Where The Light Enters
Sara Donati
654 pages
Berkley
Published in 2019
Bookshop.org
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This is an intricate historical fiction novel set in 1880s New York, about two female doctors battling the male hierarchy. Itâs the sequel to 2015âs The Gilded Hour, and while you donât necessarily have to have read that one to understand whatâs going on, it definitely helped to know the character background and dynamics. I got it from my Book Club several years ago, but had been waiting for the right time to read them both – apparently the next one is due out this year. Itâs taken me nearly three weeks to finish, partly because itâs so long – unnecessarily so, I would argue, although Iâll admit that Iâve had a lot going on so not much opportunity to read. I did like it, but am rounding down from 3.5 for the slow pace and slightly depressing ending.
Dr Anna Savard and her new husband, detective Jack ,Mezzanotte, are distraught when the three Italian children they rescued in the previous book are removed from their care on religious grounds, due to the interference of the a hypocritical Catholic priest. They are however soon distracted by a new homicide case with disturbing similarities to the Multipara Murders of women seeking abortions, and the disappearance of a prominent socialite. Former nun turned medical student Elise has joined the extended Waverley Place family, and is working hard to show she deserves her place. Meanwhile Annaâs cousin, obstetrician Sophie Savard, has returned from Europe after the death of her husband to start her new life, but soon faces the prejudice of both the medical system and the malicious media who canât see past her skin colour.
As in the previous book, this had a lot of entwined plot threads which made it sometimes hard to remember who was who and what was happening. I enjoyed all the well researched medical details and felt the frustration of the physiciansâ inability to help their patients because of the limited array of treatments available to them, and the injustice of the society within which they practice. I didnât however enjoy the Tonino storyline – the disadvantage of having medical knowledge is you recognise early whatâs going to happen and can predict the (minor spoiler alert) unhappy outcome: havenât these characters suffered enough? While the book is very positive about its female heroines, it relies on all the usual âwomen and children as victimsâ tropes which was a negative for me.
I had complained that the serial killer plot line in the last book was left open – this does resolve it and at least made the last part of the book more exciting. Other elements and characters were however developed, but then left open – if this is to be a trilogy then thatâs ok, but if youâre going to do that, leaving a four year gap between books is asking a lot from your readers. There is again way too much uninteresting detail about the charactersâ domestic lives and inter-relationships, and if youâre looking for a romance subplot, youâll need to wait for book three. Will I read the next one? Maybe, especially if I can shift out of my current slump and make a dent in my towering TBR, but it wonât be high priority.
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