The Specimen by Jaima Fixsen

A Chilling Gothic Historical Thriller Based On the Burke and Hare Murders.

Walk carefully, lest you become a part of Dr.Burnett's collection.

Edinburgh, 1826. Isobel Tait does her best to raise her young son Thomas alone, but yellow fever has left him with a scarred heart. Even a specialist, the renowned Dr.Connall Burnett can do nothing for him. Isobel decides to make the most of the remaining time with her son—until he goes missing.

A chance visit to Dr. Burnett's collection of specimens elicits a horrifying realisation: there, in a small jar among stuffed lizards and misshapen bones, is a new addition: a tiny human heart. The use of stolen bodies by Edinburgh's medical men is a controversial but open secret.

But Isobel can't shake a horrible suspicion that the doctor's a proxy killer obsessed with his quest for specimens. Determined to find proof, she goes undercover as a maid in Burnett's house and soon becomes the keeper of his specimens. She'll have to gather evidence, protect his patients, and exact justice?and not get caught.

Based on a true story, The Specimen is a mesmerising work of Gothic historical fiction that explores one woman's search for truth and vengeance in the darkest of places – where the deadliest secrets lie hidden in plain sight, on a freshly dusted shelf.

• Format:
  • Paperback / softback
  • 464 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
• Published: 15 Oct 2024
• Classifications:
  • Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),
  • Historical mysteries,
  • Thriller / suspense
• Weight: 324g
• Dimensions: 198 x 130 x 32 (mm)
• Pub. Country: United States