London, 1857 - A series of mutilated corpses are pulled from the Thames. Young surgeon Dr George Phillips is first consulted, and then suspected, by baffled police.

The Lazarus Club - Meanwhile, a secret society meets. This gathering of the finest minds of the age – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin and others – wish to use their discoveries to change the world. . .

Murder and conspiracy - But there are those who use the club for their own mysterious and black ends. With his reputation and his life on the line, Dr Phillips must unmask the plotters before they unleash on an unsuspecting world an awesome scientific power. . .

I remember watching Tony Pollard along with Neil Oliver (now Coast presenter on BBC2) when they did the archaeology series, 2 Men in a Trench, and also had the pleasure of meeting him, so I was intrigued to read his first novel...

I can't quite make up my mind about it... the concept is interesting but I can't decide if the Lazarus Club is made-up or real! The idea that all those great minds got together regularly seems a bit far-fetched.

It's a gruesome tale, but it does paint an interesting picture of Victorian London. The main character is difficult to decipher, I couldn't decide if I liked him or not and it was a bit drawn out in parts....

Taking this to the York Book Crossing Meet-Up.

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I realled enjoyed this thriller. Its a silly historical murder mystery, starring Isambard Kingsom Brunel, Florence Nightingale and other Victorian luminaries. Great fun.

To be released at the monthly York Bookcrossing meetup.

A jolly romp through a pile of corpses - ah, sorry, through Victorian London - in the company of the finest engineers and inventors of their day, supporting actors in this melodrama.

Picked up at the york BookCrossing meeting - notes to follow when I've read it

It is really very, very silly! I enjoyed reading it at first but had to force myself to keep going once I got about three quarters of the way through, as the murder mystery element took second place to what I had assumed was the subplot.
I did think that it would have benefitted from the attentions of a decent editor - the plot dragged considerably in some places and there were several scenes which were just repeats of events that had taken place before.
But if you're interested in Victorian London and the great men (this book is populated mostly by men) who were making their mark on the scientific discoveries of that time, you mgith enjoy it as a daft romp.

To be released at the monthly BookCrossing meet-up