Synopsis

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city’s university offers everything James desires—except the chance to work on a human cadaver.

For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin “Nye” MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist’s eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves—but it doesn’t take long for James to realize he’s made a devil’s bargain . . .   Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice.

Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists—the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige. James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it’s cold-blooded murder . . .

Review

Trigger warnings: none

Brilliant.
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap is at its heart a love story.

The characters feel REAL, and I had genuine emotions about their actions (or inaction) and screamed and celebrated with them.
At one point Aneurin speaks a line of Gaelic and when I used Google Translate, my heart leapt and broke at the same time.

This book is so unlike anything I’ve ever read. It was a joy to read, never felt like it dragged, and will leave me thinking about it for days! I fell in love with the characters and was sad when I had to say goodbye to them.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, Kingston Books and A. Rae Dunlap for this early review copy.