Elliott Rodgers

So there I was stood in my local Waterstones pondering what books to buy when I saw someone photographing a pretty woman by a pile of books. I thought I’d take a wander over and be nosey – I’m like that (especially if there’s a good looking woman involved). Apparently a novelist, Caroline Rance was signing her first novel, Kill-Grief. As I checked it the novel intrigued by the title and cover, Caroline Rance, a lovely brunette, came over to introduce herself and asked if I was interested in the book but warned me I’d need a strong stomach for some bits. I told her I had been discovering the joys of Bernard Cornwell and was qualified as an Emergency Medical Technician so any bloodthirsty bits wouldn’t be a problem (They weren’t as bad as I though either).

Kill-Grief, is set in 1756, in Chester, at an infirmary and tells the story of Mary Helsall, who starts a job as a nurse. The infirmary is no sweet and charming Holby City Hospital and nurses are far from Florence Nightingale. As the novel unfolds we find out Mary has a secret and seeks solace in gin and an on off relationship with Anthony, a hospital porter. A diseased beggar turns up at the infirmary and it soon becomes obvious Mary has a whole collection of secrets to hide.

I really enjoyed reading Kill-Grief, I had expected it to be a kind of “story of a nurse” set in the eighteenth century with a romantic twist, it was so much more. Caroline Rance so obviously spent an awful long time on research for Kill-Grief, it shows in the small details that she includes, the language of the characters and which transports you completely into the characters’ lives. In places Caroline writes eloquently and beautifully about Mary’s feelings for Anthony while in others with a brutal sense of coarse vulgarity that is sharp and precisely what is needed. There are places with some blood and gore but Caroline Rance doesn’t go over the top and use it when it wasn’t necessary.

Kill-Grief for me was one of those books you start to read and you don’t want to put down. If I hadn’t been told I wouldn’t have realised that it was Caroline Rance’s first ever novel. My only real disappointment was when I came to the end of the book, I wanted to read more about Mary and Anthony, Caroline Rance had bought them to life so well I didn’t want to say goodbye to them, she hasn’t ruled out coming back to the story in the future (fingers crossed she does).

If you read one book this year, I’d suggest making it Kill-Grief, I can’t see you being disappointed. Since reading it I’ve found out Caroline Rance is working on her second novel at the moment, I’ll definitely be buying it as soon as it reaches Waterstones whether Caroline Rance is signing copies or not. You can buy Buy Kill-Grief from Amazon or The Book Depository.

Caroline Rance has her own website at www.carolinerance.co.uk/ and a blog all about historical medicines, powders and potions and such like – Quack Doctor. Caroline can be found on Twitter http://twitter.com/quackdoctor

This review was originally in my blog on 13th August 2009 and has been updated.

QR Code for This Page