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The Specimens

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The Specimens

By: Mairi Kidd
Narrated by: Gerda Stevenson
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Summary

 "A work of fiction that is both a potent portrait of early 19th-century Edinburgh but also a story about female agency or the lack of it. The result is a compelling, painful, haunted piece of work." THE HERALD

WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2025

Up the close and down the stair, meet the women of Burke and Hare

Edinburgh, 1828. Two women - one rich, one poor - must navigate life against a frenzied backdrop of medical discovery, mob mayhem, and murder.

Susan's sheltered life as the wife of Robert Knox, a wealthy anatomist, is a far cry from Helen's perilous existence in the Old Town slums with her lover William Burke.

Yet as people begin disappearing, these two different women face the same impossible choice. Should they protect what they have or tell the truth about what they know?

Discover the notorious serial killings of Burke and Hare, told for the first time through the eyes of women whose
stories reveal the depths of the human heart.

COMING OCTOBER 2025 - Poor Creatures - Unearth the fascinating story of Mary Shelley: the mind which birthed Frankenstein's monster...


PRAISE FOR THE SPECIMENS

"Beguiling and atmospheric" HEAT MAGAZINE

"A fresh, feminine take on the horrors of Scotland's most notorious serial killers" SALLY MAGNUSSON

"Gruesomely gripping, this story will stay with you for a long time" SUE LAWRENCE

"Mairi Kidd holds a lantern up to the brutality of women's lives in Burke, Hare and Knox's Edinburgh" LUCY RIBCHESTER©2024 Mairi Kidd (P)2024 Bonnier Books UK Crime Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Historical Medical Thriller & Suspense Murder Heartfelt
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Loved this from the outset. Living in Edinburgh and being familiar with all the locations made it really come to life for me, helped by the brilliant, atmospheric descriptions by the author. The connections to Edinburgh's dark history gave me goosebumps, especially towards the end and provides plenty food for thought. Wonderful, admirable and strong leading women with intriguing, believable characters throughout makes this a engaging, fascinating read and all narrated fantastically too. Brilliant! 👏

Beautifully written, fascinating story....even if mostly fictional

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Great storyline. The book kept me asking the same questions as motives and addictions grew, what is right and what is wrong and when to stop!

Hard to put down

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Fantastic listen. So well written I kept forgetting that I knew what was going to happen! Fascinating take on a traditionally masculine story and the performance was perfect too!

Well research gripping historical fiction

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Excellent read, Edinburgh sounds wild back in the day in this book. definitely worth a read.

brilliant

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Although we are told at the end of the book that many of the characters and much of the story line were fictional, the author is extremely clever in the way she weaves the true story of Burk and Hare into the plot. I really enjoyed this book and thought the narrator did an excellent job.

Very believable characters.

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