Author: Christine Trent
Series: A Florence Nightingale Mystery
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (May 8, 2018)
Description: When a young nurse dies on her watch, Florence Nightingale must uncover the deep-hidden secrets someone will kill to keep buried.
It is 1853. Lady of the Lamp Florence Nightingale has just accepted the position of Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness in London. She has hardly had time to learn the names of the nurses in her charge when she suddenly finds one of them hanging in the Establishment’s library. Her name was Nurse Bellamy.
Florence’s mettle is tested by the dual goals of preserving what little reputation her hospital has and bringing Nurse Bellamy’s killer to justice. Her efforts are met with upturned noses and wayward glances except for her close friend and advocate inside the House of Commons, Sidney Herbert. As Florence digs deeper, however, her attention turns to one of the hospital investors and suddenly, Sidney becomes reluctant to help.
With no one but herself to count on, Florence must now puzzle out what the death of an unknown, nondescript young nurse has to do with conspiracies lurking about at the highest levels of government before she’s silenced too.
My Thoughts: Florence Nightingale has recently gained a position as superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness in London. But before she can institute the changes that will revolutionize nursing she needs to find out who murdered Nurse Bellamy whom she finds hanging in her library.
Miss Nightingale has to contend with a slovenly crew of nurses, a variety of eccentric patients, and the board who hired her and who now want to fire her and bring in a more experienced superintendent.
The mystery had a nice variety of suspects and an interesting plot. I liked the historical setting. While likely true to life, I didn't enjoy Miss Nightingale's personality. I found her to be an uptight, grating personality. She is certainly headstrong and convinced of her own opinions. I found her conviction that she had had a religious vision that led her to a path in nursing interesting but I wasn't quite convinced that the vision should have allowed her to string along her suitor for many years and then grieve his loss after she rejected him.
Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this visit to Victorian England.
Favorite Quote:
I thought Mr. Swan's assessment of Nurse Bellamy's body was exactly what was to be expected of a towpath warden, which is to say this it was a poor one, borne of his ignorance of medical knowledge.I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.
I like the idea of this one but it sounds like I won't care for Florence either. Yet, that usually doesn't stop me from enjoying a good story:)
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