The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli

The novel is told entirely from two POVs. Myrcina is also sexist and backwards, again whilst Khalishkha appears to be more enlightened. Class responsibility also comes into play: the nobles of the country of Myrcina (of which Caligo is the capital) are shocking arrogant and feel they have no obligations to their servants, whilst the neighbouring empire of Khalishkha has a very different attitude.

Class struggle is a key point: the rich and powerful get the best medical attention and the best protection whilst the poor are left to suffer and die without acknowledgement. The book engages with a variety of themes across its length. It's proven to be an unexpected delight, a compelling novel with one of the most standard plots you can imagine - an innocent (but not flawless) protagonist framed for a crime he didn't commit, with him and his colleagues trying to clear his name - but set in a vivid and interesting world. I hadn't heard of the novel prior to randomly wandering into the book's launch party at the Dublin WorldCon in August, and was intrigued enough by the premise to pick the book up. It mixes elements of Gothic fiction, steampunk, Victoriana and outright secondary world fantasy, with moments that recall China Mieville but an atmosphere all of it own. The Resurrectionist of Caligo is the joint debut novel by Wendy Trimboli and Alicia Zaloga.

It falls to his brother and Sibylla, a princess of the realm, to help clear his name and allow him to find the true murderer.

Roger's investigation sees him framed as the serial killer. One such incident leads Roger to investigate a spate of similar deaths and rumours of a serial killer at work. Roger Weathersby was once a promising surgical student but he is now a 'resurrectionist,' a corpse-stealer who takes the recently interred to medical schools to further the cause of science.

The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Wendy Trimboli