Member Reviews

A murderous melody is the second installment of the Florence Nightingale Mystery's series. I must confess that I've not read first, though after reading this one, I surely will. The author blends fact and fiction marvelously, as she depicts a tale in which Florence Nightingale( Flo) is not only a nursing and medical research icon, but also an astute an excellent detective. It is such a clever idea to construct Nightingale as an investigator. As a nurse myself, I found the idea very intriguing.

I love this book! The writing and articulation made me feel as if I had somehow fallen back in time. Trent certainly knows her history or has done lots of research. If you love Downton Abbey and mystery this is the book for you.
Told from Florence's perspective, this seems in accurate depiction of what her thoughts and demeanor might have been for the time period. The vernacular, customs, and manners at that era are realistically portray throughout the book. Though Trent does implement some historical license with actual timelines, I found it unerring otherwise. One can certainly appreciate the author’s eloquent writing talent. Her proficiency bring an authentic voice to the narrative.
Overall the plot is engaging in the characters a well-developed. I was engrossed in this book from the beginning to the end. The story wraps up nicely, leaving the reader both satisfied, and eager to see what Trent may have in store for Flo. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #netgalley #amurderousmalady

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A Murderous Malady will hook you from start to finish. Who doesn't love a book with a disease, a killer, and a mystery? Christine Trent has developed her characters wonderfully and her story will pull you in so much you can almost feel like you are part of the story. I can not wait for another book from this author.

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Much like book one of the Florence Nightingale Mystery series, I feel A Murderous Malady best suited to the mystery crowd. Trent is a creative storyteller, but this is not biographic fiction and shouldn’t be recommended as such.

As far as content goes, A Murderous Malady has a lot going for it. The Broad Street cholera outbreak of 1854 affords more insight to Nightingale’s nursing than was seen in No Cure for the Dead, but as much as I liked the material, I couldn’t help feeling it removed from the whodunnit at the heart of the narrative.

As far as the whodunnit is concerned, I was impressed by the angle. The end-all reminded me a bit of The Rock (1996), but I thought the material paired nicely with both the politics of the day and Nightingale’s career path. Purists might be a little perturbed at the liberties taken, but I found the fiction entertaining in its own way.

I felt the resolution had a lot of working parts and I’d have liked more cohesion between the mystery and Nightingale’s primary profession, but all in all, I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and would have no problem recommending it to fans of historical mysteries.

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