Spotlight on “The Resurrectionist” by A. Rae Dunlap

by LitStack Editor

In The Resurrectionist, historical fiction, true crime, and dark academia intertwine in a harrowing tale of murder, greed, and the grisly origins of modern medicine.

Mark your calendars, LitStackers! The debut novel The Resurrectionist by A Rae Dunlap is in presale (the best time to buy a book), and ready to hit the bookshelves on December 24, 2024. Our anticipation is palpable. Published by Kensington Publishing, this novel is already making waves with early readers. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the cover from the publisher’s official description to early reviews that will help you pre-order your copy ASAP. Let’s dive in!

The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap

The best time to buy a book is during presale. In the world of book publishing, for authors, strong presale numbers translate to increased visibility, higher initial print runs, and a greater range of exposure. Publishers rely on presales to gauge reader interest and allocate marketing resources. A high volume of presales signals to bookstores that a book is in demand, leading to better placement and more prominent displays. Ultimately, robust presales create a ripple effect that can significantly boost a book’s overall performance and reach a wider audience.

About The Resurrectionist

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city’s university offers everything James desires—except the chance to work on a human cadaver.

For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon’s Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin “Nye” MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist’s eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves—but it doesn’t take long for James to realize he’s made a devil’s bargain . . .

Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice. Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists—the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige.

James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it’s cold-blooded murder . . .

Exquisitely macabre and delightfully entertaining, The Resurrectionist combines fact and fiction in a rollicking tale of the risks and rewards of scientific pursuit, the passions of its boldest pioneers, and the anatomy of human desire.

Praise for The Resurrectionist

“This perfectly ghoulish thriller expertly blends dark academia with historical true crime and unexpected romance. Readers will be delightfully haunted by the lush prose and atmospheric gloom.”—B.R. Myers, author of A Dreadful Splendor

“Playing with a captivating point in history, A. Rae Dunlap weaves a story of queer love, coming of age, and macabre science against the richly-drawn atmosphere of a historic and beloved city. The result is a book hauntingly gothic, intimately told, and wickedly, wonderfully grotesque.”—Marielle Thompson, author of The Last Witch in Edinburgh

“The Resurrectionist is a wryly humorous and devilishly macabre cat-and-mouse thriller as dark as a midnight graveyard and as twisting as Edinburgh’s cobblestone streets. It’s an enthralling debut from a writer to watch.”—Patrice McDonough, author of Murder by Lamplight

“Brilliantly researched and beautifully written. Dunlap expertly captures the history and cadence of the era, and the thrill and elation of discovery during the Enlightenment, as well as the dark and twisted depths that are the byproducts of progress. A clever tale filled with macabre intrigue and personal revelation.”—Anna Lee Huber, USA Today bestselling author

“Mixing a macabre gothic mystery with a sensitive coming-of-age tale and a touching queer romance, Dunlap has written an exciting, well-researched debut historical adventure.”—firstCLUE“With wit as sharp as a scalpel, and a plot as dark and twisted as the Edinburgh alleys in which it is set, The Resurrectionist is a thrilling debut that will have readers turning pages deep into the night.”—Hester Fox, author of The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

About A. Rae Dunlap, Author of The Resurrectionist

The Resurrectionist author A. Rae Dunlap

Rae Dunlap earned her degree in film at Northwestern University and spends her days as a trailer editor at Disney, bringing to life the magic of the world’s most influential storytellers for audiences everywhere. She lives with her husband in a small mountain town in California. The Resurrectionist was her first novel.

You can connect with Rae Dunlap on her website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.

Source: Publisher, Rae Dunlap website
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 9781496750365
Pub Date: 12/24/2024

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The Resurrectionist author A. Rae Dunlap's similar title The Beasts We Bury

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