Blood - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472126564 ISBN 13: 9781472126566

Publisher: Constable

Synopsis

I knew the smell of death well enough. But here the sweetness of decay was tainted with something else, something new and different. It was a curious, moist smell; a smell that spoke of the ooze and slap of water, of gurgling wet spaces and the sticky, yielding mud of low-tide... Summoned to the riverside by the desperate, scribbled note of an old friend, Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain find themselves on board the seamen's floating hospital, an old hulk known only as The Blood, where prejudice, ambition and murder seethe beneath a veneer of medical respectability. On shore, a young woman, a known prostitute, is found drowned in a derelict boatyard. A man leaps to his death into the Thames, driven mad by poison and fear. The events are linked - but how? Courting danger in the opium dens and brothels of the waterfront, certain that the Blood lies at the heart of the puzzle, Jem and Will embark on a quest to uncover the truth. In a hunt that takes them from the dissecting tables of a private anatomy school to the squalor of the dock-side mortuary, they find themselves involved in a dark and terrible mystery. Praise for E.S. Thomson: 'Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E.S. Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale' - Daily Express 'Here's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night' - Evening Telegraph

About this title

About the Author

E. S. Thomson's work has been longlisted for the CWA Endeavour Historical Dagger, and shortlisted for the Saltire Prize, the Scottish Arts Council First Book Award and the William MacIlvanney Crime Book of the Year Award. She has a PhD in the social history of medicine, and tries to fit as much medical history into her books as possible. She works as a university lecturer by day, and writes by night. Elaine lives in Edinburgh with her two sons.

Review

Dark and vividly imagined, this Jem Flockhart mystery captures the squalor of Victorian London as it tells an engrossing story of medical misdeeds * Choice Magazine * It's rare that a book is Gothic enough for me, but Beloved Poison is killing it. The blood, the bones, the crumbling hospital . . . -- Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions Love evocative descriptions of Victorian London and brilliant plotting? Then grab a copy of this! * Rebecca Griffiths, author of The Primrose Path * Deliciously dark and vividly atmospheric, menace oozes from every page. Terrific for lovers of historical noir. * Saga * Jem Flockhart is a marvel. Cautious yet daring, a pursuer of the truth yet steeped in deceit herself, she is the best kind of detective - flawed, clever, conflicted, principled and determined to get to the bottom of whatever mystery comes her way. Her latest foray into the filth and grime of 1840s London is an atmospheric dissection of prejudice past and present set aboard a decaying hospital ship. With snakes, pox, strange tattoos and the scent of Henbane in our nostrils, this vivid journey into the dark side of the human soul is a thoroughly engrossing tale. -- Mary Paulson Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker Jem Flockhart's London is vivid, pungent and perilous. The Blood takes you to places you will love to picture but be grateful you can't smell -- Chris Brookmyre ES Thompson's Jem Flockhart books are the best I've read in years. Jem is just my kind of heroine: scarred, smart, complex, and unapologetically queer -- Kirsty Logan, author of The Gracekeepers Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E S Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale. * Daily Express * A historical novel to be savoured -- Lesley McDowell * The National on Beloved Poison * From the first page to the last, I enjoyed every brilliantly written, and often hideous, detail ... A splendid read * Cambridge Magazine on Beloved Poison * This outstanding debut historical enthrals with its meticulously researched details * Library Journal on Beloved Poison * You can almost feel the evil miasma rising from the page * Kirkus Reviews on Beloved Poison * Dark Asylum positively oozes gothic menace, and the author's evocation of the city at that time is visceral and engagingly morbid . . . A first class piece of historical crime writing -- Doug Johnstone * Big Issue * Following on from the events of acclaimed debut Beloved Poison, Dark Asylum vividly portrays the Gothic horror and questionable science of Victorian mental asylums in chilling detail. Meticulously researched and masterfully plotted, E.S. Thomson has written a complex, harrowing and highly enjoyable tale * Daily Express * Beloved Poison is a marvellous, vivid book with a thoughtful, engaging protagonist at its centre - and a fascinating story to tell. It's immaculately researched and breathtakingly dark. Elaine Thomson's descriptive powers are so great that that I was surprised to see twenty-first century London rather than grimy, smelly St Saviour's around me when I - eventually - looked up from its pages -- Janet Ellis, author of The Butcher's Hook Here's a tale of Victorian London to freeze your blood on a cold winter's night -- Alex Gordon * Evening Telegraph on Beloved Poison *

About this edition

• Publisher: Constable
• ISBN 10: 1472126564
• ISBN 13: 9781472126566
• Binding: Paperback