The Anatomist's Apprentice (Dr. Thomas Silkstone series Book 1)

What a mess! That was my first thought as I finished this book. One was sure it happened this way or this person did it…until the next chapter when it was someone else or done some other way…exhausting. Interesting story. I’m hoping to read another Silkstone book some time soon.

This was my first Dr. Silkstone novel an it was very enjoyable. The primary characters are well developed and the plot was interesting. As a period mystery I could see myself reading the next book in this series in the near future.

I had a lot of problems with this novel, mainly disappointment in the author's ability to convince me that this very young man was indeed an expert in his career field. There is such a disconnect between the world of 1780 and today that an author must work doubly hard to convince a reader that a 25 year old man can have been practicing medicine for eight years and be considered an expert in his field. Granted, lives and careers moved at a different pace during that time period but this character never showed any evidence of the gravitas which should have been required to have worked his way to the top of his profession. Dr. Thomas Silkstone is the wunderkind of which I speak and he lectures and teaches anatomy at Oxford University in England despite being a Colonial from Philadelphia. Lady Lydia Farrell has approached Dr. Silkstone to request that he perform an examination on the body of her brother Edward. Rumor has begun to spread that Lady Lydia's own husband may have had some hand in the death of the young Sir Edward and time is running short for any type of postmortem examination. Dr. Silkstone is genuinely curious as to the cause of death, but his agreement to look into the matter also has a great deal to do with his attraction to the lovely Lydia.In the first place, if you make the decision to read a novel dealing with this type of subject matter you need to be prepared to read some passages which are necessarily uncomfortable for you. Unless this is your chosen profession or you are like me, just plain curious. The descriptions of the decomposition of corpses can be quite disturbing and this novel is filled from beginning to end with them so make certain you are prepared for that. I felt the author did a fairly good job in depicting her chosen time and place without relying completely on English weather or sanitary conditions of London and Oxford in the 1780s. Then she went and spoiled it by throwing in a pet albino rat and even went to the trouble to explain to readers in a Glossary what an albino rat is. Oh, dear. And the names she chose for some of her characters. Oh, dear again. The first half of the novel is more given over to explanations of scientific and medical experimentation in anatomy and forensic investigation and I think the slow, methodical method of the writing indicated just how daunting the task was which this doctor had set for himself. Essentially he was trying to come up with a chemical analysis process of liquids to separate out and identify individual components without having the least idea of how to do that. Interesting reading for a short time, but not so much in regards to moving the mystery plot forward.This author set herself a hard task. She needed to have her expert witness appear to be an expert in a discipline which had not been invented yet. The mystery aspect wasn't very well done even though there were possible culprits hiding behind every bush. There was a lot going on. The solutions to the mysteries were not so much solved by Dr. Silkstone as simply resolved as having been committed by the last person remaining. The romantic interest seemed to rather overpower the mystery portions of the novel and that was a problem for me because I read mysteries for the mystery. Not a book I enjoyed very much and yet I wanted to see how the author was going to resolve all the problems she had set herself. I have already purchased the next book in the series,  The Dead Shall Not Rest (Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries) , but I expect I will allow some time to pass before I decide to give that one a go.

I'm writing this review as a persoanl viewpoint because this book was an unique reading experience for me. I bought it with the understanding that it was a period murder mystery. Well, it was. However, it was also, a romance set in 1780, a medical forensic mystery, a murder mystery, a look at life on an Estate in England where the differences of the Nobility vs the servants was clearly shown. Also, we are given a glimpse into the attitudes of the Colonials just after the Revolutionary War.The book was fascinating and not written in the usual mystery format. At times I was shocked (vivid death scenes and descriptive forensic procedures,) times you felt the shock (a disinterment of a body,) anger at culprits and also, the Author found a way to surprise you. I did not sense the killer for ages and until the Author wanted me to.The only part that did not flow easily for me was the romance. I felt the romance was just thrown in and it did not add to the storyline. It just didn't feel credible to me. The Lady didn't add to solving the crime.Would Dr. Silkstone return to America? I would love to see that but, it is doubtful since he is running his mentor's clinic now. We shall see, hopefully, in the next book.

Harris has put together a murder mystery of delicious complexity. The anatomy and chromatography forensics were interesting though as a scientist I understand the science today but will have to defer to the author that she actually researched and used the science of the time. The tempo, wording and attitudes/reactions of the characters felt tight for the time.I plan on reading book 2. As I am not a fan of bed hopping of all main characters in this book, we'll see if the sequel settles down to focus on the plot and forensics and mystery not on who is sleeping around.The author should be applauded for originality of the premise. Kudos!I was a bit disturbed by the POV changes. Head hopping within a paragraph including going omniscient was distracting but the story out shown the editing needs of the book. Not bad but it did show up occasionally.I recommend this as a great read for lovers of mysteries of this time period.

The Anatomist's Apprentice is a story of the early days of forensic pathology. Thomas Silkstone is a 25-year-old anatomist. Born in America he is at Oxford. When Sir Edward Crick dies under mysterious circumstances Dr. Silkstone is called in to investigate the death. He soon gets caught in a web of lies, deceit and more death.This was a fairly enjoyable mystery set at about the time of the American Revolution. Sometimes it was a really graphic look at forensics. At other times it was an over-ripe love story. It reminded me of those Victorian novels where the damsel is always in distress and needs rescuing. The mystery was actually good, with lots of red herrings and suspects, but the end was a little bit over the top, with bodies dropping like flies.The book wasn't that well written but I both listened to the audio and read the ebook (whispersync); I very much preferred the audio version. The narrator is Simon Vance, a truly gifted reader and he was able to make the book sound better than it probably was. Still I enjoyed it enough to probably read the next book in the series - well maybe I'll just listen to it if Vance is the narrator again.

Good opening to an interesting set of characters & a new series of historical fiction & mysteries. Good grasp of era.

I rarely bother with reviews but this novella is so bad that I had to share my views.It reads a bit like a "Boys Own" novel. The language is irritatingly dumbed down and spoils what little period style the author aimed for.The plot is thin and barely disguises the culprits. The description of the work of this so-called anatomist is basic. Is it deliberately dumbed down or does it just display little technical knowledge of the author.Of interest is the description of the local magistrate, his work load and his absolute power at the time.If you must read this buy a secondhand edition or a Kindle rental and save money.

I enjoyed this novel, an interesting look into the beginnings of science as a means to,solve crime. The main character, an American from the colonies, was very likeable, however the heroine was a trifle timid for my taste! However I suppose females of that era were supposed to be helpless and swooning. A good read for a rainy afternoon.

A distinct change from the run of the mill detective story with a good plot with many twists and turns. The occupation of the leading character makes for another dimension.

I’ve ready many historic murder mysteries and thoroughly enjoyed this one. I would have liked more depth on the characters and the era, however it’s fast pace allows only a brief portrait of each of the characters before turning the last pages. Quick, easy and enjoyable read.