E. S. Thomson

When a man is found murdered in a brothel the magistrates immediately arrest Mr Jobber, the amiable guard, but the madam knows it wasn't him. Jem Flockhart is asked to look into the murder by the dead man's father, a wealthy recluse, who fears the family curse has struck again. Meanwhile Will Quartermain is working with Mr Basilisk on plans for the a new sewerage system around the Fleet river which is sorely needed as cholera haunts London.
I've not read all the books in this series but have enjoyed several of them so picked this one up with the knowledge that I was in safe hands. Here the focus is on the poor parts of London, affected by a lack of access to clean water and therefore prone to disease. The family at the centre are suitable gothic in character, the plot labyrinthine in nature and the detailed research is excellent. A thoroughly satisfying read.… (altro)

The Blood by E. S. Thomson is a darn good Victorian London murder mystery that I couldn't put down. Not for the weak of heart; this story has its gritty and gruesome moments!🙈

This is Book 3 of a 5 book series so far. I sort of jumped into the series smack in the middle. I enjoyed it very much so will be ordering the 1st installment soon.

Our two detectives are a unique duo that are a bit different in character to say the least. Jem Flockhart roams the seedy side of London dressed as a man but came into this world a girl. A girl born with a hideous port wine stain that covers her eyes like a raccoon and half of her face. After her mother dies, her father, an established apothecary, raises her as his son and passes the trade on to Jem. Now owning her own apothecary shop disguised as a man wearing a mask akin to that of the Phantom of the Opera, she also solves murders and does autopsies while she moonlights on a retired Napoleonic Wars ship turned hospital.

Will Quartermain, a talented architect has been a lifelong friend to Jem and is desperately in love with her. But Jem not only holds her secret of being a woman, but hides her love of the female sex.

Together they make a unique team solving the many murders that constantly arrive near the slimy wharfs on the Thames.

I cannot wait to start at the beginning with Book One and Two. 5 stars, for a fun and different mystery for sure!… (altro)

This is the third historical thriller by E. S. Thomson featuring the apothecary Jem Flockhart and his friend Will Quatermain, an architect. Thomson has an academic background in the history of medicine and this book has more than its share of Victorian medical detail.

The story is centred on a hospital ship moored in the Thames and a number of murders of both medical men and local prostitutes. The plotting is tight and the revelation of the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ are genuinely a surprise. There is one weak episode where a character is declared absolutely stone dead only to reappear a few pages later as not as ill as was thought.

The miseries of riverside life are well drawn and the potential for cliche in character and plot often cleverly bypassed.… (altro)

This is a most peculiar place,’ he said. ‘And the people in it are driven by the most extraordinary motives to do the most deplorable things.’

Beloved Poison is an atmospheric historical mystery, the first in a series from debut author, E.S. Thomson.

Standing since 1135, the crowded, dilapidated buildings of St. Saviours Infirmary are slated to be demolished to make way for a railway bridge. St. Saviours is the only home apothecary Jem Flockhart has ever known, but even she is not privy to all its secrets.
While showing William Quartermain, the junior architect tasked with organising the emptying of St. Saviours graveyard, around, Jem and Will discover six tiny paper coffins hidden in the crumbling walls of the chapel. Puzzled by the symbolism of their contents, she is determined to learn their origins, unwittingly unleashing the base instincts of a murderer.

“Oh, yes, I was unique among women. There had been an apothecary named Flockhart at St Saviour’s Infirmary for over one hundred years and I was set to inherit my father’s kingdom amongst the potions. But it took a man to run that apothecary, and so a man I must be.”

Thomson’s portrayal of Jem is nuanced and fascinating. In order to sustain the Flockhart legacy, Jem has no choice but to live as a man, but being forced to keep her secret at all times means she is often terribly lonely. She is disarmed by the friendliness of William, who seems unfazed by the large port wine birthmark that stains her face, and he is equally unruffled when he guesses her secret, though it is her childhood friend, Elizabeth, that she yearns for. Jem’s interest in the coffins is both a product of her natural curiosity, and a distraction from her father’s illness, as well as the uncertainty of the Infirmary’s impending closure.

“In reality they were no more than a collection of poorly-executed boxes, foolish totems that may well have been made and hidden away by a child, their significance at best random, and most likely meaningless. And yet I knew, in my heart, that these were spurious arguments.”

The discovery of the coffins is an eventual catalyst for three murders, Jem’s wrongful incarceration, and a revelation of past atrocities. The mysteries are interesting and involved. There are, among the often arrogant, petty, and morally corrupt staff of St. Savours, several suspects.

Where the novel unfortunately fell down for me was in the uneven pacing, exacerbated by the heavy foreshadowing of events.

“Stiff with old gore, Dr Graves’s coat had a thick, inflexible appearance, and a sinister ruddy-coloured patina like waxed mahogany. Dr Magorian’s was worse, being as dark and lustreless as a black pudding.”

Perhaps the strongest element of the novel is Thomson’s horrifying yet compelling visceral descriptions of the medical practices and beliefs of 1850. The author walks us through the dank and stinking wards of the Infirmary crowded with festering patients, the blood spattered operating rooms with floors strewn with sawdust, and the damp and chilly dissecting room. Thomson’s characters also briefly venture out of St. Saviours into the equally squalid streets of London, and to Newgate Prison.

I enjoyed Beloved Poison, particularly for its Victorian atmosphere and though it has its flaws, as the first in a series, I can see the potential, and I hope to read more.… (altro)