Author: Amanda Skenandore
Narrator: Vanessa Johansson
Started: June 15, 2022
Finished: June 19, 2022
Thanks to Amanda Skenandore, Highbridge Audio, and Netgalley for the chance to preview this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Una Kelly is a young grifter on the dangerous streets of New York merely trying to make her way through life with food in her stomach, a roof over her head, and a few coins in her pocket. She knows a good mark when she sees one and this keen sense nets her a beautiful pair of ruby cufflinks that she hopes to fence. The man she is to do business with is set to meet her in a dark alley where she happens upon his murder. Thought to be responsible for this murder, Una must flee and go into hiding.
After reading an article on the Bellevue School of Nursing, Una decides that this school will give her the perfect cover…a respectable female student from the new nursing school will be above reproach. While she initially does all she can to just skate by, she soon realizes that to keep her cover story in check she must put in the work. Slowly, Una begins to develop true friendships and care for her patients. When Una sees the body of an old friend who died from a drug overdose, she notices strange marks around her neck and begins to think that there is a murderer on the loose at Bellevue.
For the most part, the narrator, Vanessa Johannson, did a fine job. The one thing I do have to note is that there were several mispronunciations throughout the reading. In those days, a police van was called a black Mariah and not Maria as stated. It could be that it is pronounced Maria in other areas of the world but considering that the story takes place in New York City, local vernacular should be adhered to.
All in all, it was a decent story. I loved learning about the Bellevue School of Nursing and how they followed the advice of Florence Nightingale during the initial establishment of the school. The added mystery of the possible murderer at Bellevue was a nice touch that added to the story. This story was a little slower than Skenandore's first novel, The Second Life of Mireille West, but just as well researched.