The Blood by E. S Thomson

The Blurb On The Back:

I know the smell of death well enough. But here the sweetness of decay was tainted with something else, something new and different. It was a curious, moist smell: a smell that spoke of the ooze and slap of water, of gurgling wet spaces and the sticky, yielding mud of low-tide.

Summoned to the riverside by the desperate, scribbled note of an old friend, Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain board the seaman’s floating hospital, an old hulk known only as The Blood, where prejudice, ambition and murder are rife.

Embroiled in a dark and terrible mystery, Jem and Will embark on a quest to find the truth - but can they uncover the ship’s secrets?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The third in E. S. Thomson’s JEM FLOCKHART historical crime series is rich in period detail (especially in relation to medical practice of the time) and I really enjoyed the exploration of gender and race during this time but the plot sagged in the final quarter, with Jem doing some strange things for unconvincing reasons while the antagonist and their motives were a little under-baked, although I’d still check out the rest of the series.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.