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A review by sarah1984
Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
5.0
24/12 - This is the third of three non-romance book I borrowed a few weeks back, but the only one I've really enjoyed.
Catherine Bennett/Laura Elliston is a doctor in late 1800s New York and she is accused of having an affair with one of her patients' husbands then murdering him when he broke up with her and so she decides to escape New York for the west (California, originally) - that's what the blurb tells us and I thought that was going to be enough of a challenge for Catherine/Laura. But then disaster after disaster befall her and when I was like "Can this woman not get a break? Life is hard enough for a female doctor accused of adultery and murder, on the run from the law and stuck at a military fort rife with corruption some not so nice men. Does she also have to It just seemed so unfair (although not unrealistic), but this book wasn't even nearly done with poor Laura.
I really enjoyed the first three quarters of the book, even after because I figured that was probably it in terms of torturing Laura, but then when the second (and much worse) wave hit at about 75% there were some pretty upsetting and disturbing scenes that were difficult to 'enjoy'. A lot of the lower starred reviews talk about the graphic violence and give that as a reason why they didn't overall enjoy the book, I don't have a problem with graphic violence, as long as it's not gratuitous or just there to be offensive. If someone is going to be murdered, then I expect (want, even) the scene to be properly described, just like with sex scenes in a romance (of which I don't think this can be included) I don't want the introduction to a murder and then fade to black and then we come back and it's all over. That's a copout, in my opinion. If you're going to write/read about murder you have to be prepared to write/read all the gory details. But, for me, . After thinking about my reading experience while I wrote this I've decided that I enjoyed it enough to give it five stars (originally it was four) - it's actually closer to 4.5, but it's definitely above a four.
The writing was very good and I felt like Catherine/Laura was a believable character who faced believable challenges (just a whole lot of them in the space of about two months) for a woman of those days. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series, in fact I can't wait to get my hands on #2 for my January holiday (reading a fantastic historical fiction while relaxing on the deck of a cruise ship sounds perfect).
Catherine Bennett/Laura Elliston is a doctor in late 1800s New York and she is accused of having an affair with one of her patients' husbands then murdering him when he broke up with her and so she decides to escape New York for the west (California, originally) - that's what the blurb tells us and I thought that was going to be enough of a challenge for Catherine/Laura. But then disaster after disaster befall her and when
Spoiler
her wagon train is attacked by Indians and all her companions are murdered (bar one teenage girl who is kidnapped)Spoiler
lose her only remaining friend (her nurse/nanny/companion from New York) in the most brutal way possible (scalped and then had the lower half of her face hacked off because she wouldn't stop screaming after being scalped and didn't die immediately)?I really enjoyed the first three quarters of the book, even after
Spoiler
her wagon train was massacredSpoiler
rape and murder are two different things and even though Laura's rape wasn't particularly detailed, it was enough to bring tears to my eyes and make me uncomfortable and if it had been a movie/tv show I probably would have muted it or even fast-forwarded past the sceneThe writing was very good and I felt like Catherine/Laura was a believable character who faced believable challenges (just a whole lot of them in the space of about two months) for a woman of those days. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series, in fact I can't wait to get my hands on #2 for my January holiday (reading a fantastic historical fiction while relaxing on the deck of a cruise ship sounds perfect).