The Anatomist's Apprentice

 The Anatomist's Apprentice (2011) by Tessa Harris

Synopsis [from the book flap]: In the first in a new mystery series set in eighteenth-century England, Tessa Harris introduces Dr. Thomas Silkstone, anatomist and pioneering forensic detective...The death of Sir Edward Crick has unleashed a torrent of gossip through the seedy taverns and elegant ballrooms of Oxfordshire. Few mourn the dissolute young man--except  his sister, the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell. When her husband comes under suspicion of murder, she seeks expert help from Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia.

Thomas arrived in England to study under its foremost surgeon, where his unconventional methods only add to his outsider status. Against his better judgment he agrees to examine Sir Edward's corpse. but it is not only the dead, but also the living to whom he must apply the keen blade of his intellect. And the deeper the doctor's investigations go, the greater the risk that he will be consigned to the ranks of the corpses he studies....

One of the blurbs on Goodreads I saw said that if you like The Anatomist's Apprentice, then you'd like the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries. As a firm fan of the Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin mysteries, let me say that once you read those, you'll be spoiled and might not want to come back to Dr. Thomas Silkstone. The quality of writing and historical research in the C. S. Harris books are superior. The characters are far more compelling and the mysteries better plotted. Each series (basing the Silkstone series on this one only) have their gruesome moments, but Silkstone's autopsies outdo Devlin's high body count--not in a good way.

The mystery itself had a good premise, but there were too few suspects and I spotted at least part of the solution pretty quickly. There is a nice added twist at the end, but even that is telegraphed a bit ahead of time. Now...this doesn't mean I won't give Silkstone another chance. Though I was immediately hooked on the Devlin books, I have to say that they don't hit their stride until the third book or so. I like the time period and I'm willing to see if the books improve after a slightly rough beginning. ★★ and 1/2

First line (Prologue): Time, they say, is a great physician.

First line (1st chapter): A stifled scream came first, shattering the oppressive silence.

Last line: No doctor had ever devised a remedy to ease lovesickness, but during the cold and unforgiving season that lay ahead without his beloved, the token, he told himself would help warm his aching heart.
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Deaths = 8 (one natural; two poisoned; one drowned; two strangled; two beaten)