Awards

• Long-listed for The McIlvanney Prize 2025 (UK)

Overview

When you are a prisoner of your secrets, the death of shame is the only path to liberty Annabel Banks was promised work as a maid with a prestigious Edinburgh family. But on her first day, she's nowhere to be found. Concerned relatives contact Sarah Fisher to help. Sarah might know her way around the city - its light sides and dark - but soon she'll discover the plight of dozens of girls ensnared in its many brothels: lured, abused and left ruined in the eyes of the world. Meanwhile, a prominent society figure throws himself from the Scott Monument. Will Raven is asked to establish whether the death was suicide or if someone else was involved. Drawing upon real historical events, The Death of Shame takes the Raven and Fisher series into a treacherous labyrinth of shame and the pitfalls of a culture obsessed with moral purity. ""So well devised and plotted that it rattles along compellingly. It is full of horrors, yet at the same time the characterization and the authors' mastery of pace means that you are likely to read it very happily at the gallop. I found it thoroughly enjoyable, a fine piece of craftsmanship"" -- ALAN MASSIE ― Scotsman ""Victorian virtues turn out to be anything but in this gripping story which takes in photography, pornography and people trafficking"" ― Herald Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain"" -- VAL McDERMID ""Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted and immaculately realised, these thrillers pull off the most difficult double-whammy of all: beneath blood and butchery so real they almost stain the pages lie both heart and soul . . . Wherever Parry takes them, I'll follow"" -- MICK HERRON ""A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19th-century Edinburgh. The book brings both city and period to colourful life and is a joy to read"" -- IAN RANKIN ""The husband and wife duo of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman writing as Ambrose Parry is a creative match made in historical crime fiction heaven . . . Riveting"" ― Sunday Post

Full Product Details

9781837263462

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Reviews

The husband and wife duo of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman writing as Ambrose Parry is a creative match made in historical crime fiction heaven . . . Riveting * * Sunday Post * * So well devised and plotted that it rattles along compellingly. It is full of horrors, yet at the same time the characterization and the authors' mastery of pace means that you are likely to read it very happily at the gallop. I found it thoroughly enjoyable, a fine piece of craftsmanship -- ALAN MASSIE * * Scotsman * * Victorian virtues turn out to be anything but in this gripping story which takes in photography, pornography and people trafficking * * Herald * * Praise for the series: Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain -- VAL McDERMID Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted and immaculately realised, these thrillers pull off the most difficult double-whammy of all: beneath blood and butchery so real they almost stain the pages lie both heart and soul . . . Wherever Parry takes them, I'll follow -- MICK HERRON A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19th-century Edinburgh. The book brings both city and period to colourful life and is a joy to read -- IAN RANKIN Menacing, witty and ingeniously plotted, Ambrose Parry's debut draws you into the dark heart of nineteenth-century Edinburgh and won't let you go until the final page -- S.J. PARRIS The dark and dangerous past is brought thrillingly to life. I can't wait to read more of Raven and Sarah -- MARK BILLINGHAM Utterly compelling, this tale of Old Edinburgh is so full of characters and startling incident that I never wanted it to end -- DENISE MINA A thoroughly entertaining tale of murder and misadventure * * Sunday Times * *

Author Information

Chris Brookmyre is an internationally bestselling and multi-award-winning author and Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years' experience. The couple teamed up to write a series of historical crime thrillers, featuring the darkest of Victorian Edinburgh's secrets. The Way of All Flesh was a Waterstones Thriller and Scottish Crime Book of the Month, was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Award and shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The Art of Dying and A Corruption of Blood wereshortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. A Corruption of Blood was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger in 2022. In 2024, Voices of the Dead was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger and their short story A Spendthrift and the Swallow was shortlisted for the CWA Short Dagger Award.

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