4.5 Victorian mystery stars!

London, 1853: Florence Nightingale is the new nurse Superintendent at the Establishment For Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness. At the end of her first week on the job, she discovers the dead body of one of her nurses in the hospital library. Local police deem it a suicide, not caring to look any deeper into the incident. Florence knows there is more to the death and begins some detective work to piece the devastating situation together, all while continuing to manage the hospital.

I found this novel to be equally entertaining and fascinating. Florence Nightingale is a historical figure that I’ve always been curious about. While this book is a fictional historical mystery, it includes countless historical facts and scenarios that were informative and educational.

The author did a terrific job with the atmosphere of the novel as I could clearly picture every room, nook and cranny in the Establishment. In the 1850’s, nursing was viewed as a lowly career, one that was not sought after by someone of Florence Nightingale’s stature. Her wealthy family was appalled to have her leave their estate to join the nursing profession but Florence felt a calling - this is a true piece of history. Upon finishing the book, it is revealed that Florence Nightingale has been the most impactful individual in the nursing profession. In this book we see her make small but important changes within the hospital in regard to sanitary conditions, fresh air and nurses hygiene that we are accustomed to now.

Florence’s character was extremely likeable and inspiring. She was always determined to the ‘right’ thing instead of the ‘easy’ thing in her work and investigations. Her clever and witty inner thoughts were entertaining and kept a lighter tone to the story. The pace was perfect as there was a consistent amount of suspense piquing my curiosity from start to finish.

My one tiny critique that kept this from being a 5 star read was the ending had a little too much going on. Everything comes together but slightly overdone on drama.

Audio rating: 5 stars! The narrator was phenomenal!! I immediately began my search for other audiobooks read by Lucy Raynor as her voice enhanced my reading enjoyment immensely.

Thank you to my lovely local library for the audio loan! Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy!

Fascinating Victorian mystery exploration with Florence Nightingale turned sleuth solving a suicide dressed up as a murder. 1853 and Florence has been appointed to a small London hospital, the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness, as Superintendent. When one of her staff, Nurse Bellamy, is found hanging in the library, a troubled Florence instigates her own investigation.
This occurrence and Florence’s enquires will sound alarm bells in the upper reaches of the government. The mystery and the danger deepens!
An absorbing read that kept me focused!

A Crooked Lane ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Nice historical mystery featuring Florence Nightingale. Enjoyed the buddy friendship between Florence and her mother’s spy.
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I have mixed feelings about Christine Trent’s No Cure for the Dead. I loved the writing, could see the research that went into the novel, and feel the author created a really entertaining whodunnit, but I struggled to appreciate the heroine and couldn’t help noticing how closely the story paralleled Trent’s earlier work.

I don’t mean to split hairs, but Florence felt too much like Violet Morgan, the heroine of Trent’s Lady of Ashes series. Much like Violet, Florence is trying to make gains in a male-dominated field. Neither woman is a professional sleuth, but both find themselves embroiled in intrigues they are compelled to solve and both put their primary careers on the backburner to do so.

In terms of atmosphere, I liked the feel of the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness and thought the secondary storyline more intriguing than the primary one. There are a lot of working parts to the mystery, but it culminates in a way that makes the read worthwhile.

At the end of the day, I think the story might be better suited to the mystery crowd than fans of Florence Nightingale, but there were enough details about the famed nurse to satisfy my curiosity and I’m interested to see how Trent will utilize the material in the next installment of the series.

I know that this will sound like a put- down and I mean it at as anything but, oh my gosh, she showed her historical fiction chops with No Cure for the Dead.

Just how did Florence Nightgale become the hero that she was not only was in the historical sense but in the fictional mystery solving sense before her fame? She didn't just appear out thin air. Christine Trente finally gives us some background ground to the character to the person that we thought we in history so well and entertains and entraps us in her series all at the same the same time.

We know what she will become, but what of her origins and her as a person? Rest assured, the questions will be answered in this series and I can't wait.

We all know Florence Nightingale and her contributions to the nursing profession, but was she also a detective? In “No Cure for the Dead”, Christine Trent presents Florence as just that. She has recently been appointed as director of a hospital for women in London. One week into her new job she finds one of her nurses hanging from the ceiling in the hospital’s library. The board of directors start to think that hiring her was a mistake, the police seem to think it’s a case of suicide, but when more strange things start to happen in the hospital Florence is convinced there is more to this story. With the help of her companion she begins an investigation of her own. Will she be able to uncover the culprit before more people are hurt?

This one really surprised me with its suspense and charm. “No Cure for the Dead” is the first in a new series from the author and I’d say it’s off to a great start. I really loved the Florence character that the author created and the personality felt true to life. I could see Florence Nightingale doing this investigation. In addition, there is a whole host of other fun characters from the daft old lady patient to the young boy who does odd jobs for the hospital, they were all believable and fit in with the story and the setting. The investigation has a lot of unexpected twists which makes it a very engaging mystery. I found that the author’s descriptions of London at the time really drew me into the story. Basically, I loved this story and can’t wait for the next installment in the series.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this interesting book. This is a new series featuring Florence Nightingale. Florence is not just a nurse, in this book she turns amateur sleuth. The book was well written and intriguing. Recommended.

I found No Cure for the Dead to be a highly entertaining read. I appreciate historical novels with strong female main characters that also strive to maintain some historical accuracy. The willingness of the police officers and several male members of the board who oversee the Establishment, to dismiss Florence’s concerns, simply because of her gender, is infuriating but also accurate to the time period of the novel.
I’ve been reading more historical mysteries since I’ve discovered my love for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories and novels, which I will be discussing in an upcoming post later this month. There are a few moments during No Cure for the Dead when the story lags due to some areas of large chunks of description where we are given vast amounts of historical nursing procedures all at once. These sections could have been handled a bit differently as they are not truly relevant to the story, but they are relevant to the true story of Florence Nightingale, and you can easily skim past them and still retain all of the information that is pertinent to the story. I did not guess who the murderer was before it was revealed, which is unusual for me. Trent spends a lot of time bringing many of the nurses and patients of the Establishment to life and I appreciate that aspect of storytelling. I truly came to care about the characters and look forward to reading the rest of the series. I recommend fans of mysteries and fans of historical fiction give this new series a try.

We learn from the cover page that Christine Trent’s “No Cure for the Dead” is a Florence Nightingale Mystery, and so historical mystery fans get to add another interesting character to their list of real life detectives. A welcome addition it is, too. Florence Nightingale has a prominent place in history, as the sobriquet “The Lady with the Lamp” honors her pioneer nursing advances on the Crimean battlefield. Here, in this first in the series (or so I hope), she is just starting out on her medical career; the Crimea will come later.

As in any mystery, there is conflict. Miss Nightingale comes up against the prejudices of the time, of course, and the overbearing conduct of those who make up the overseers at the privately funded hospital she’s been made administrator of. Some of which who have secrets of their own, which they will be taking great pains to hide.

In between solving a murder, readers will learn about the beginning of nursing; it’s astonishing that women who performed this function in public were thought of as no more than “fallen women” and prostitutes, certainly a far cry from the profession it would become. We also learn more about the lady’s personal life, her reason for remaining single (although she does go on about it a bit much, in my opinion) and her passion for statistics and lists and information, which unfortunately was not generally known about until after her death. “No Cure for the Dead” provides an entertaining look at Miss Nightingale’s fight to make her profession a true profession, and her personal crusade to use herself and her nurses to save as many lives as possible.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

Thank you to #Negalley and the publisher. I received this for free in exchange for a free review.

Christine Trent did a great job introducing a new look at Florence Nightingale. I enjoy a good Historical novel and this one did not disappoint. This book is filled with fascinating historical details. It has a very perplexing mystery element. I thought this was a very good book 1 for a new series.

As a big fan of historical mystery was I very curious to see how this new series starring Florence Nightingale would be. And, to my utter delight is this the first book in a series absolutely wonderful!

For one thing is it wonderful to get to know Florence Nightingale a bit more, yes this is a fictional book, but I found that Christine Trent has really captured the spirit of the woman who decided to follow the call from God to sacrifice a normal life with a husband and children to work with the sick. A job that's pretty much as low ranking as a being a prostitute. Which one will notice when you read this book and getting to know the nurses a bit better. They are far away from today's nurses. Then, we have the fact that she had to give up the man she loved as well. How many of us would do that? And back in a time when women's main function was to marry, and marry well.

Then we have the mystery of the nurse that is found hanging in the library. While the police quickly rule it as a suicide isn't Florence buying that and since she is new on the job is this murder really nothing she wants at the moment (or any moment). Especially since the risk is that she will lose her new job if she doesn't quickly solve it. Hence, she suddenly has to play amateur sleuth. Which she is pretty good at doing. And, I love the fact that there were some many shady figures, secrets, strange things going on that I couldn't figure out who was behind it.

No Cure for the Dead is the first book in this series and I can't wait for the next book. I had high hopes that this book would be good, but I was blown away by the strength of the plot and how much I adored Florence and how much she impressed me.

Thanks Crooked Lane Books and netgalley for this ARC.

Christine Trent's new series is a knockout. Loved the way she sets the groundwork for this awesome new series. Nightingale comes alive! She's feisty, no-nonsense, and after this she'll take no bullshit.

I was drawn to this new series for three reasons - first, I have enjoyed previous books written by Christine Trent, second, I enjoy historical mysteries (especially the Victorian period) and third, the use of Florence Nightingale as a protagonist intrigued me. I was not disappointed.
Here we meet the Florence Nightingale before she earned her nickname of the Lady of the Lamp. This is Florence at the beginning of her stellar career, up against a slew of challenges. We see her struggling with old ways of treating patients - quack medicine amidst filthy conditions, a board comprised of people who won't let her implement her "fanciful" ideas, very short on funding and trying to find her life path. She has a long way to go, much work is to be done and now she has a murder added to the mix.
The mystery was well done and, if you are a fan of this time period, by all means, read The Lady of Ashes series. If you decide to read No Cure For the Dead, please keep in mind that you will be meeting a great woman at the start of her life journey, complete with mistakes and lots of learning. I am eager to read more.
My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

In 1853 Florence Nightingale is appointed to the position of Superintendent of a small womens hospital. Not long into her tenure she finds a body hanging in the library. The police beleive suicide, she does not.
An interesting enough mystery though I am not sure I have taken to Nightingale as a character. There certainly didn't seemed to be any likeable characters. I also felt that any female superintendent could have been named to solve the crimes.

I enjoyed this mystery novel which seems to be the start of a new mystery series with Florence Nightingale as the sleuth. Florence has just been placed in charge of the Establishment, a prototype hospital for gentle women (those who would not be at a workhouse hospital but could not afford to be cared for at home). A nurse is murdered and the story builds from there. This book does an excellent job of setting the scene and of bringing 1850s London to vivid life. Many historical personages appear in the book and seem to fit right in. The mystery is solved in a very Agatha Christie like manner with all of the main characters in a room together. Like Hercule Poirot, Florence deduces all. A thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of Anne Perry. Of additional note, I learned a lot about Florence herself. Thanks NetGalley!

No Cure for the Dead by Christine Tent is an interesting yet deadly read. A young nurse is recruited as head of a hospital. What she finds once there, is more than any nurse should ever see. A suicide that bears the marks of a murder, nurses who are cruel and scheming, and several affairs going on in a secret room. One murder may turn t multiple murders. But head nurse, Florence, makes sure no one else dies under her care. Danger, risks, and trouble are brewing on these pages. Florence is a smart and well-educated no nonsense kind of woman. She takes full responsibility and does not turn away from hardships. I liked her a lot. It was easy to fall into the novel's plot. It was thick with mystery, mayhem, and death. I enjoyed following nurse Florence as she went about fixing the sad state of the hospital and finding the real murder before it got way worse. Some of the characters are left with scars but will survive. Overall, I highly recommend this murder medical mystery to all.

Florence Nightingale has recently gained a position as superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness in London. But before she can institute the changes that will revolutionize nursing she needs to find out who murdered Nurse Bellamy whom she finds hanging in her library.

Miss Nightingale has to contend with a slovenly crew of nurses, a variety of eccentric patients, and the board who hired her and who now want to fire her and bring in a more experienced superintendent.

The mystery had a nice variety of suspects and an interesting plot. I liked the historical setting. While likely true to life, I didn't enjoy Miss Nightingale's personality. I found her to be an uptight, grating personality. She is certainly headstrong and convinced of her own opinions. I found her conviction that she had had a religious vision that led her to a path in nursing interesting but I wasn't quite convinced that the vision should have allowed her to string along her suitor for many years and then grieve his loss after she rejected him.

Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this visit to Victorian England.

I have read some of Christine Trent's other books so was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint. I am a big fan of historical books that involve real people and this held true to that. I am looking forward to this new series. Another great read from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Christine Trent for allowing me to read and review an ARC of No Cure For The Dead. I'm sorry to say that this novel did not resonate with me. 3/5

I love historical fiction and this time period but this book didn't work for me. I found the main character, Florence, to actually be an unlikable character and the plot was just not believable to me. I had hoped to learn more of what she really did at the hospital instead of her playing amateur sleuth which was the main crux of the story. I was disappointed.

Since I did not finish the book I will not post a review on public media as I don't believe that it's fair to the author, perhaps it has a great ending to redeem it but I couldn't continue past 40%.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book, sorry it didn't work for me.