioned before that I loved following Isobel, but the reason was that she was such an intelligent character. The author didn't try to add tension or increase the length of the book by having Isobel make stupid decisions that put her in danger or have her fail to execute poorly thought-out plans. Isobel was a very methodical character, and she covered all her bases and planned and reacted appropriately to the situations she found herself in.
Through a connection with Isobel and the case of her son, we begin to follow the detective who is actually interested in solving the case. He was another brilliant character who was written to be intelligent as well as kind. I enjoyed his side plots just as much as Isobel's time living and working in the doctor's house.
This book tackled the very dark history surrounding medicine, specifically anatomy in the 1800s, and in my opinion, it did a very good job giving a perspective of the family members left behind after these crimes.
While I enjoyed my entire reading experience, I do think the ending was a bit rushed.
Thank you to Netgalley and Poison Pen Press for an ARC of this book.
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail