Hurry before all the copies of The Irish Healer are sold!

Sunday, June 24, 2012
Debut Historical Fiction Author: Nancy Herriman! The Irish Healer, c2012.
This is the book for me!

p 21
"James, what is this?" Sophia's attention perked like a hound on a scent.
"The worst," he replied. "It seems the woman I've hired to assist in packing the library and office has gotten lost."
"You've brought a woman from Ireland to help with your collections?" she asked, her voice rising, latching onto the piece of information that troubled her most. The possibility Miss Dunne had drowned in the Irish Sea or been accosted off the boat didn't concern her.
"I have tried to bring a woman from Ireland to help, yes."
Sophia swept her arms to point at the bookshelves. "But these books are valuable. They're to pass to Amelia, and I've been told some have been in your family for generations. How do you know this Irish creature won't steal some and sell them for profit?"

*On the way with you! Get back to that dock and pick up our protagonist. How tired she must be waiting by that wharf with the smells and tainted occupants! Hmmf.*

pp 23-49
Oh, my. Miss Dunne is half-Irish too, and is to log the extensive library! We already have a bit in common! I am inventorying the books at our local library. I hope she likes laughter, because I do! And adventure...

This story is beautifully written, with similes potent as a parable with their everyday reference.

p 192
He attempted to gather his thoughts, but they kept slipping away from him, like he was trying to cup grains of wheat in his hands only to have them trickle through his fingers.

Rachel Dunne, leaves her Emerald Isle after being accused of murdering a patient she is tending. Innocent by trial, local gossip conjures up stories. The position secured for her in the London home of Dr. James Edmunds, is assisting the move to his inherited boyhood home. Disillusioned by the death of his wife and others under his care, he has decided to become a gentleman farmer.

p 205
...She could not keep tending to people. Why does this continue to happen to me?

As hard as she tries to hide it, Miss Dunne keeps getting called upon to assist with her medicinal knowledge. She automatically renders service to those in need. The Asiatic cholera epidemic spreads to London in 1832. The characters will be forced to choose their part.

I liked this story very much. Miss Dunne is very caring and attentive to others. The doctor shows growth and determination as his foibles are revealed. It is very well written. The story does not lag but is very fluid. I especially like historical fiction and found this story to be interesting with the word pictures of sights and smells vivid.

I received this novel from Worthy Publishing to read and review in my own words.