REVIEW: Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
A perfect example of a well-written, western historical thriller, SAWBONES by Melissa Lenhardt will renew your love of authentic historical fiction. Although its gritty realism may offend some readers, I was captivated by the genuine characterization.
Accused of murder, Dr. Catherine Benton joins a wagon train heading west. Her only alibi is the resurrection man who provided the corpses she practiced surgery on. Catherine doesn’t have much choice but to flee the corrupt legal system in New York. Having disguised herself as a man during the Civil War, so that she could practice medicine alongside her surgeon father, makes disappearing again seem the logical choice. Even if it rankles the years of struggling to become accepted as a female doctor.
Dr. Catherine Benton becomes Laura Elliston as part of her disguise and considers becoming a midwife. As part of her cover, a family friend arranges for her supposed demise by burying a Jane Doe using Catherine’s name in her family’s plot. When she lands in Texas, Laura and her Irish maid discover their next contact for their escape plan has been arrested. With no strategy for their next move, while assuming no one will look for a doctor who died, Laura becomes Dr. Laura Elliston, hoping to begin a practice in California.
Their journey is not easy, especially since Laura cannot seem to escape her past. Laura’s life is not her own for a large part of the book. She’s deluged with one conflict after another, during and after traveling by wagon train to a fort in the Colorado Territory to await the next leg of her journey. It’s her inner strength and will to survive that consistently champion this story.
Laura is an engaging heroine who captures the reader’s heart with her willingness to serve in the medical field that denies her. When Laura meets Captain William Kindle, I began to hope that she’d ignore her vow to stay away from any emotional relationship. They’re perfect together but their conflicts are above and beyond what most romantic leads endure. Their experience can be very uncomfortable as author Melissa Lenhardt doesn’t soften the blow. Laura and William suffer through violence and heartbreak in vivid details. It’s emotional and devastating. I laughed and cried with them, as well as feared for their annihilation by an exemplary evil villain.
I loved this book even though I cringed through some of the ghastly scenes. It’s dark and gritty, funny and sorrowful, adventurous and beautiful. Exactly what this reader has been craving.
SAWBONES smoothly becomes a favorite with its thrilling pace and authentic characterization. I’m anxious to continue this unique saga in BLOOD OATH in May 2017. An excellent depiction of the western frontier in all its gory details, SAWBONES will shock and fascinate with the characters’ ability to endure the worst fate mankind can deliver. Melissa Lenhardt is a master at selective dialogue, moving the story forward at a convincing, fast pace. I devoured this exhilarating western. The $3.99 digital price should convince you to take my word for it. It’s worth far more. Unpredictable and addicting – a recommended read!
Review by Dorine, courtesy of Romance Junkies and The Zest Quest. Digital copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley for an honest review.
Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
Series: Laura Elliston, Book 1
Category: Historical Women’s Fiction/Thriller
Publisher: Redhook Books (March 29, 2016)
Rate 5 out of 5 + Recommended Read
Coming in May 2017…Blood Oath by Melissa Lenhardt.
Have you ever read a frontier thriller before? What’s your favorite frontier story?
December 12, 2016 at 11:31 am
The best book I’ve read this year (and OK, we have two weeks left to 2016 – but seriously, I devoured this book and loved every minute of it!). I loved the setting, I loved the story, I loved the characters, and for a book that’s not marketed as “a romance” – it’s got an amazingly strong romance in it.
But yes, it’s pretty violent. The Indian raid scene in particular was quite gruesome. Also I can’t say I’d blame readers for being uncomfortable with some of the views espoused by the characters in this story (yes, certain corners really thought killing off the buffalo herds was a more “humane” way to deal with the “Indian problem” – that doesn’t make it anymore comfortable to read about). I got through it by looking through the lens of history. Hey, people were wrong. Sometimes spectacularly wrong. But we shouldn’t and can’t really ignore it.
Still – I wouldn’t turn my nose up a reader who just didn’t want to “go there.”
Glad you enjoyed it!
December 12, 2016 at 3:03 pm
I was happy to discover the romance as it was unexpected. I have to agree on the Indian raid scene, Wendy. Sometimes I’m really bothered by the shocking realism, but this book felt so in tune with the times that I just accepted it as it was. I had never heard that about the buffalo before this, or if I had, I chose to forget it. It was pretty appalling and yet added to the realism.
I’m glad we agree on this one. It’s not an easy story by any means but like you, I devoured it. It’s one of my favorites for the year as well. Sometimes I like my happy place all shiny without the controversies this novel exposes, but I need a smack of reality to wake me up so I continue to be passionate about the things we should never do again. This book made me think as well as feel and that’s not a bad thing.
Thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts.