The Nurse’s Secret - Amanda Skenandore

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Author: Amanda Skenandore

Narrator: Vanessa Johansson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.75 stars.


In a Nutshell: Pretty interesting. Historical fiction plus medical fiction plus crime mystery all rolled in one. Does justice to the historical and medical elements. The mystery part is guessable.

Story Synopsis:
New York City, 1883. Una is a petty thief who grifts for a living. She is independent and bold, and not shy of manipulating her way of trouble. However, when she ends up getting accused of a murder she didn’t commit, she has no choice but to escape. With limited funds and no friends, Una has just one option – join the nursing school at Bellevue Hospital pretending to be from a wealthier family. The rest of the story mainly follows Una’s experiences as a nursing trainee at Bellevue, but the background also has a series of murders occurring in the city, which Una finds difficult to ignore as some of the targets involve her slum acquaintances.
The story comes to us in a limited third person perspective.


Where the book worked for me:
💜 Last year, I had read “The Second Life of Mirielle West” by this same author and came away with mixed feelings. While I loved the historical content, the main character left me so irritated that I couldn't enjoy the book. Thankfully, none of the complaints that I had made in my review for that book are applicable this time around. (I am making the comparison not just because of the author. The theme in both books is somewhat similar. Both have unlikely characters ending up as nurses, and both books pay homage to an old and unknown American institution.)

💜 While reading the book, I had no idea that the nursing school in the story was based on an actual American institution. Bellevue Hospital's training school for nurses was America's first nursing school and used Florence Nightingale's nursing principles to ensure a disciplined and well-trained nursing staff. It is a nice way of reminding modern day readers of historical institutions.

💜 The author is a registered nurse, and her expertise shows. The medical details are comprehensive and enlightening. I liked the glimpse the book provided not just into the medical and nursing practices of the late 1800s but the misogyny of the male doctors towards the mostly female nurses.

💜 The historical angle is well-tackled. The writing seems very true to the era and one can almost feel the grime of the slums and the general lifestyle of the poor in 1880s NYC. At the same time, it also shows the condescending behaviour of the wealthier people towards the underprivileged.

💜 The murder mystery is not so strong because the writing reveals the possible culprit quite clearly. So if you read this mainly as a crime mystery, you might be disappointed. Go for it as a historical fiction with a hint of mystery. I wasn’t looking for a mystery in this story, so this was not a problem for me.

💜 The main character won my heart this time around. I simply loved how unapologetic Una was about her circumstances. Her character doesn’t have any sudden or abrupt turnaround, but grows realistically through the course of the story. She lives by her “rules” and the entire story has her quoting one of her rules when she is in a quandary. Her life as a nursing trainee is not over the top but quite realistic. Of the rest of the characters, the amiable and geeky Drusilla was amazing. I would totally read a spinoff version with her character leading the plot.


Why did I not go higher in my rating?
💔 The rest of the characters are okay, not bad but not outstanding as well; most were fairly predictable.

💔 I didn’t get any reading high after reading this story. It went as I had expected, with no surprises in the plot and no depth to the other characters. There was no punch to keep me captivated. I could easily stop the audio whenever I wanted and get back to it many hours later without a tinge of curiosity or eagerness.

💔 One thing I definitely hated was the title. It is so bland and boring.


The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at almost 11 hours, is narrated wonderfully by Vanessa Johansson. She nails the personality of the characters and I would highly recommend trying this book out by audio.

Overall, a pretty satisfying experience. Excellent on historical & medical details. Recommended to historical fiction fans.

My thanks to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Nurse’s Secret”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

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