Paula Harmon – The Wrong Sort To Die

‘The Wrong Sort To Die’ by Paula Harmon is a historical mystery/crime thriller and if I enjoy anything it’s a bit of history mixed in with a dead body or two (or three..depends on the scale of the murdering I guess)!

This story is set in 1910, when women are fighting for any rights and men don’t understand the meaning of equality. We meet Dr Margaret Demeray a pathologist who has just discovered a John Doe patient has died and it isn’t just Tuberculosis but some type of mysterious illness she can’t recognise also. She is determined to discover the truth of his death. Just even attempting to get her male colleagues to take her quite seriously enough or even care because he was a John Doe, is the beginning of an uphill struggle for her.

A story which brings the issues of the 1910s to the fore, we see Margaret is treated as an object and being patronised, despite her position and skills. The men around her in the workplace would rather look her up and down than take her opinions on board. Even against all of this Margaret never gives in, I marvelled at her determination. The class divide, between rich and poor is so apparent and Margaret, as she does in every part of her life, has very firm and clear views on the state of the divide and the inequality in the world she lives.

While reading this I felt like I had stepped back in time. Paula Harmon has recreated the world back then I could have been in that workhouse or wherever Margaret was at the time. A really entertaining, educational and exciting mystery with a brilliant and complex character at the helm.

Thank you to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours and Paula Harmon for the copy of the book so I could write my review today.