Nurse Kitty's Secret War by Maggie Campbell

Nurse Kitty's Secret War by Maggie Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 275

Publisher - Trapeze

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

A novel inspired by the brave nurses and doctors from the first NHS hospital, the Trafford General, opened after the end of World War II. An inspiring and romantic read for fans of Call the Midwife and The Nightingale Girls. It's May 1945 and at 3pm, nurse Kitty Longthorne listens, together with the other surgical staff at South Manchester's Park Hospital, to Winston Churchill's broadcast on the radio. Germany has signed a declaration of complete surrender. The war is over in Europe and that day is to be celebrated as VE Day. The mood in Park Hospital - still full of wounded American soldiers - is jubilant and hopeful, though Kitty is anything but. Her clandestine squeeze and the man she hopes to marry, James Williams has been giving her the cold shoulder for the last week, and she can't work out why. Furthermore, her twin brother, Ned, is still missing in action - his last known whereabouts point to him being in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. An uplifting, heart-wrenching novel based on the true story of the first ever NHS hospital, for fans of Donna Douglas and Nancy Revell.


My Review

We follow Kitty, our main character, nurse,, daughter, sister and love interest of a prominent doctor, war is coming to an end and the first NHS hospital is about to come into play. So the story is multifactorial, the war is on but it isn't the main theme although it is relevant. We follow Kitty through her life, her family situation, poverty, her work as a nurse and the hierarchy, her friend (I use that term quite loosely) and the difference between them. We also see some of the patients and their care within the hospital, including casualties from war.

Kitty seems like a nice enough girl but I did twitch and internal scream a few times like girl that friend is no friend of yours. She comes from wealth, Kitty's family are absolutely not and her "friend" shades so much and Kitty, she is nice but that girl needs a back bone. I know I know the times and women where much more demure but I rolled my eyes more than a few times and I was getting annoyed wanting her to stand up for herself. To be fair at one point I fist pumped but dang I wanted more.

We have the work hierarchy, old school (to be fair still going in some health care areas) and we see it very alive and prominent in this one. We see family values, friendship, love, addiction, run ins with the law, wealth vs poverty and the spawning of the first NHS hospital.

I do enjoy these books, stepping back into the past, Campbell weaves a tale infused with an authenticity for the times, 4/5 for me

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The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 416

Publisher - Canongate Books

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

Edinburgh, 1850. Despite being at the forefront of modern medicine, hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. But it is not just the deaths that dismay the esteemed Dr James Simpson - a whispering campaign seeks to blame him for the death of a patient in suspicious circumstances.

Simpson's protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher are determined to clear their patron's name. But with Raven battling against the dark side of his own nature, and Sarah endeavouring to expand her own medical knowledge beyond what society deems acceptable for a woman, the pair struggle to understand the cause of the deaths.

Will and Sarah must unite and plunge into Edinburgh's deadliest streets to clear Simpson's name. But soon they discover that the true cause of these deaths has evaded suspicion purely because it is so unthinkable.


My Review

Let me start off saying this is book two in a series, I didn't realise and I don't think I have been hampered by not reading book one. There are a few throwbacks and brief recaps of things that happened with book one so you can get away with starting with this one, if starting mid series doesn't make you twitchy.

The time is 1850, the place is Edinburgh and as is nature, people are dying. However some of them are not as should be and one well respected doctor, doctor Simpson, one of the patients was his. With a smear campaign kicking off and whispers of wrongful death of this patient, his understudy Will Raven reluctantly looks into the case and finds more than he bargained for. Will is prompted into action by Sarah, once a house maid to Doctor Simpson, now married to a doctor herself, Sarah has always been interested in medicine. At a time when women should be seen and not heard, married and tied to the sink, Sarah has always been supported and encouraged by doctor Simpson so she has a dual interest in the case.

The book has quite a few layers to it, Will and Sarah have a past, Sarah is now married, Will is very career focused and being involved with a house maid, for him, would negatively impact his career. Yet now he is back, Sarah is in a very different social standing and Will is having to battle his actions and consequences. Investigating who would have it out for doctor Simpson, the mysterious deaths and one of my fave things about this book, medicine back then! Add to all that we get wee snippets from the killer, an insight into their mind and what they are doing, I think when this is done well it really adds to a story. I do like a book is woven with historical facts, considering I never used to bother with historical fiction I do find myself enjoying them more as I get older. I also like books where you learn stuff as you go coupled with the fact is it set somewhere I have visited! Medicine itself is always evolving, practices changing, attitudes and procedures so I do like when you read of things past and then go off to read more in depth around X subject. I liked this one so much I will be buying book one and looking out eagerly for the next in the series, 4.5/5 for me this time. If you like murder mystery, medicine, books in the past, relationships and investigation this one will tick all the boxes for you!

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