I read this mostly in one sitting, and couldn't put it down. As a lover of the hyper-specific genre "woman* in medicine in the Victorian Era also solves crimes", I was excited to find a new series to dive into. 

The main strength of this book was its protagonist. Sarah is so well drawn and beautifully flawed while also being incredibly loveable. She also not a very good detective, which was actually quite refreshing to read. The focus is more on her emotional arc than on the actual mystery, but they worked very well in service of each other. 

In terms of the mystery itself, there was one element that I thought was drawn out a little too long after it had been made obvious

(that Lucy was Professor M's sister)

but in terms of the murder itself, I found the reveal satisfying in that I hadn't called it, but everything immediately slotted into place. 

I'm already looking forward to reading Sarah's next adventure! 

I enjoy both historical novels and detective stories and so, of course, picking up The Wages of Sin from a work book sale was a foregone conclusion. On the whole, I think the historical side of things works better than the detective side. The situation of Sarah Gilchrist as one of the first female medical students is instantly interesting. The cast of characters, which include professors, their wives and landladies, other students and Sarah's family are all intriguing, even if none of them are particularly deeply drawn at this point. I want to read more of Sarah's story: I'm itching to see how she continues to cope with her past trauma, how her relationships blossom and whether she can escape marriage to Miles Greene.

The detective side of things is less satisfying. I don't remember whether, the first time I read The Wages of Sin, I was suspicious of the character Sarah considers her prime suspect. This time around, certainly, I was convinced that he couldn't possibly be the murderer. It's not surprising that Sarah isn't a very good detective - there's no reason that she should be, since this is her first time in close contact with crime. Nonetheless, as realistic as it is that she keeps running into brick walls and being (somewhat successfully) warned off the case, it's also a little frustrating. 

Ultimately, it wasn't the murder mystery that kept me reading, and it's not what I'd be reading any sequels for, either. That said, I still want to read the sequels, so clearly Kaite Welsh is doing something right!