I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This work of historical fiction centers around Bellevue Hospital's Training School for Nurses in the 1880s.

Una is a woman whose circumstances have forced her to become a street thief and con artist. When she is accused of a murder she did not commit, she decides to hide out as a nursing student. She manages to get accepted into the prestigious program at Bellevue.

While the story focuses on the training and preparation the women must endure, the reader also learns about the role of women in medicine at the time. Women could not possibly become doctors or diagnose illnesses. They must jump at a doctor's orders without question.

As the story progresses, we recognize that the murderer is still active and Una must solve the mystery in order to stay out of prison.

This is one of my favorite authors and I can tell you - she has a way with words that even though you are reading a novel, it feels more like poetry. I unfortunately have been unable to review due to illness. Review coming soon! This novel looks fantastic and I highly recommend this author to everyone! Can't wait to read this one! I KNOW I will love it, because that is the kind of author she is!

Loved "The Second Life of Mirielle West", and "The Nurse's Secret" did not disappoint! It was a real page turner. Amanda Skenandore really has mastered the art of historical fiction. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next! She has a real talent for making the reader feel she is experiencing the time period along with the characters.

This was an enjoyable read. I was expecting the mystery to show up earlier, but once I put aside that expectation it was very enjoyable.

This novel was a fascinating look at life in the late 1800s. Una is a young woman in a rough spot without any real support. Circumstances just keep going from bad to worse. But she won't give up or give in. She's seen what's on the other side, and it might be a fate worse than death. Una's a brave soul, dealt a bad hand, just doing the best she can to keep moving forward. The cast of characters were very interesting. I'd check out more from this author in the future. If you like 1800s adventures, nursing history, or historical fiction, check it out!

Thanks to netgalley for loaning me an eARC for review. A positive review was not required. All opinions expressed here are my own honest opinion.

A clever historical novel that gives us insight into how the nursing profession became an actual profession. What better way to lead us though this development than choosing a street/con artist/pickpocket on the run to introduce this world. It’s late 1800’s New York and many people are “living hand to someone else’s pocket”. Una, became motherless young and had to leave an alcoholic father and make it on her own. Una is very bright and skilled at lives off her wits by regularly picking pockets. She usually does ok if she sticks to her rules. But when she accidentally gets mixed up in a hideous crime she is forced on the run. While laying low she happens upon an advertisement recruiting the first nurse trainees. With incredibly strict admission standards she uses her wits and con skills to apply. And from here the story roles at an interesting pace. I’d like to thank Netgallery and Kensington press for the opportunity to read an advance copy for an honest review.

This book started out really strong for me and lost steam in the middle. I did enjoy the ending, but I wish there was an epilogue.

I loved this book so much! It checks every mark in what I believe makes a five-star read. Amanda Skenandore's writes in such a way that it literally feels like you stepped into the book. Her descriptions and details add richness to the story. You feel like you have been transported back to New York City in the 1880's. Where the poor are just scraping by and will do anything to feed themselves. The characters are unique, raw, and I adored each and every one of them. Una is a character you will not soon forget. Filled with grit and tenacity that has allowed her to get by since she has been living on the streets since she was a young girl. When her mother passed, and her father turned to drink.

Una Kelly believes herself to be a fantastic thief. She can think fast on her feet, stays out of the way of the coppers, and has charmed the women she works for. Nothing can get in her way. Until the night Una tries to go against all the rules, she has set for herself and ends up being a suspect in a murder. She must find a place to lay low until the cops forget about her. She comes across an ad for the Bellevue Training School for Nurses. This sounds like the perfect place to stay low and unseen. What shocks Una is that she is enjoying the school and nursing. The warm, cozy bed she has waiting for her every night. What could possibly break this perfect con?

This book will captivate you from the first page. It is filled with mystery, murder, budding love, friendship, and the clashing of classes. I love that Skenandore brings in her knowledge of nursing to the book, it makes it more vivid and real. Thank you to Amanda Skenandore, Kensington Books, and HF Virtual Book Tours for sending me this book that had me completely enraptured and left me with a reading high!

I love it when I find a new author that captivates me, that knows how to spin a good story with flawed realistic characters and a good historical setting. This is the first book I read by Amanda Skenandore and it won't be the last.

Una Kelly is a young woman who had a rough childhood and who now survives as a con woman, pickpocketing and selling the stolen goods as a means of living. But one night, an encounter goes terribly wrong and she partially witnesses a murder that later she is accused of having committed. Una manages to escape and hide. Using all the skills and knowledge she acquired from the years of studying people and conning them, she succeeds in passing the interview to get into the nursing school at Bellevue Hospital. Although she never dreamed of being a nurse, the slums of New York City in the late 1800s became the school of hard knocks, that in some way paved the way and led her to a vocation that would build her character and heal the pain from her past.

I was captivated from the first page down to the last. Una was a multi-layered character, hardened by life's brutal lessons that she carried like a shield. She was quick-witted, resourceful, and a survivor. This made her partly selfish and able to spring back from failed attempts. But it also made for a lonesome life without honesty, love, and altruism. Nursing helped Una understand responsibility, teamwork, and discipline. I loved how friendship and love were the positive forces for change in Una's life.

The Nurse's Secret had a good plot, great secondary characters, a bit of romance, a murder mystery, an excellent setting of a nursing school in 1880 NYC with its limited understanding of medicine, and a spunky heroine. I was engaged and entertained throughout. As a woman, I bristled at the doctors' disrespectful and insulting manner toward women's intellect. The pandemic has made my respect for the nursing profession increase a hundredfold. This book seamlessly exposes the beginnings of nursing as a respected profession, and how difficult it was to practice it among a dominant male-only mentality in the world of medicine. Kudos to the women who trumped these men!

Fans of historical fiction will be very pleased with this latest novel from Amanda Skenandore.

Such a great read by Amanda Skenandore. She writes such in depth stories that are guaranteed to keep you turning those pages! I always feel like I learn so much when I read one of her books. I enjoyed reading about Una, and her whole experience. This book will definitely have you falling in love with it.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Excellent book, very much enjoyed it.

The Nurse's Secret by Amanda Skenandore is Historical Fiction with mystery and suspense. Wow, I loved this book. The streets and people of New York in the 1880’s, with a hardened young woman just trying to survive. Secrets, adventures,criminals, murder mysteries, and trying to hide from the police. Of special interest to me was the nurses and doctors training at Bellevue Hospital in the 19th century. The whole hospital environment, the classes, the operating room, the teaching doctors and nurses, patient treatments and entire culture was exceptionally well written. It was so good I stayed up too late reading. I look forward to reading anything written by this author.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars Bravo!

Living in NYC, you always hear stories about Belluvue Hospital. It’s the oldest public hospital in the US and one of the largest in number of beds it holds. This hospital used to treat many mentally ill patients so it was known for this for many reasons.

In the Nurse’s Secret, a young grifter needs to hide out after she’s accused of a murder in the 1880s. She joins a nursing program to hide out, but the Belluvue Hospital’s training program only takes the best and brightest students. Luckily our girl, Una is great a faking her way around! She has to learn manners and stay focused, but she learns so much. Meanwhile, there are murders still happening all over the city and she’s put in a position where she might have to share her gritty past.

This medical historical fiction was really interesting. This is the second book I’ve read about older medical fiction and it’s definitely a captivating genre. I loved learning more about Bellevue and the antiquated treatments they were using for patients was fascinating. Una is Irish and Catholic and it was compelling to read about the treatment of Catholics, even in a educational setting like this training program.

New Release-Gripping Historical Fiction.
The Nurse's Secret
By: Amanda Skenandore
Kensington Books, Kensington
Pub Date: June 28, 2022
Historical Fiction

Amanda Skenandore is an author and infection prevention nurse who writes riveting historical fiction. Her new book, The Nurse's Secret, is set in the 1880s and moves from New York slums to Bellevue Hospital's training school for nurses, America's first nursing school. Una Kelly, the unforgettable main character, takes us on a nail-biting journey from her life as a
pick-pocket to training and work at Bellevue nursing school.

This story is original, suspenseful, and enlightening of this time period and place through its well-paced plot. Historical fiction fans will find this remarkable book to be fascinating. It's so well written and researched, just like the first book I read by Skenandore last year. I strongly suggest consideration of adding it to your reading list and seeking out other works by this talented and smart writer.
Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Books, Kensington for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#TheNursesSecret #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I absolutely LOVED this story. The main character Una is a common pick pocket/thief and seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She hides out in plain sight to let the heat of the situation calm down. She grows and changes as her cirmunstances change. I loved this book as much as I loved Mirabelle West. The mystery of who is actually the person committing the murders had me guessing the entire book. I would DEFINITELY recommned!!!

Alrighty then, this definitely wasn’t what I expected and what a wonderful surprise. The story is set in New York in 1883. This is a compelling and gripping story of Una, who, lets say, wasn’t the kind of person that you would trust, but she does turn her life around while hiding from her past.

Amanda Skenandore has written an excellent story about things that I really didn’t know about and enjoyed learning more historically. The characters are compelling and wonderfully written. This is a story I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to #netgalley and #harpercollinsuk,onemorechapterbooks for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington books for access to this arc.

There is a romance thread in the story but the bulk of it is historical fiction about Una and how she negotiates living her life. The sections that detail the horrific poverty in which the poorest of NYC’s citizens lived doesn’t skip how things were. It was dog-eat-dog, claw your way through each day, give no quarter. Una has a list of rules by which she lives (which sort of reminded me of Zombieland but without the zombies) and among the top ones is look out for yourself first. This is what has kept her alive and which guides her actions and thoughts about the people around her. Una finds it hard to believe that anyone would do a kindness for her and not expect something in return. It’s only gradually that she discovers herself making a friend and not always keeping her eye out for a chance to take advantage of Drusilla. I thought this aspect of the plot was well handled.

Another hurrah from me is because of the medical stuff. This was just at the stage when the pioneering practices of Joseph Lister were being introduced in hospitals. Some doctors believed in them while others felt them to be poppycock. There also isn’t the type of medical character that I sometimes see in historical stories who “somehow” has stumbled upon advanced things that miraculously save a patient. The classism and bigotry against anyone not educated, well off and Protestant isn’t brushed under the rug either.

While I felt this part of the novel was well done in characterization, motivation and description, I felt the murder mystery aspect wasn’t as good. It’s sort of there are the start of the book and serves as the main driver for Una needing to get off the streets to avoid being arrested for a murder she didn’t commit. But then it fades to the background for a while and is only revived a good bit later. When it is, it quickly became clear to me who I thought the murderer was. Maybe I’ve just watched enough true crime documentaries and series but yeah, it’s fairly obvious. Would it have been to the people of this time? In all fairness probably not.

Una doesn’t go down without swinging and trying to get her licks in so I wasn’t surprised at her actions at the end of the story. With her back to the wall, she again draws on her skills and knowledge to try and work things her way. The resolution of the two issues facing her are … maybe a little gift wrapped with a stretched bow of believability but then again not everything was neatly tucked up like hospital bed corners. I’m satisfied with the HFN and working towards a future ending that we get. B

The Nurse's Secret is the second book I have read by Amanda Skenandore, the first one being The Second Life of Mirielle West. That book was excellent, so I was excited to read her latest. I absolutely loved this one and devoured it! Ms. Skenandore is an actual registered nurse and her knowledge of that esteemed profession truly adds life to her stories.

In 1883 Gilded Age New York City, there's a big difference between the haves and the have-nots. Una Kelly belongs in the latter category. Her mother died when she was young and her father ended up being an opium addict, so Una really can't rely on anyone but herself. She's a grifter who spends her time picking pockets and running cons, and she lives in a squalid tenement with a number of other women. One evening she meets a fence to do business, but he ends up being murdered and Una is charged with the crime, though she is innocent...well, of the murder, anyway. Knowing the place where she will end up being imprisoned will be the death of her, she must find a place to hide out. A magazine article catches her eye: Bellevue Hospital is accepting trainees for its nursing school, the first of its kind in America. She cons her way into the school where she will be provided room and board and a small stipend; she'll lay low until the coast is clear. Una, for all her intentions to just get by for as long as possible, seems to actually have an affinity for nursing, and becomes a reluctant friend to her roommate Drusilla and begins a burgeoning romance with intern Edwin Westervelt. However, Una becomes suspicious that a patient's death may actually have been a murder. Does she keep her head down and her mouth shut and stay hidden, or risk her new life to discover and expose a murderer?

I didn't particularly care for Una Kelly at the beginning of this story, but like the heroine in The Second Life of Mirielle West, her character evolved into one that you couldn't help but root for and end up loving by story's end. Una had such a difficult life after the death of her mother and then her father's downward spiral. She had personal rules she followed to keep herself safe and free; when she deviated from them, however, things didn't end well, hence her predicament of needing to hide out. I loved Una's transformation from grifter to nurse. She didn't suddenly change her stripes, it was gradual and she sometimes fought it kicking and screaming. She found her roommate Dru to be annoyingly chipper and overly friendly, then eventually realized she actually had a friend she could rely upon. Most of the men in Una's world wanted one thing from a woman, yet she found Dr. Westervelt to be respectful, charming and caring. She did her best to resist him, as he believed her to be totally different from who she really was due to the lies she had to tell everyone. She did have a friend in Barney, a young newsman she met on the street who would help her in a time of need. The nursing school at Bellevue was simply fascinating. How different it all was in the 1880's! (And thank God for that!). Many doctors treated the nurses like subhumans not deserving of respect; it was like nurses were children, to be seen, not heard and expected to obey without question. Compared to today, medicine seemed brutal and primitive. Some doctors didn't want to learn new methods, such as those espoused by Dr. Lister. Descriptions of illness and injury are not for the faint of heart. You'll read about horrid factory accidents, leeches, oozing sores, etc. I loved how the author made everything sound so realistic with her actual medical training, but didn't lecture or overwhelm you. The murder mystery was a lot of fun and intriguing, though I admit I figured out whodunit early on. But it was a great story with a unique heroine you'll just love. I cannot wait to see what this author will have for us next!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

After her mother died in a fire and her father became lost to drink and the opium dens, Una Kelly takes to the streets of the Five Points in New York. She is picked up by Marm Blei who teaches her to be an expert pickpocket. When a deal goes wrong, a murder is pinned on Una. She escapes the police, but has lost Marm Blei's protection. When Una sees an advertisement for nurse trainees at Bellevue Training School, she takes the opportunity to lie low for a while. In her new position, Una not only makes friends, but finds she might actually be good at nursing once she puts some effort into it. A life on the streets around a variety of different people as well as sickness, blood and filth has prepared her well. However, the strange murders that happened in the Points seem to be following her to the school. Una may be able to catch the killer, but she will have to expose her true self.

The Nurse's Secret is a beautifully written historical fiction story set in 1880's New York City. The characters were all intriguing and I was engrossed with Una's story from the beginning where she was observing people to steal from and then helping a younger thief at the same time. The vivid descriptions brought the Five Points neighborhood to life as well as Bellevue Training School and the medical procedures there. I enjoyed seeing Una change as well as excel in Bellevue. With her roommate, Dru, Una was able to see what true friends are like and finally trust someone as well as have them trust her back. I found it interesting that Una was able to relate to all the patients there better than some of the other nurses due to her time on the streets. The incorporation of the mystery carried suspense throughout the story even though I had a good idea of who the culprit might be. The romance was well done and did not detract from the story. Overall, The Nurse's Secret is an immersive story of 1880's New York with strong characters and a great mystery.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

I went into this book not knowing exactly what it was about, but that the cover and title seemed interesting. I will say the first few chapters had me a little skeptical that I would enjoy this book at all, but I am so glad I stuck with it because this book was amazing.

The character development, of not only the main character Una, but also of all of the other characters is impeccable and so much fun to watch. You really get to know each character throughout the story and watching them change who they are and the things they believe is so enticing. By the end of the book, you feel as if you really know each of the characters.

The story in and of itself is also really fun to follow. Seeing how everything goes together and trying to find out how everything is going to end, will not quite leave you on the edge of your seat, but it will keep you wanting more.

****************************************** SPOILERS *******************************************

I had my suspicions on who the killer was by the second meeting of Conor. He was so adamant about how terrible these people were that it would've been hard to see anyone else as the killer. He was such an interesting character to see though. As he was not overly annoying or even in the book so much that you were constantly thinking of him. He was just a character that popped up when he was needed, but also enough that you knew him and who he was.

I also love the relationship between Dru and Una. Their friendship is amazing and something to strive for. I was so happy, and heartbroken, when Dru confessed to the patient dying being her fault, even though it wasn't. I was so sad that she did that for Una when Una just threw her under the bus, but I was also happy Una finally got to see what a true friend looked like in times of trouble. I was so glad when Dru was understanding at the end when Una finally came clean about everything. Dru didn't look at her any differently, just said "Well that makes sense." and when on about her business and their friendship like nothing was wrong. That is a true friend.

I also love seeing the relationship unfold between Una and Edwin. I like that they both had troubles in their past, but neither exploited the other because of it. I felt bad for Edwin when he found out Una had been lying to him for so long, but I'm also glad he believed her enough to find out about Conor on his own- thus saving Una's life. I am also glad that neither of them just up and forgave the other. Edwin knew he had the right to be upset about Una lying, but he also knew he was in the wrong for telling her to trust him and then turning his back on her. Una also had the right to be upset at Edwin, but she also knew it was partially her fault for having to lie to begin with- which Edwin did understand after it all came out. I am glad they decided to start over and take things slow instead of just jumping into the relationship like nothing had happened.

The book ends so well and does not need a sequel or anything else about the story. But I do kind of wish we could have seen why the superintendent was skeptical of Una and didn't like her at first. And I really want to know why the nurse didn't like her and accused her of theft- also what actually happened to her scarf? I understand that in life we don't always find everything out, but I am still curious.

Overall though I did love this book and can't wait to see how others feel once it is released.

I really enjoyed the author’s previous novel - The Second Life of Mirielle West - so I was really excited about this one .

But I just couldn’t connect with Una and her story . It’s an ok book, just not great for me 🤷‍♀️