Shadow of the Raven

by Tessa Harris

Overview

An eighteenth-century American anatomist contends with a madness, murder, and social upheaval in this historical mystery for fans of Caleb Carr.

In the notorious mental hospital in rural England known as Bedlam, Dr. Thomas Silkstone seeks out a patient with whom he is on intimate terms. But he is unprepared for the state in which he finds Lady Lydia Farrell. Shocked into action, Thomas vows to help free Lydia by appealing to the custodian of her affairs, Mr. Nicholas Lupton. But when Silkstone arrives at the Boughton Estate to speak to Lupton, he finds that another form of madness has taken over the village . . .

Sweeping changes to the Boughton Estate threaten to leave many villagers, who are rightfully angry, destitute. After a single shot rings out and a man dies in the woods, it appears that the desperate villagers have turned to murder to avenge their cause. But for Thomas, a post-mortem on the victim raises more questions than answers. Although he manages to save an innocent man from the gallows, a second murder warns him of his potentially fatal situation. Soon he discovers a conspiracy far more sinister than anything he has ever faced. But who it leads to is the last person he suspects . . .

Praise for The Devil’s Breath

“Excellent . . . Both literally and figuratively atmospheric, this will appeal to fans of Imogen Robertson's series during the same period.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Stunning . . . perfect book club fodder.” —Library Journal

“A fascinating series . . . Harris is at her vivid best describing in precise, fearsome detail the “Great Fogg.”“ —The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780758293404
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	01/27/2015
Series:	Dr. Thomas Silkstone Series , #5
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	429,296
File size:	839 KB

About the Author

Tessa Harris is the author of the acclaimed Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mysteries, including Secrets in the Stones and The Anatomist’s Apprentice, as well as the debut Constance Piper Mystery, The Sixth Victim. A graduate of Oxford University with a History degree, Tessa has also been a journalist and editor, contributing to many national publications such as The Times and The Telegraph. She has also acted as a literary publicist for several well-known authors. Readers can visit her website at www.tessaharrisauthor.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/08/2014
More romantic thriller than whodunit, Harris’s fifth Thomas Silkstone novel set in late 18th-century England focuses on Silkstone’s efforts to reunite with his love, Lady Lydia Farrell. At the end of 2014’s The Lazarus Curse, Lydia was confined to London’s Bethlem Hospital through the machinations of her late brother’s guardian, Sir Montagu Malthus, and a crooked physician. Almost two months later, Silkstone is still unable to see her on his visits to the facility, and is later barred from the premises. By portraying Malthus as a clichéd villain, without any nuance or depth, Harris renders the confrontations between him and Silkstone superficial and unengaging. While Silkstone has the fatal shooting of surveyor Jeffrey Turgoose to solve, the relegation of the mystery to the background and an unsatisfying ending serve to make this the weakest entry in an otherwise strong series. Agent: Melissa Jeglinski, Knight Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2014-11-18
Deception, murder and land wars thwart Dr. Thomas Silkstone's latest attempt to find happiness with his beloved Lydia.For hundreds of years, the villagers of Brandwick have enjoyed common land that Sir Montagu Malthus, the caretaker of Boughton Estate in Oxfordshire, is threatening to enclose. When his surveyor, Jeffrey Turgoose, is shot to death and Turgoose's young assistant badly injured, it's easy for Malthus to blame the angry villagers. Turgoose's friend, the coroner of Oxford, calls in Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a Philadelphia anatomist who doesn't rely on unwarranted assumptions. But Malthus is highly displeased with Silkstone's findings, including a clue based on a thriving moonshine operation. The American doctor has a history of discord with Malthus, who's even more powerful now that he has total control over the young heir of Boughton and the boy's mother, Lady Lydia Farrell, is conveniently committed to Bethlem Hospital. After being turned away several times, Silkstone is finally able to visit Lydia at the institution commonly called Bedlam, where he's horrified to find the pretty young widow he's been courting pallid as a ghost. Worse yet, Malthus has turned Lydia against Silkstone as part of a complex plot to seize control of more than just the Boughton Estate. Silkstone's attempts to fight back bring him into closer sympathy with the villagers and help unmask a mysterious highwayman. But even with justice, love and forensic science on Silkstone's side, his dreams of reunion with his Lydia—and the reader's hopes of resolution—seem dimmer than ever. The opening of Harris' (The Lazarus Curse, 2014, etc.) latest 18th-century romantic mystery nearly bogs down in back story. Once it gains momentum, however, one disaster relentlessly follows another for the lovelorn doctor from the Colonies.

Kirkus Reviews