A Corruption of Blood - Ambrose Parry

The third part of the wonderful historical medical murder mystery series, A Corruption of Blood operates very much to the high standards of the previous books, but there is also progression here and a slight change of emphasis. There are a few early hints of the medical issues of childbirth and the role the newly discovered anesthetisation through use of chloroform, a suspicious child death an a suspected murder investigation that has the potential to upset the establishment. Inevitably then since it has invested so heavily in the characters of Raven and Sarah, their relationship and the social complications, class divisions and gender create, comes more to the fore in relation to these matters.

Again there is a neatness in how the social behaviours, expectations and even twists of fate that conspire to keep Raven and Sarah apart also provide a context for the period drama and the murder mystery developments. Sarah's ambition to go to Europe to meet the famous female doctor Dr Blackwell doesn't go entirely as she might have hoped, but it hits home just how much of a near impossible challenges lies ahead for a woman at this time hoping to break through the class and gender prejudices to embark upon a career in medicine.

Although the situation between Sarah and Raven looks like it is going to dominate and lead to a predictable outcome, 'Ambrose Parry' (Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman) continues to surprise and find new depths in their main characters. Likewise the situation between them and the personal dilemmas they face also reflect more widely on the circumstances of men and women in society. It seems like it's female issues that are going to dominate, childbirth, prostitution and infant mortality, but it's not as if men aren't involved in those matters too.

The social aspect is well integrated into the murder investigation, which although it appears to lack danger and drama, soon develops into an intriguing mystery. The characterisation remains as strong as ever, the behaviours authentic, but the plotting is also superb, constantly surprising in the direction it takes, the revelations that come out, and how the authors tie everything together not just with consummate skill, but in a realistic and convincing manner, never acting out of character, or period, and never cheating the reader.

This has been a brilliant series of books, clever in its conception, with its historical background based on real historical figures, medical advances (and lack of advanced medicine) and in the different types of crime that would have been prevalent due to religious, moral and social attitudes. If this proves to be a three book series (following The Way of All Flesh and The Art of Dying) it goes out on a high, but there's potential to take this further.

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