The Anatomist's Apprentice

The Anatomist's Apprentice ~ Tessa Harris
Publisher ~ Kensington
Published ~ 27 December 2011

My Rating ~ 4 out of 5

Lady Lydia Farrell watched her brother, Edward, die an agonizing death, but as horrible as that was, the worst is yet to come when rumors abound that it was her husband that killed Edward in order to gain his inheritance.

Lady Lydia is beside herself to find the truth. Did her brother die of natural causes or was he murdered? And if he was murdered was it her husband who did it or someone else? She turns to a well-respected anatomist to get to the bottom of these rumors once and for all.

The year is 1780 and Philadelphia native turned London local Dr. Thomas Silkstone is a much respected physician, a premier anatomist and a man of science. He agrees to help Lady Lydia and using his years of experience and vast knowledge of anatomy as well as all the available resources at his fingertips he negotiates a twisty turny maze of deceit, plots,  lies and decomposing bodies to uncover the truth and, in the process, a forensic scientist is born.

I have to admit I am fascinated by forensic science. I love shows such as CSI and I even have an AAS in Criminal Justice, the required Forensics class being the one that was most interesting to me. To read a story set in 1780 and how this important field of science was born was very interesting to me. Add in mystery, intrigue, interesting characters and a plot with more twists than the small intestine that keeps you guessing until the end and you get an excellent story. I look forward to reading more of Dr. Silkstone’s cases.

*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see disclaimer page.