An appealing historical novel
The Nurse�s Secret by Amanda Skenandore is an intriguing historical novel. I thought The Nurse�s Secret was well-written with realistic, developed characters. I found Una Kelly to be a resilient woman who is resourceful and clever. She had to survive after the death of her mother and her father�s decline into alcohol. I liked seeing Una�s character change as she learned nursing and made friendships. The book has a good premise. I was drawn into The Nurse�s Secret, and it held my interest. I liked learning about Bellevue and the school of nursing. We see how Lister�s ideas on germ prevention were ridiculed (he was far ahead of his time). Medical procedures were described and some of them had me cringing. Patients dying from conditions that can now be easily cured. Sometimes the treatment was worse than the disease. I thought the author captured the time period very well. I can tell she did her research especially regarding the nursing school. I thought she captured the attitudes of people. How the doctors treated nurses, snobbery of people with better breeding, and how people felt about Catholics and Irish. The mystery is well-plotted. I enjoyed following the clues (I love solving mysteries) to see if I could identify the guilty party. There is romance too. Una meets a doctor who is kind and intelligent. She does not know, though, if it is possible to have a happily ever after when she is hiding out from the law. This was an engaging and enjoyable historical novel. The Nurse�s Secret combines survival instincts, friendship, nursing, a murder mystery, and romance into one absorbing tale. Nurse�s Secret is an appealing historical novel with a talented pickpocket, a formidable fence, an offensive officer, an appealing article, a helpful hideout, a negative nelly nurse, and a tenacious killer.
