The Death of Shame

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.

"So well devised and plotted that it rattles along compellingly. It is full of horrors, yet at the same time the characterization and the authors' mastery of pace means that you are likely to read it very happily at the gallop. I found it thoroughly enjoyable, a fine piece of craftsmanship" — ALAN MASSIE ― Scotsman

"Victorian virtues turn out to be anything but in this gripping story which takes in photography, pornography and people trafficking" ― Herald

"Parry's Victorian Edinburgh comes vividly alive - and it's a world of pain" — VAL McDERMID

"Brilliantly conceived, fiendishly plotted and immaculately realised, these thrillers pull off the most difficult double-whammy of all: beneath blood and butchery so real they almost stain the pages lie both heart and soul . . . Wherever Parry takes them, I'll follow" — MICK HERRON

"A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19th-century Edinburgh. The book brings both city and period to colourful life and is a joy to read" — IAN RANKIN

"The husband and wife duo of Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman writing as Ambrose Parry is a creative match made in historical crime fiction heaven . . . Riveting" ― Sunday Post