Historical mystery set in New York circa 1880s.
Una is a gifted thief but falls afoul of the law and is arrested for murder when she cons her way into Bellevue Hospital as a probationary nurse trainee. She knows that she didn't kill anyone, but she can't forget that someone is continuing to strangle others who come from the streets. Can her extravagant ruse and many lies protect her as she investigates those deaths and somehow redeem herself as well.
As a registered nurse, I always search for books that have anything to do with medicine or science. I also love reading about the origin of the profession so that I can marvel at how far things have come since its beginning. The details about how Una performed her duties and took care of her patients was the most interesting part of this book. I was dismayed that it took 14 chapters (almost 27% into the book) before she got there. I almost quit reading but stuck it out just so I could be reminded of how nurses have evolved through the century plus. So much of the narrative proved uninteresting and unrelated to what I had thought by the synopsis was going to be the gist of the novel. I really never warmed to Una and some of the things that happened made me scoff in disbelief at what she managed to get away with. She cheats, she doesn't do her job well, and she doesn't bother to do much nursing aside from being where she shouldn't. Of course there was a silly romance with a doctor.
The amateur detecting Una does was also laughable. She sure is never where she is meant to be and her focus on finding out who is the murderer made her put herself and those who cared about her at risk. I finished it just because I always do in order to give an honest rating, but I feel generous in rounding up to 3 stars. I was very disappointed that there was not more about the nursing and honestly, the conclusion was a bit unbelievable.
I had read and liked the Mirielle West book and that is why I requested this one. Would I try this author again -- maybe. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - historical mystery
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