baboyago's review
3.75
Super fun read! Love a cozy mystery, with a good dose of gore for this one lol. I love that the author is an expert in medical history so you feel really engrain in a believable setting.
I would've rated this higher but I thought the reveal at the endAllardyce being the murderer of Mary was out of left field for me at least. It didn't feel satisfying considering how little time you spent on that character/
I also didn't really getJem's sudden possessiveness of Will. Perhaps it's because I wasn't aware this was the fourth in a series and there's more to their friendship I don't have context to, but it felt a bit forced to me./
Otherwise, I had a great time!!
I would've rated this higher but I thought the reveal at the end
I also didn't really get
Otherwise, I had a great time!!
monte_cristo's review against another edition
3.0
This is the fourth book of the Jem Flockhard series.
I found the book to be deeply atmospheric, set in Victorian times when medicine was making a lot of progress and this resulted in a great demand for bodies.
The story is interesting, but a bit confusing at the start. I also found the characters difficult to differentiate at times and the back and forth in time confused me a bit.
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable book and worth a read.
I found the book to be deeply atmospheric, set in Victorian times when medicine was making a lot of progress and this resulted in a great demand for bodies.
The story is interesting, but a bit confusing at the start. I also found the characters difficult to differentiate at times and the back and forth in time confused me a bit.
Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable book and worth a read.
alcea's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hopeadinfinitum's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
brii_brii's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
screamdogreads's review
4.0
"Who we are and what we have done is etched upon the flesh."
Dripping with a decadent gothic atmosphere, Surgeon's Hall is a dark and grisly historical mystery novel following the ever amazing Jem Flockhart. In this installment in the series, the intensity, and the amount of utterly gruesome scenes, seems to have really ramped up. The advancement of medical science during the era is on full display, including the increased demand for bodies, and the less than ethical means of obtaining them.
Each book in this series is fantastically researched, a fact that becomes clearer with every book that you read. Throughout the novel, the author has delicately scattered tiny clues as to the nature of the mystery, and by the end, you almost feel as if you can figure out just what happened, and yet, somehow, you still end up utterly blindsided.
This book makes for an amazing puzzle of a novel, and is a worthwhile read for any historical fiction fan.
"I accept my fate, when it comes, but I ask you to look to my nieces, Flockhart, to help Lilith and her sisters, and protect them from whoever, from whatever, awaits them in the darkness."
Dripping with a decadent gothic atmosphere, Surgeon's Hall is a dark and grisly historical mystery novel following the ever amazing Jem Flockhart. In this installment in the series, the intensity, and the amount of utterly gruesome scenes, seems to have really ramped up. The advancement of medical science during the era is on full display, including the increased demand for bodies, and the less than ethical means of obtaining them.
Each book in this series is fantastically researched, a fact that becomes clearer with every book that you read. Throughout the novel, the author has delicately scattered tiny clues as to the nature of the mystery, and by the end, you almost feel as if you can figure out just what happened, and yet, somehow, you still end up utterly blindsided.
This book makes for an amazing puzzle of a novel, and is a worthwhile read for any historical fiction fan.
"I accept my fate, when it comes, but I ask you to look to my nieces, Flockhart, to help Lilith and her sisters, and protect them from whoever, from whatever, awaits them in the darkness."
happlepider's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Felt that the language and atmosphere worked really well in developing a sense of place, of a murky victorian london which is still commonplace to its occupants. Also it had a suitably large cast of possible subjects, who were all recognisable from one another, which a lot of recent mysteries I've read haven't had. Didn't realise until afterwards, but it is book 4 of a series, and I would be interested in reading the rest, although I think I've been given a lot of spoilers from reading this one first.