Part of Irish Country, book 9
First published 2014
Young Surgeon Lieutenant Fingal O'Reilly stands on the deck of HMS Warspite, a massive battleship carrying 1,200 crew members into the chaos of World War II. He had planned to marry midwife Dierdre Mawhinney, but duty called him away from those dreams. Now he tends wounded sailors and battle casualties aboard the 30,000-ton warship, learning hard lessons about life and death. Decades later, O'Reilly has settled into his practice in Ballybucklebo, where he faces different challenges. A German measles outbreak tests his skills. A fierce pie-baking contest divides the village. One stubborn father blocks his son's future with rigid adherence to old ways. O'Reilly believes he can handle anything the village throws at him. Then a secret from his wartime past surfaces, threatening to destroy the peace he has built in his quiet Irish community.
Genres: historical-fiction, medical, 20th-century, war, military-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, secrets
Setting: Ballybucklebo, HMS Warspite
Period: World War II, Decades Later
390 pages · Hardcover · Forge Books
Content warnings: war