12 Days of a Kensington Christmas ~ The Dead Shall Not Rest

Title ~ The Dead Shall Not Rest

Series ~ Dr. Thomas Silkstone, #2

Author ~ Tessa Harris

Publisher ~ Kensington

Published ~ 24 December 2012

Genre ~ Historical/Mystery

*Book source ~ Many thanks to Kensington for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating ~ 4 bites out of 5

It is 1782 and Charles Byrne is said to be the tallest man in the world. Hating the way he is treated, Lady Lydia Farrell rescues him from the traveling fair when it is lodged on the far edge of her property. The Irish Giant only wants to see the King to get a pardon for his dad who was wrongly charged, convicted and hung for a murder he did not commit. From this single minded quest various threads are weaved together to form the whole tapestry of The Dead Shall Not Rest.

There is a lot going on in this second book involving Dr. Thomas Silverstone, an anatomist from the Colonies now living in London. The story is told from multiple POVs that, at first, are a bit hard to keep straight. However, it isn’t long before a picture begins to take shape and everything starts to pull together. There is a murder with an unlikely suspect, Lady Lydia’s strange behavior and the whole story around Charles, his illness and the unscrupulous anatomists who would love to dissect his remains against his wishes. Silverstone is hard pressed to keep up with all three of them as he dashes from one crisis to the next trying to help everyone.

The 18^th century forensics is fascinating and the history behind anatomists, coroners and the justice system (such as it was) is a type of history I can get behind. I did think there was a bit too much going on in this book, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the ride.