Secrets in the Stones

Dr. Thomas Silkstone #6

by Tessa Harris

Within the mysteries of the body, especially those who have been murdered, 18th-century anatomist Dr. Thomas Silkstone specializes in uncovering the tell-tale clues that lead towards justice. . . .

Newly released from the notorious asylum known as Bedlam, Lady Lydia Farrell finds herself in an equally terrifying position—as a murder suspect—when she stumbles upon the mutilated body of Sir Montagu Malthus in his study at Boughton Hall.

Meanwhile Dr. Thomas Silkstone has been injured in a duel with a man who may or may not have committed the grisly deed of which Lydia is accused. Despite his injury, Thomas hopes to clear his beloved’s good name by conducting a postmortem on the victim. With a bit of detective work, he learns that Montagu’s throat was slit by no ordinary blade, but a ceremonial Sikh dagger from India—a clue that may be connected to the fabled lost mines of Golconda.

From the mysterious disappearance of a cursed diamond buried with Lydia’s dead husband, to the undying legend of a hidden treasure map, Thomas must follow a trail of foreign dignitaries, royal agents—and even more victims—to unveil the sinister and shocking secrets in the stones. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Audiobook, Murder Mystery

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2016

About the author

From the author's website:After studying History at Oxford University, I began my journalistic career on a newspaper in my home town of Louth, in Lincolnshire. I progressed onto a London newspaper, where I became women's editor. From there I moved to become a feature writer on Best magazine. After two years I was made editor of a regional arts and listings publication. This was followed by another two years as deputy editor on Heritage magazine. Motherhood meant a spell as a freelance, contributing to several national magazines, such as Country Homes & Interiors, Perfect Home and Woman's Journal, as well as newspapers such as The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian. During this time I also worked as a literary publicist and for a documentary-making company. In 2005 I was made editor of Berkshire Life magazine.

In 2000 I won a European-wide screenplay writing competition run by the London Screenwriters' Workshop and the resulting screenplay was optioned by a film company. The script was set in 18th century London and my subsequent research led to the invention of Dr Thomas Silkstone, an American anatomist and the world's first forensic scientist.

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Author Tessa Harris[5] also made him one of the main characters in her book The Dead Shall Not Rest which uses a fictional character Thomas Silkstone to examine the beginnings of forensic science, anatomy and surgery. The book, which is well referenced, emphasises the difficulty and need of anatomists of the time gaining access to bodies to dissect, and the illegal trade in dead bodies that eventuated due to this.

Reviews

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

When I got this book, I completely overlooked the fact that it was the sixth installment of a series, but honestly while reading it didn't bother me much. Of course, there were moments where things were recalled that I couldn't completely follow, but this isn't one of those series that leave you clueless when you jump in at a later time.

Besides its setting in 18th century England, the story is not unlike that of many other mystery books and it was not able to surprise me or really wow me. It was decent, but I never felt like I couldn't put down the book or that I wanted to learn more about any of the characters, really. (Maybe one should bond with them during the series, but they felt rather flat to me).

It was an okay read but not very remarkable or special.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe this book has run to course. At least it has for me. It moved very slowly in my opinion. At least there was a resolution at the ending. I need to mention something that jumped out to me when someone referred to being stuffed “as a thanksgiving turkey.” Since the location of the novel is England which doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving per se, I can’t help but question what other historical inaccuracies are in the book.

[kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, my phone is to blame for this one. I have Hoopla installed on my phone, which is great, because I can listen to audiobooks on my way to and from work. For reasons beyond my understanding, though, little things will set Hoopla off. Sometimes when I receive a text message the book that I'm in the middle of will just start playing. This is disconcerting when the phone is in my purse, for example, and all of a sudden I start hearing voices coming from the area near my elbow. Somehow, without my actively doing anything, I managed to borrow this audiobook on Hoopla. I think what happened was that I was listening to Persona Non Grata, which is read by Simon Vance, and the list of other books he has narrated was pulled up, and this book was somehow selected and borrowed. I generally don't start reading a series in the middle (this is book 6), but I only get a certain number of titles a month, and I like historical mysteries, so I though what the hell.
Maybe this book is entertaining if you've read the rest of the series, but to me it seemed like a lot of hand-wringing and over-explaining. The gruesome murders and ties to India were interesting, but I just didn't care. The villains were of the mustache-twirling variety and I remember being annoyed with Thomas for trusting at least one of them. Georgian England isn't my jam, and Simon Vance's American accent reminded me of an overdone Western drawl.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing

[Kathy Jund · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars! The final installment in the Thomas Silkstone mystery series? (Perhaps), but Secrets in the Stones, Tessa Harris' 6th (and most powerful) installment pits Dr. Thomas Silkstone against foes both known and unknown as he attempts to solve four gruesome murders (each surprising victim and manner of death leave him shocked at every turn). His pool of suspects even more so! Filled with so many compelling twists and turns until the final shocking truth is revealed to all. With the ever-present love of his life, Lady Lydia Farrell and the series' returning cast of characters which most certainly you cannot help but be endeared with, Thomas is determined to not put his personal life on track until he finds the answers to the mystery at hand no matter where they lead him.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first two books of this series. This is the sixth, but I didn't really need the intervening books to enjoy this one. Our 18th century, CSI-style anatomist is faced with solving four murders in London, which seem to have some connection with India and diamond mines. The novel incorporates the real-life figures of Warren Hastings, Thomas Motte, and others, as well as historical locations and incidents. That always makes the story more enjoyable.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was very good! It was Bones in 1700’s England post revolution. The Anatomist is a colonist. There is bodies, mysteries and romance. Much period detail is very interesting! I really enjoyed this 6 book series!

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thankfully Lydia gets some of her gumption back for this one. The plot connects England's taking of India for the empire and seeing India's resources and people as their to use as they saw fit. Decent mystery but mainly I was glad to finally have some resolution to the lives of the primary characters.

[Jodie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm such a sucker for stories set in the 18th century! And I love the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series books by Harris, so this book was a delight to read for me.

Lydia and Thomas ce again partner to investigate a murder mystery, this time centering on some stolen artifacts from India, which happens because of the rules surrounding the 18th century English colonization of India. Racism features prominently, as well as disdain for the "other."

The mystery is well-hidden and revealed effectively, as with all Harris's novels, and I enjoyed the tension between Lydia and Thomas as it continues to develop.

[Stephanie Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love a good historical mystery thriller and this one fits the bill. I believe this story is the sixth in the series and I started with this one first. Why am I always doing that? Sigh. I don’t know. Well, I’m happy to report that after reading this book I want to go back and read the first five.

Eighteenth century anatomy interest me in several areas. Particularly the dissection of the human bodies and their analysis on how they died and perhaps leading to why and other considerations from scientific purview. The author certainly has a lot of material to work with when writing about crimes and mysteries in the eighteen-century due to the general public’s discovery of deaths through the publication of newspapers and such.

Dr. Thomas Silkstone is a fascinating character to say the least. He used scientist evidence and clues to help solve crimes. Which is refreshing when looking at how crimes are often concluded by ignorance, no evidence, convenience, mob rule and pure speculation throughout history. It makes me shudder to think how many innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not comment and the punishments and the lifetime imprisonments they have endured.

I must admit, I was fascinated with the aspect of Silkstone’s method in investigating the crimes commented more so than his romantic involvement with Lydia- at first, I couldn’t see the attraction. Towards the end, she grew on me a little despite being in the background quite a bit more than I expected.

In this story, Lydia seemed to have the worse luck and finds herself in continual trouble at every turn. As I read this story I couldn’t help wonder if this was the case in the previous books. I cannot attest to the development of Lydia’s character since I haven’t read the other books in the series but I have my suspicions that she may be portrayed as a fragile woman and constantly needs recusing-you know, “Damsel in distress”. Towards the end of the story, there was an instance where Lydia was in the presence of Silkstone’s colleagues and one of the colleague’s brother discussing the crime(s) and their wary of Lydia’s “sensibilities” irked me a bit as they chose their words carefully or omitted them in her presence. Was it out of the “polite society” of the time, or was it because men considered women the “weaker sex” and felt the need to shelter them? Or it could be just plain out of respect for her that they guarded their tongue. I’m still undecided on that score. I will say that death was all too common during those times as it is in our century and women are made of tougher stuff than we are often given credit for in many situations. I can assure you this is not a slight on the author’s story-telling what-so-ever. On the contrary, she portrayed that quite well in the scene and has given me a lot of food for thought about certain topics and cultural norms when it comes to stuff like this. Again, keep in mind I’m not too certain of Lydia’s characterization.

I must say there were a lot of characters to keep up with and at times I was frustrated with that fact. Nonetheless, this story was well written, entertaining and a brilliant historical mystery read. As the clues were stacking up, the danger escalating, there was very little left to chance as Silkstone raced to solve the mystery before more people were murdered.

I must caution the reader and mention that there are gruesome details in how the crimes were commented. Beware of that fact.

Overall, the author does well in presenting multiple motivations for murder to have you fully immersed in the story to find out the conclusion.

Without a doubt, historical fiction mystery lovers will enjoy this adventure.

Stephanie Hopkins
Layered Pages

I obtained a galley copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Scoop Erickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

judder: verb; (especially of something mechanical) shake and vibrate rapidly and with force.
"the steering wheel juddered in his hand"

judder: noun; an instance of rapid and forceful shaking and vibration.
"the car gave a judder"

You will need this definition if you are going to read the Doctor Thomas Silkstone series. I’m an English major and had to look it up when I first encountered it. No problem. It is always interesting to learn a new word. But it seems like the author, Tessa Harris, discovered this word while writing the first book and liked it so much, she wanted to play with it even more. She used it 25 times in her first six books. In Book 4 alone, she used it 11 times. It got to the point where each time I encountered it, it distracted me from the story. May I suggest occasional alternatives such as quiver, waver, shudder, shake, tremble, or quake?

I had just finished reading a series of books about the Civil War and I needed a break from an overload of war, death, scholarship, and military tactics. So, I turned to Harris’s Dr. Silkstone series to cleanse my reading palate.

I enjoyed the main character, Dr. Silkstone, very much. He is engaging, intelligent, and ahead of his time in terms of this profession. As an American in England towards of the end of the Revolutionary War, he is a fish out of water. The side characters are well drawn and interesting.

However, by the end of the fourth book, I had had enough of Silkstone’s love interest, Lady Lydia. She is tiny and frail, always in peril and needing rescue from the handsome and incredibly patient Silkstone. She falls apart, her emotions never in check, to any problem or threat. People could be dying on every side and Silkstone still has to choose his words carefully lest he upset her brittle equilibrium. Lydia certainly faces formidable challenges and dangers, but she never rises to meet them, always needing Silkstone to save her. Too many pages are devoted to Silkstone’s attempts to comfort and cosset her always shattered emotional state. I would have loved to see her grow from a fragile flower to a woman discovering her power. Six books into the series, this has yet to happen.

I enjoyed the mysteries, medical elements, history, and most of the characters. These books provided what I needed: light reading. But when I finish the sixth book, I won't get anymore in the series, mostly because I just don’t understand the practical and inexplicably devoted Silkstone’s attraction to such a fragile, clinging, distraught, high maintenance, damsel in perpetual distress.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good historical mystery, and “Secrets in the Stones” fits the bill. I discovered this mystery in a pile of donated books; it looked interesting; so, I read it. Normally I do like to read a series in order, but this was the sixth entry and I had it! With a few exceptions which became clearer as the story progressed, this can be read a stand-alone book. Our protagonist is Dr. Thomas Silkstone, an American 18th century anatomist ~ a bit like modern day Temperence Brennan (TV Bones!).

Newly released from the notorious asylum known as Bedlam, Lady Lydia Farrell finds herself in an equally terrifying position - as a murder suspect. She is the one who stumbles upon the mutilated body of Sir Montagu Malthus in his study at Boughton Hall and becomes the main suspect. Meanwhile Dr. Thomas Silkstone has been injured in a duel with a man who may or may not have committed the grisly deed of which Lady Lydia is accused. Despite his injury, Thomas hopes to clear his beloved’s good name by conducting a postmortem on the victim. The food Doctor becomes fully embroiled in homicide investigation as an anatomist. It slowly becomes apparent that the murders are all connected with India diamond mines and Lady Lydia's dead husband. So, who is committing the murders?

I liked the characters and the plot. “Secrets in the Stones” was interesting with several of those nasty little twists and turns. Although the conclusion was satisfying, it was not great. I have not read any of the preceding books in this series; I may, but and I am not likely to do so. Although this was a good read, there are some other historical mystery series that are so better. Solid ‘3’ from me.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of historical fiction; add a mystery to the mix and I'm completely hooked. I've read all but one in this series of books, skipping the fifth book (which is on my shelves) on purpose. As much as I love Dr. Silkstone -- the love of his life, Lydia, is too much of a victim. I just couldn't stand the thought of dealing with her in Bedlam (book 5). I understand that wealthy women in her time were thought to be incredibly frail, had no rights and were often victimized, but there were more than a few that managed to get the upper hand. Luckily, in Secrets in the Stones, Lydia grew a bit of backbone toward the end of the story.

That out of the way, I gave this novel five stars because it took us out of the British Isles and gave us a chance to look at British interests and influence in India. The notes on the debate and politics of the British view of Indian culture -- and Mr. Hasting's respect for it, made me head for wikipedia to discover more. The story also had a considerable amount of action and kept me guessing about motives and murders until the final reveal. I definately look forward to Ms. Harris's next book.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 6 and the final one, as far as we know, in the Thomas Silkstone Mysteries series. It was a very good ending for the series, filled with the usual excitement and bits of historical and medical knowledge. There is a lot going on in this story and to try and explain would give away too many spoilers. This story line has its basis many years ago in India with the finding of a diamond and a double cross. It is steeped in revenge and gruesome retribution. We have treasure buried with the dead, a mysterious treasure map and a list of suspects that include the lovely Lady Lydia and the visiting brother of Thomas's mentor Dr. Carruthers, who was once himself a physician in far off India. Dr. Silkstone has to follow a trail of foreign dignitaries, royal agents and even more victims to unravel the shocking secrets of the stones. Will he and Lady Lydia find their HEA or will Sir Montagu reach from the grave and snatch it all away? A most excellent read. One can only hope there will be more stories for this fantastic series. It is one I have thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have finally made it to the end of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris, and I am thankful for that. It was a rough ride through books 4, 5, and 6 and I am glad to be done. The best comparison I have is to a TV series that's gone on too long and the show is centered around the characters' relationship drama rather than the events happening to them.
Anyways, in this novel, Lydia's guardian has been murdered and Thomas feels responsible for finding the killer and ensuring that Lydia is not accused of the crime. He's in the midst of recovering from a bullet wound that he acquired from a duel (fighting for Lydia's hand), so he goes through a lot of challenges and pain to see this mystery through.
While I am interested to see what Harris puts out next, I am ready to move on from Dr. Silkstone and Lydia. I've had enough of their drama, and they're not romantic enough of a couple to keep me invested in their well-being.

Read my full review at samiamreadingandreviewing.wordpress.com.

[Bryce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book through Net Galley.

If you enjoy old-fashioned period mysteries, you might like this. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, but if you read and enjoyed them, I'm sure you'll like this. It's perfectly well-executed, but it couldn't hold my attention for more than a couple chapters at a time. I'm usually a pretty fast reader, but this book felt like it took years to get through because I just could not bring myself to take any interest in anything that happened. The mystery wasn't interesting, the characters weren't interesting, nothing about it was actually interesting for me.

It isn't even bad in any significant way, just painfully dull. It wasn't even interesting enough to hate.

[Judy Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This latest installment of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series finds the good Dr. embroiled in homicide investigation as an anatomist. Lady Lydia remains his steadfast love interest. The murders are all connected to India diamond mines and Lady Lydia's dead husband. Who's committing the murders? Dr. Thomas Silkstone is set on discovering the guilty party and bringing that person to justice. Throughout this book Dr. Silkstone questions whether or not he should be trying to solve these crimes using scientific observations. His observations are limited by the fact the series is set in the 1780's. This series gives a good overview of technology at the time. If you enjoy a good mystery set in the 1780's, you will enjoy this series.

[LeAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel before set in 18th c London. It was fun to picture characters in brocades and wigs doing the kinds of things forensic pathologists do on TV with, of course, the limitations of science available to them at the time. There is a lot of complicated backstory, much of which seems to come from earlier books in the series, and the ending suggests possibilities for a future book. I was confused at times by multiple characters with similar names or titles. Pretty gruesome; I wouldn’t recommend a movie version despite period costumes. There’s a feeble attempt at being profound near the end, but mainly it’s just fun. And gruesome.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the first six books in this series, I can honestly say this one is my favorite. There were lots of twists and turns in the plot, and the person I thought was the evil perpetrator was not. This novel deals with the British in India, the diamond mines, and the way the native people were treated. I learned a lot about that period in history; and, of course, Ms. Harris has a chapter by chapter appendix at the end explaining unfamiliar terms and identifying characters who were real people at the time. I even liked Lydia a little better in this novel, and the conclusion was satisfying although there remains a possibility for another book to follow.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started the series, I didn't know what to think about Anatomists and how the book would go with the graphic descriptions in the openings, but I stuck with it, and it became more and more intriguing and now here I am having read book 6 in the series and I find myself looking high and low for more.. wanting more, but alas, isn't that how these things go;

For me the series was adventure, well thought out mystery, and a little, non-gratuitous romance intermixed- with a tinge of grittiness, which kept me interested, all culminating in this last book, which I found to be the best in my opinion.

[Cindy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely plotted and well narrated, especially like historical data at end. Author's main character says "it doesn't matter whether Buddha or Jesus said it..." one has gotta figure it out for themselves about his viewpoint & what you'd be reading from there. Made me think again about continuing series.

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing mystery that isn't hard to get into without having read the first five in the series. There were enough hints, although possibly spoiler alerts, to the previous books that might interest the reader into going back & reading them without making the reading of the current book difficult. Lots of twists, turns, and gruesome deaths to keep you reading.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed the rest if this series quite a bit, nice to listen to while cleaning and whatnot. However, this one bugged a bit. How in heavens name did he not tie it all together until the end. Maybe Thomas is meant to be distracted and oblivious for this one but the clues were too obvious and should have come up a few conclusions before the end.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painfully slow and Dr. Thomas Silkstone has run his course.
After reading book 5 and thinking Lydia really cannot be that naive and trusting but by gosh she can always prove you wrong.
Slow storyline, weak dialogue and really annoying Lady Lydia.
I have to say I only read this one to finish the series. So much potential for Dr. Thomas Silkstone and it was completely wasted.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars because if the series is good enough to entice me to read all six books it can’t be that bad, but I don’t imagine I’d return to it. It’s almost too much drama and too many outlandish twists. Especially as the story focus comes back to Lydia for this final installment of the series. Her life has more twists and turns than an amusement park.

[Verity Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better

This book is much better than the previous volume. The crimes of Lydia's deceased husband have finally followed him to England. But what does the killer want? This mystery is genuinely intriguing, with a dash of thriller.

If this is the ending of the series (finally a happy ending!), it's a good one.

[Mary Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary six novels

Very exciting and quick read. It was very suspendful to. The plot of this novel kept you wanting to get to the end of the story and want more to see how the lives of the characters would end. I

look forward to more books in the future on Dr Silkstone mystery.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed this book, though I'm having a hard time remembering the soap opera plot from all the previous novels. The author has killed off all the bad guys. Curious if this is the end or if there will be more.

[Dlhmoore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sixth and last book of Tessa Harris historical fiction books starring Dr. Thomas Silverstone. It was a very interesting series and dealt with many mysteries in the 1700’s. I enjoyed them immensely. Wish there was another like it.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sixth episode, Dr. Silkstone falls into the intrigues of stolen diamonds, opium smoking and sequential murders connecting them all. The deus ex machina are a little irritating, but the setting is interesting. I'll look around for more books by Harris.