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.
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Death of Shame by Ambrose Parry. Many thanks to Canongate for my advance copy of the novel and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour.
The Death of Shame takes its inspiration from real-life people and events and although this is the final book in Ambrose Parry's Raven and Fisher series, newcomers to the books can easily enjoy this gripping historical mystery as a standalone.
The book opens with a death and while it seems clear that the victim dies by his own hand, his reasons for throwing himself from the Scott Monument aren't revealed, only that the soon-to-be deceased considers it an act of love. Will Raven is summoned to the gruesome scene in order to identify the dead man and it triggers a series of events which ultimately asks Raven what he is prepared to do to protect those he loves... Meanwhile, after Sarah Fisher is asked to find her teenage relative, Annabel Banks – who has gone missing after arriving in Edinburgh to work as a nursemaid – she is drawn into the seedy underbelly of the city, where those with influence and privilege are able to take advantage of the poorest and most vulnerable.
Raven is concerned that his new medical practice isn't yet attracting enough patients and with his wife, Eugenie distancing herself from both him and their children, he is put under increasing pressure to find a way to provide for his family, particularly after shocking revelations threaten all he has worked for. To complicate matters even further, after he discovers that a blackmailer has been targeting some of Edinburgh's prominent physicians, he is forced to confront his past and the guilt he still feels for his actions many years ago. As it becomes obvious that the ineluctable request placed upon him to determine what – or who – compelled such a well-regarded man to jump off the Scott Monument, is linked to Sarah's risky investigation into the exploitation of young women who are lured or forcibly coerced into prostitution, the pair attract the attention of some powerful, dangerous individuals who have the means and motivation to do whatever it takes to protect their sordid schemes.
The redolent descriptions of Victorian Edinburgh add a vital, rich sense of place to proceedings and complements the thought-provoking exploration of the predatory treatment of women and the subsequent condemnation they are subjected to. Sarah, already frustrated by the societal impediments to her own ambitions, is angered further by the rampant hypocrisy which means women and girls become who are forced into brothels and then cast aside as spoilt goods when they are no longer required, are labelled as immoral and unredeemable, while the men who use and abuse them are immune from this pious censure.
As Raven and Sarah's situation dramatically intensifies, the conclusion to this compelling mystery remains irresistibly uncertain. They are both in some physical danger here but the real risk is to their reputations and this is a fascinating examination into manipulation and the painful mechanics of shame. Raven and Fisher's final investigation changes everything for them and the twists and turns of the atmospheric, serpentine plot kept me guessing right up until the cathartic conclusion. Very highly recommended.
The Death of Shame is published by Canongate Books and can be purchased from Bookshop.org Hive, Waterstones, Kobo, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.
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