The Doctor's Daughter by Vanessa Matthews

Thanks to the author Vanessa Matthews, I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review..........

It’s Austria 1927, women have the right to vote and morals are slackening, but 23 year old Marta Rosenblit is not the typical woman of her time. She has little connection with her elder sisters, her mother has been confined in an asylum since Marta was born. Her father’s friend Dr Leopold Kaposi is keen to help her make her name, but his interest is not purely professional and his motivations pose greater risks than she could possibly know. Marta's chance encounter in a café leads to a new friendship with young medical graduate Elise Saloman, but it soon turns out that Elise has some secrets of her own. When Marta’s shock discovery about her family coincides with her mother’s apparent suicide, Marta can’t take anymore. Not one person around her that she has grown to love and trust are who they seem.

This is by no means a happy read and is quite dark and disturbing in places.  This novel is primarily set in Vienna with a dark tale that follows her journey of self-discovery  as she tries to step out of her father’s shadow and find her identity in a man’s world but is full of secrets, lies and betrayals.  This was on my TBR pile for over 6 months and to be honest I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book but I didn't like it, I LOVED it but I'm just sorry I didn't pick it up sooner.  It was well researched and constructed.  The story flowed really well and does deal with a very sensitive and hard-hitting issue - I found I had a little tear in my eye at the end along with shedding a few along the way, so grab this book, curl up on the couch and prepare to have a few lump in your throat moments too. It definitely didn't disappoint. This is Vanessa Matthews  second novel, her first been Melodies of my Other Life and I look forward to reading more work from her.

The Doctor's Daughter is currently on Kindle for £1.99 at the time of publication of this review, in all good bookstores I really enjoyed this book so much that I included it in my Top 12 Reads of 2015 and I'd HIGHLY recommend this book and especially if you're a fan of Historical Fiction.