Review: The Blood Doctor

Lord Martin Nanther is digging up the past, researching into his great-grandfather, the first Lord Nanther, in order to write his biography. Henry Nanther was a physician to Queen Victoria, and an expert in diseases of the blood, in particular haemophilia. For his service to his friend the Queen, he was the first surgeon to be granted a peerage. He kept meticulous notes and diaries, clearly desiring to one day be the subject of such a biography. However, as he delves further into Henry’s life, Martin discovered discrepancies and illogicalities throughout it. Puzzling questions, things which seemingly make no sense. Such as, why did he break off his engagement to a wealthy heiress, marriage to whom would allow him access into the very social circle which he craved entry? Why did he choose to then marry a poor solicitor’s daughter? And what was the real story behind her violent passing? And why did he then go on to marry his late fiancée’s sister?

Martin is burdened enough…the House of Lords, in which he sits, is being reformed, and the hereditary peers (Martin in one of them) are being thrown out, and his wife is unable to conceive the child she so desperately desires. But soon Martin will also discover that his great-grandfather died with a monstrous secret..

Ruth Rendell’s Barbara Vine novels demand your attention, keeping your eyes locked to the page. They are page-turners because you need to keep on reading to alleviate the tension, which keeps ratcheting up. But Rendell never lets this tension fully dissipate, leading to edgy suspense and a masterful, subtle, thriller.

She weaves her plot between the past and present absolutely seamlessly. The characters are well drawn and you quickly attach to them. Especially Jude, Martin’s wife, who has already suffered through two miscarriages. There is so much to interest you in this book…details of the royal family, details about genealogy, details about the disease haemophilia, sheer human emotion and psychology, aspects of mystery, and some interesting and illuminating insights into an historic institution to which few are privy. The Reform of the House of Lords is written about marvellously and fascinatingly, with a kind of depressing inevitability, and the small details she throws in about how the House works are immensely satisfying and strangely engaging. This book is not only a greatly enjoyable and compelling one, but a subtle education in all the topics it covers.

With a cast of many characters, most of whom are dead, the reader will be eternally grateful for the two family trees provided in the front of the book. Indeed, they will be eternally grateful for the entire novel. This is fiction written as only the best can write it. Suspenseful and intriguing, all aspects of this book are fascinating. Praise the Lord for Ruth Rendell and her many, many, books.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Fiona Walker

Book Review: The Blood Doctor