Review: "Sawbones" by Melissa Lenhardt

Catherine Bennett is a very progressive minded woman for the year 1871. She is a doctor and a surgeon and struggling to be accepted in polite New York society. Now she has been accused of murder, bludgeoning a male patient to death and she and her housekeeper flee to Texas to escape the hangman’s noose. She changes her name to Laura Elliston but women doctors are rare and soon the bounty hunters are fast on her trail. She takes off across the prairie heading for California where disaster and mayhem await her. Her life is changed forever when she finds love and experiences losses that she could never have imagined.

I loved this author’s writing style. This story is told in the first person by Catherine herself. This allows you to feel as if you are there with her, hearing this tale first hand. Ms. Lenhardt also excellently built the plot. The story started out interesting and although it piqued my curiosity, I thought it would be like some other historical fiction that I have read. Wrong!! The action kept building until the plot exploded and I couldn’t put it down. There were twists and turns that were unexpected and I hated for the story to end.

I highly recommend this book. It is loosely based on fact and you will feel as if you are there. You won’t be able to put this down once the storyline grips you. I would suggest that this be read by young adults and older. There is some mild sexual content towards the end of the book that may not be suitable for younger readers.

I requested and received this book for review from Net Galley.