Review: Sawbones

Title: Sawbones
Author: Melissa Lenhardt
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Redhook Books
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: March 29, 2016
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Wrongfully accused of murder, Dr. Catherine Bennett is destined to hang… unless she can disappear.

With the untamed territory of Colorado as her most likely refuge, she packs her physician’s kit and heads West. But even with a new life and name, a female doctor with a bounty on her head can hide for only so long.

Sawbones is the first novel in a gripping historical fiction series.

Review:

I was approved for this galley last year, but I just couldn’t get into the story. I’m not a big fan of Westerns, but on my second reading the plot hooked me.

There were twists that I couldn’t have predicted. The twists weren’t even the answers to my questions. There were many surprises, and not all of them good.

Some of the descriptions of injuries and medical procedures are hard to read. I think that’s why I struggled with the book before. However, it added some realism to the story.

I think Catherine was a little ahead of her time in some of her medical ideas. For example, she says she doesn’t think smoking is good for your lungs, but that wouldn’t have been known back then. Her advanced knowledge reminded me a lot of Claire in Outlander. They were both thrown into similar medical positions in a world that is not ready for a female physician.

I enjoyed this book after reading it again. I’m curious to see how this series turns out.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett