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The Scalpel's Edge
Not yet published
Expected 13 Apr 27Dr. Lydia Weston undertakes to clear the name of a woman surgeon embroiled in an ever-deepening medical scandal, set against the backdrop of the 1876 World’s Fair, in the riveting next book from the author of Murder by Degrees.
The year is 1876 and the World’s Fair has come to Philadelphia.
Dr. Lydia Weston, graduate of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and one of the first female doctors in the country, is ready to introduce the world to the medical talents of her female peers and students. With a public showcase of a relatively new technology called anesthesia, led by Lydia’s colleague, the groundbreaking woman surgeon Dr. Clara Hall, she intends to do just that.
But the exhibited operation goes mysteriously, horribly wrong, and Dr. Lydia Weston finds herself at the center of a controversy surrounding the death of a patient—none other than Arthur Carlson, a prominent businessman whose ruthless dealings have made him a few enemies.
In the operating theater filled with men who already doubt whether any woman could perform such a complex procedure, all eyes turn to Clara Hall and her scalpel. What should have been a victory for the Woman’s Medical College becomes a public tragedy. Clara is taken into custody for negligence and murder, but when Lydia performs the autopsy, something far more sinister makes itself apparent.
With the help of Inspector Thomas Volcker and Sergeant Charles Davies, Dr. Weston begins an investigation of her own to clear her friend’s name, stopping at nothing to reveal the dark and powerful forces that she’s convinced are responsible for Carlson’s murder.
Culminating in a thrilling chase through the World’s Fair grounds at night, The Scalpel’s Edge is historical mystery at its finest.
The year is 1876 and the World’s Fair has come to Philadelphia.
Dr. Lydia Weston, graduate of the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and one of the first female doctors in the country, is ready to introduce the world to the medical talents of her female peers and students. With a public showcase of a relatively new technology called anesthesia, led by Lydia’s colleague, the groundbreaking woman surgeon Dr. Clara Hall, she intends to do just that.
But the exhibited operation goes mysteriously, horribly wrong, and Dr. Lydia Weston finds herself at the center of a controversy surrounding the death of a patient—none other than Arthur Carlson, a prominent businessman whose ruthless dealings have made him a few enemies.
In the operating theater filled with men who already doubt whether any woman could perform such a complex procedure, all eyes turn to Clara Hall and her scalpel. What should have been a victory for the Woman’s Medical College becomes a public tragedy. Clara is taken into custody for negligence and murder, but when Lydia performs the autopsy, something far more sinister makes itself apparent.
With the help of Inspector Thomas Volcker and Sergeant Charles Davies, Dr. Weston begins an investigation of her own to clear her friend’s name, stopping at nothing to reveal the dark and powerful forces that she’s convinced are responsible for Carlson’s murder.
Culminating in a thrilling chase through the World’s Fair grounds at night, The Scalpel’s Edge is historical mystery at its finest.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 13, 2027
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dr. Lydia Weston and Dr. Clara Hall have just been handed an excellent opportunity to prove that women surgeons are just as good as their male counterparts at the World's Fair in Philadelphia by performing a simple procedure using a groundbreaking new technique in front of world's finest physicians. What's more the patient who has volunteered is none other than Arthur Carlson the man who was at the forefront to ensure that the first World's Fair in the U.S. would be held in Philadelphia. The surgery goes well, however, as Carlson is waking from the anesthesia something goes horribly wrong and he starts seizing, every doctor in the room knows that there is no way that Carlson will survive this and the minute he succumbs the audience surges forward with one word on their lips Murder.
Stay with me on this one till the end kay?
I'll be honest in terms of characters I really didn't find myself connecting with any of them. Like I didn't dislike them but there wasn't really a feeling of bonding with them. Lydia is probably the closest I got to finding a spark of interest, but I don't know she never really seemed interesting. Oddly enough in a book about female surgeons in 1876 and one who seems to find herself at the center of murder cases I felt like Lydia really didn't contribute much at all. Which meant outside of discovering she loves pretty things and she's a doctor and her family is from India, I didn't really get a feel for her. To be fair this does appear to be a series so I do reserve judgement for her. Just because I didn't get to know her in this book doesn't mean I won't the next. I did not like Clara at all. Like just gonna come right out and say, questionable ethics are an understatement in her case let's just put it that way.
The book spends very little time with the actual killer as well so when the truth finally comes out like I don't know it felt anticlimactic. They didn't seem really invested in the reason why they killed the people they did, even though the reason for it was pretty explosive. They didn't exhibit any large emotions when they got caught, nor were they the sort of cold, calculating killer like say Pendergast's brother. Again, I think the reason for this is that there is virtually zero time spent with the killer as the killer prior to them getting caught. When they do get caught there's no long monologue or explanations or anything it's just "Well ya caught me so now you have to die", so it didn't feel like a satisfying ending at all. But like I don't think I've ever felt so ambivalent about a killer in my life. For me that's a hard thing, I mean half of the reason I read mysteries is because of the bad guy. Hell, half of the reason I read anything is for the bad guy. Like honestly, I felt like this killer should have just been let go, the two guys they killed were clearly far worse humans than he was and like sure there was some collateral damage here but like also the guy he ends up killing for knowing too much didn't even really need to be in the book. Like literally collateral damage guy could have been taken out of the story and nothing would have changed and since I didn't see any true establishment that the killer was a threat to society. Quite frankly, he may have done the world a favor, cause the guys he killed were evil. Like evil rich guys. Sure yeah life is important, justice, law and order, and blah, blah, blah but this is fiction.
At the end of the day, it all just felt too easy, too simple. There was nothing complex about the case, thanks to oddly cooperative witnesses they got their answers relatively quickly, a well-informed journalist filled in the rest, and thanks to the killer dropping a crucial piece of evidence Clara and Lydia had the same revelation regarding who the killer was at the same exact time. A short chase ensues, the cavalier arrives in the nick of time and everything is quickly wrapped up with a nice bow.
Did you hang in there? Good. Because...
If you've read my reviews, you know that I find great value in simple. Sure, I may not end up following this series religiously, but it was entertaining enough to help my day go that much quicker while I was at work. This is one of those books I'd grab after finishing a book that made me think way too much, or because I was in a reading slump and needed something not complicated to pull me out of it. To be completely honest, I can think of ten people right off the bat that I am already going to recommend this too because they will absolutely love it for its simplicity. So yup, I would definitely recommend this one.
As always thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the eArc!
Stay with me on this one till the end kay?
I'll be honest in terms of characters I really didn't find myself connecting with any of them. Like I didn't dislike them but there wasn't really a feeling of bonding with them. Lydia is probably the closest I got to finding a spark of interest, but I don't know she never really seemed interesting. Oddly enough in a book about female surgeons in 1876 and one who seems to find herself at the center of murder cases I felt like Lydia really didn't contribute much at all. Which meant outside of discovering she loves pretty things and she's a doctor and her family is from India, I didn't really get a feel for her. To be fair this does appear to be a series so I do reserve judgement for her. Just because I didn't get to know her in this book doesn't mean I won't the next. I did not like Clara at all. Like just gonna come right out and say, questionable ethics are an understatement in her case let's just put it that way.
The book spends very little time with the actual killer as well so when the truth finally comes out like I don't know it felt anticlimactic. They didn't seem really invested in the reason why they killed the people they did, even though the reason for it was pretty explosive. They didn't exhibit any large emotions when they got caught, nor were they the sort of cold, calculating killer like say Pendergast's brother. Again, I think the reason for this is that there is virtually zero time spent with the killer as the killer prior to them getting caught. When they do get caught there's no long monologue or explanations or anything it's just "Well ya caught me so now you have to die", so it didn't feel like a satisfying ending at all. But like I don't think I've ever felt so ambivalent about a killer in my life. For me that's a hard thing, I mean half of the reason I read mysteries is because of the bad guy. Hell, half of the reason I read anything is for the bad guy. Like honestly, I felt like this killer should have just been let go, the two guys they killed were clearly far worse humans than he was and like sure there was some collateral damage here but like also the guy he ends up killing for knowing too much didn't even really need to be in the book. Like literally collateral damage guy could have been taken out of the story and nothing would have changed and since I didn't see any true establishment that the killer was a threat to society. Quite frankly, he may have done the world a favor, cause the guys he killed were evil. Like evil rich guys. Sure yeah life is important, justice, law and order, and blah, blah, blah but this is fiction.
At the end of the day, it all just felt too easy, too simple. There was nothing complex about the case, thanks to oddly cooperative witnesses they got their answers relatively quickly, a well-informed journalist filled in the rest, and thanks to the killer dropping a crucial piece of evidence Clara and Lydia had the same revelation regarding who the killer was at the same exact time. A short chase ensues, the cavalier arrives in the nick of time and everything is quickly wrapped up with a nice bow.
Did you hang in there? Good. Because...
If you've read my reviews, you know that I find great value in simple. Sure, I may not end up following this series religiously, but it was entertaining enough to help my day go that much quicker while I was at work. This is one of those books I'd grab after finishing a book that made me think way too much, or because I was in a reading slump and needed something not complicated to pull me out of it. To be completely honest, I can think of ten people right off the bat that I am already going to recommend this too because they will absolutely love it for its simplicity. So yup, I would definitely recommend this one.
As always thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the eArc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The year is 1876 and the World's Fair has come to Philadelphia. Dr. Lydia Weston and Dr. Clara Hall are trying to put the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania into the spotlight and onto the world stage. Using the new technology of anesthesia, and with a prominent volunteer patient in Arthur Carlson, Dr. Hall attempts to showcase her renowned surgical skills in an operating theatre full of male colleagues. When the operation goes horribly wrong, Dr. Hall is arrested and charged with murder and Women's Med is vilified. Dr. Weston performs the autopsy and realizes that the situation is far more nefarious and premeditated than they realized. Dr. Weston once again teams up with Inspector Volcker and Sergeant Davies to investigate and unravel the tangled webs of deceit surrounding this very public death and to clear the names of Dr. Hall and Women's Med.
As a woman in medicine/surgery who has had to fight and claw for every ounce of respect earned, these books really resonate with me. I can't imagine being the actual pioneers on the forefront of women breaking into the male dominated field of medicine and what those brave women had to endure. I love Dr. Weston and how her empathy and kindness always shines through. I love watching her thought processes and how she still tries to forge her path while complying with the societal rules and traditions. I also like the budding slow burn relationship between Dr. Weston and Davies. Dr. Hall comes across as the typical surgeon. Ever the showman: the cowboy. Much less likable and less empathetic while more goal oriented. She knew what she had to do to further her career and she was going to get it done, no matter the collateral damage.
I thought this book was a bit long and there was quite a lot of extra detail and a lot of work on misdirection that could have been pared down. It seemed that the misdirection got all of the attention and the actual plot for the murder kind of ended up as a footnote at the very end. The reader spent very little time with the killer at all and when he reappeared, I really had to think back to who was this guy.
My only other feedback is that some of the surgery and autopsy descriptions were rather graphic and while it doesn't bother me, it may be a little much for readers who are sensitive or not in medicine and may just need a trigger warning.
Overall, I enjoyed this book just like the first one and am looking forward to the next installment in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.
As a woman in medicine/surgery who has had to fight and claw for every ounce of respect earned, these books really resonate with me. I can't imagine being the actual pioneers on the forefront of women breaking into the male dominated field of medicine and what those brave women had to endure. I love Dr. Weston and how her empathy and kindness always shines through. I love watching her thought processes and how she still tries to forge her path while complying with the societal rules and traditions. I also like the budding slow burn relationship between Dr. Weston and Davies. Dr. Hall comes across as the typical surgeon. Ever the showman: the cowboy. Much less likable and less empathetic while more goal oriented. She knew what she had to do to further her career and she was going to get it done, no matter the collateral damage.
I thought this book was a bit long and there was quite a lot of extra detail and a lot of work on misdirection that could have been pared down. It seemed that the misdirection got all of the attention and the actual plot for the murder kind of ended up as a footnote at the very end. The reader spent very little time with the killer at all and when he reappeared, I really had to think back to who was this guy.
My only other feedback is that some of the surgery and autopsy descriptions were rather graphic and while it doesn't bother me, it may be a little much for readers who are sensitive or not in medicine and may just need a trigger warning.
Overall, I enjoyed this book just like the first one and am looking forward to the next installment in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Dr. Lydia Weston is a physician and professor at Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, and it is 1876. Philadelphia has been chosen for the Centennial World's Fair and there is a Women's Pavillion, so she and her colleagues are involved is presenting a display from their college and hoping that it will help make women physicians and surgeons more acceptable to everyone, especially their male colleagues. Her friend and colleague Dr. Clara Hall is an exceptional surgeon and like the surgeon stereotype (male and female) she thinks a lot of herself and her skills and wants others to see what women surgeons can do. She lobbies to do a surgery as part of the World's Fair and wants to showcase how women surgeons are able to use anesthesia to continue to treat many conditions, in this case it's a low-key hernia operation. She even has a patient eager to be part of this - Arthur Carlson - a self-made man and major backer of getting the World's Fair held in Philadelphia. Everything goes well with her demonstration surgery until it is time to bring the patient out from anesthesia when he starts having major problems and ends up dying.
The immediate backlash is against the women physicians and even when it is found out that the patient was actually poisoned and it was not the doctor's fault, they are still blamed. Dr. Watson has worked once before with Inspector Volcker and Sgt. Davies of the Philadelphia police to solve another case, and she turns to them again for help in finding out who (and why) Arthur Carlson was murdered. Between excellent descriptions of the Centennial World's Fair and being pulled into the lives of women physicians of this era, this book draws us back into this time and place. It's a good read and makes you ready for another book in the series.
The immediate backlash is against the women physicians and even when it is found out that the patient was actually poisoned and it was not the doctor's fault, they are still blamed. Dr. Watson has worked once before with Inspector Volcker and Sgt. Davies of the Philadelphia police to solve another case, and she turns to them again for help in finding out who (and why) Arthur Carlson was murdered. Between excellent descriptions of the Centennial World's Fair and being pulled into the lives of women physicians of this era, this book draws us back into this time and place. It's a good read and makes you ready for another book in the series.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Scalpel's Edge
By Riku Mukerji
The year is 1876. The setting is the World's Fair in Philadelphia. The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania has been training women doctors for 26 years. But these women have been scorned and belittled by their male counterparts, never getting the chance to showcase their skills.
But their moment is now. They are offered the opportunity to demonstrate their surgical skills in the medical pavilion at the Fair – and the challenge is accepted. A brilliant surgeon named Clara Hall agrees to perform a hernia repair with the patient under anesthesia, still a relatively new procedure. And the patient turns out to be a very prominent Philadelphian – one Arthur Carlson.
What should have been a huge success and a step up for women doctors goes horribly wrong. Dr. Hall is arrested for murder and the Women's Medical College suffers a blow to its reputation. But Dr. Lydia Weston decides to investigate when the autopsy reveals startling results. The aim is to clear Dr. Hall's name and reputation. With the aid of two detectives, Weston digs in and the suspense deepens, until the final chase through the World's Fair grounds.
The book is a good murder mystery, but also a history lesson about women's rights – or the lack thereof.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
By Riku Mukerji
The year is 1876. The setting is the World's Fair in Philadelphia. The Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania has been training women doctors for 26 years. But these women have been scorned and belittled by their male counterparts, never getting the chance to showcase their skills.
But their moment is now. They are offered the opportunity to demonstrate their surgical skills in the medical pavilion at the Fair – and the challenge is accepted. A brilliant surgeon named Clara Hall agrees to perform a hernia repair with the patient under anesthesia, still a relatively new procedure. And the patient turns out to be a very prominent Philadelphian – one Arthur Carlson.
What should have been a huge success and a step up for women doctors goes horribly wrong. Dr. Hall is arrested for murder and the Women's Medical College suffers a blow to its reputation. But Dr. Lydia Weston decides to investigate when the autopsy reveals startling results. The aim is to clear Dr. Hall's name and reputation. With the aid of two detectives, Weston digs in and the suspense deepens, until the final chase through the World's Fair grounds.
The book is a good murder mystery, but also a history lesson about women's rights – or the lack thereof.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is one of my favorite series! I have read both books and I am looking forward to the next installment! This book takes place in 1876 at the Philadelphia World's Fair. I really liked all the descriptions of the buildings and exhibits. In this story, Dr. Clara Hall operates on a prominent male citizen to repair a hernia. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned. Dr. Lydia Weston and Dr. Hall are soon involved in a murder mystery. I like the Gothic feel of this series, the setting and the focus of women in medicine. I didn't figure out the mystery until almost the end of the book, which I enjoy when I read a mystery. Recommend to all mystery lovers!
August 23, 2026
Not really my jam, but that could’ve been a “me” problem since I thought this was gonna more of a historical fiction mystery/thriller, but at its core it’s simply a mystery. So this was NOT what I had been hoping for. I’m not a real fan of the “A ha!” moments out of nowhere, which this book has a lot of. And I clocked the culprit pretty quickly. I didn’t feel for any of the characters, so I honestly didn’t much care about the outcome. If you’re a cozy mystery fan, you might enjoy this?
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I couldn't put this book down. A story of intrigue and revenge set against the backdrop of the world's fair, in celebration of the 100th birthday of the U.S, and the struggles of early graduates of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Characters are well-developed. Historical fiction at its best!
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August 17, 2026(w)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews