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Beloved Poison - (Jem Flockhart Mysteries) by E S Thomson (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- Ramshackle and crumbling, trapped in the past and resisting the future, St. Saviour's Infirmary awaits demolition.
- Author(s): E S Thomson
- 400 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Mystery & Detective
- Series Name: Jem Flockhart Mysteries
Description
About the Book
Set in a crumbling 1850s London infirmary, a richly atmospheric Victorian crime novel where murder is the price to be paid for secrets kept.Book Synopsis
Ramshackle and crumbling, trapped in the past and resisting the future, St. Saviour's Infirmary awaits demolition. Within its stinking wards and cramped corridors, the doctors bicker and backstab. Ambition, jealousy, and loathing seethe beneath the veneer of professional courtesy. Always an outsider, and with a secret of her own to hide, apothecary Jem Flockhart observes everything but says nothing.
And then six tiny coffins are uncovered, inside each a handful of dried flowers and a bundle of mouldering rags. When Jem comes across these strange relics hidden inside the infirmary's old chapel, her quest to understand their meaning prises open a long-forgotten past--with fatal consequences.
In a trail that leads from the bloody world of the operating room and the dissecting table to the notorious squalor of Newgate Prison and the gallows, Jem's adversary proves to be both powerful and ruthless. As St. Saviour's destruction draws near, the dead are unearthed from their graves while the living are forced to make impossible choices. And murder is the price to be paid for the secrets to be kept.
Review Quotes
"After a while the Grand Guignol effects start to get under your skin--unless that's just the leeches crawling out of their jar." --Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"Rich atmospherics and a Dickensian portrayal of the underbelly of Victorian London elevate Thomson's superb whodunit above most other historical debuts. Thomson excels in evoking the claustrophobic feel of the back alleys Jem must tread in search of the truth." --Publishers Weekly (starred; boxed review)
"E. S. Thomson mixes the perfect potion for a dark and mysterious read." --Daily Record (UK)
"This outstanding debut historical enthralls with its meticulously researched details of 19th-century hospitals; the result is a dismal portrait of unrelenting bleakness that will make readers grateful to be living in the 21st century. This is Showtime's Penny Dreadful, brought to life!" --Library Journal (starred)
"A beautifully dark portrait of Victorian London that Charles Dickens would feel right at home in. With macabre portrayals of anatomy, science, and death, this Dickensian crime novel is not to be missed, especially if you're missing Showtime's Penny Dreadful and are looking to fill the loss of such a brilliant series. " --Criminal Element