A Corruption of Blood

This is the third in the historical medical crime series written by married couple Chris Brookmyre and Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pen name Ambrose Parry. The story is fictional, but some of the characters are real, including Dr Simpson, the discoverer of the anaesthetic properties of chloroform.

The book begins with a gruesome discovery, the body of a strangled child found in Leith harbour, as Dr Will Raven happens to be passing. This acts as an introduction to the dilemma of unwed women who fall pregnant, condemned by a warped Victorian morality. Raven and his friend Sarah Fisher follow the trail of someone who takes money from such mothers, promising a good home for the children they cannot acknowledge publicly.

As a protege of the famous Dr Simpson, Raven attends a celebration at the home of Sir Ainsley Douglas, a wealthy and powerful patron of socially acceptable causes. Sir Ainsley is manipulative and is on bad terms with several people, including his son Gideon. When Douglas is found dead next morning, apparently poisoned, McLevy of the Edinburgh police arrests Gideon for murder.

Raven has fallen for Eugenie, daughter of an established doctor of the town and a childhood friend of Gideon. At Eugenie’s request he agrees to investigate the death. Raven finds that Douglas deployed money and influence to gather information useful to coerce cooperation with his plans, and there were several people who would be happy with Douglas’ demise, but as heir to his estate Gideon always looks to have the greater motive.

The book is intricately plotted, with many false trails and revelations as the two investigations are gradually concluded and prove to be somewhat interlinked. Intermixed with the ebb and flow of suspicion are many other matters, including the ongoing relationship between Raven and Sarah, and how this is impacted by Raven’s offer of marriage to Eugenie.

The authors also introduce many historical diversions. Sarah is intelligent and keen to advance her medical training but inhibited by the general belief that women lack the capacity for such work. She travels to Europe to meet Elizabeth Blackwell, the first (real) woman to obtain a medical degree and is not wholly encouraged given that Sarah lacks the wealth and position that has undoubtedly assisted Blackwell to overcome male prejudice.

There is also much on the state of public health in mid-Victorian Edinburgh, including the dangers to life arising from minor accidents. For example, Dr Simpson all but succumbs to sepsis arising from a wooden splinter. He is rescued by another renowned medical man with whom he was famously at odds, according to the authors’ historical note.

The broad Scots accents in which the participants in this drama no doubt would have expressed themselves are mostly left to the imagination, and the plethora of facts do tend to occasionally obtrude, but the story is full of incident. If you like historical drama that offers plenty of insights into the less attractive aspects of life, this may well appeal.