I thoroughly enjoyed this book, finding myself engrossed from the first line. In particular, the attention to detail in terms of medical practice in that era was excellent at making the story stand out. Kerri Maniscalco’s writing is beautiful, easy to read as it flows effortlessly between descriptive prose and dialogue, action and thought. You never find a boring moment.
The overall mystery of the plot – who is the killer? – was well handled with the introduction of many red herrings. My suspect shifted from chapter to chapter, though I must say I suspected the truth a good few chapters before it was revealed. In the second half of the book our main character becomes convinced one person in particular is the murderer and that in itself led me to suspect the true killer. It was too obvious. That is my only criticism of the plot for I am a sucker for reveals that truly catch me off guard.
In terms of the main character, I found her relatable and kind. She is depicted as a strong female character – a title often miss-given in literature these days. She is a student of forensics under her uncle and unafraid to get her hands dirty in a cadaver, which in the 1800’s is frowned upon. Audrey Rose doesn’t accept the social norms, however, and tends to break them anyway she can without seeming arrogant or self-righteous. I feel it is difficult to make a character defiant without her seeming so, though that is only my opinion.
Overall, this is a fast-paced, intriguing novel with a strong lead and likable side characters. The romantic subplot is well built up without falling into the trap of an insta-romance, helped by the fact that this is the first in a series. I am currently reading the sequel and so far love it just as much as the first.