The Midwife's Revolt My Rating: 2.0
On a dark night in 1775, Lizzie Boylston is awakened by the sound of cannons. From a hill south of Boston, she watches fires burning in Charlestown during a battle that she soon discovers has claimed her husband’s life.
Alone in a new town, Lizzie grieves privately but takes comfort in her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams. As word spreads of Lizzie’s extraordinary midwifery and healing skills, she begins to channel her grief into caring for those who need her. But when two traveling patriots are poisoned, Lizzie finds herself caught up in far more complicated matters. She suspects a political plot intended to harm Abigail and her family, and her determination to uncover the truth draws her into a conspiracy that could threaten her livelihood, her chance at finding love again, and even the future of the new nation.
I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book. I loved the focus on what it was actually like to live during this time - the food shortages, the women trying to keep their families and communities going while the war was unfolding so close to home, and the divisions within the town over which side everyone was on. Most of all, I enjoyed the friendships and the details of Lizzie’s life as a midwife. Those were the parts that made the story feel real and completely drew me into the period.
And then the book changed completely.
Suddenly, the focus shifted to new characters we barely knew - and, frankly, I didn’t care about. The story became about spies, poisonings, conspiracies, and people going by so many different names that I eventually lost track of who was who. By the time the gasp! big whodunit reveal finally arrived, I didn’t care who had done it. I just wanted the book to be over. I must note that many felt that this last portion was the point of the book and wish the author had gotten to it sooner....proving the adage you can never please everyone.
It was especially disappointing because the book had such a strong start. If the author had simply stayed with the original story - the women, the friendships, the midwifery, and the fascinating everyday realities of living through the Revolutionary War - instead of feeling the need to turn it into a big dramatic mystery, this could have been a really good book.
