Belle Blackburn’s “The Doctor’s Daughter: The Choice” (The Doctor’s Daughter Book 2)
I always love getting to review books by local authors, so I’m glad I’ve finally gotten a chance to review another by Knoxville author Belle Blackburn: The Doctor’s Daughter: The Choice. A sequel to The Doctor’s Daughter: Journey to Justice, the novel again follows our heroine Kate, who is at an interesting crossroad in her life. Kate married into a powerful Confederate family, and frankly has a life that many women would seemingly kill for. Of course, such a powerful arrangement doesn’t come without its own issues. Kate father-in-law drags the family into hot water when he clashes with Andrew Jackson, and soon a murder mystery places ever-increasing tension on the family’s standing and politics. As an old lover comes out from the woodwork, Kate finds herself facing a choice that will completely change the direction of her life and family.
It’s rare that sequels stand on their own as well as The Choice, but Belle Blackburn manages to pull it off. Whereas the first novel was a period drama romp meshed with a heavy dose of mystery, law, and medicine, The Choice deals with issues of loyalty and duty to oneself when compared to others. Mystery is still majorly present throughout the novel, but there is far more emphasis on the political ramifications that face Kate, rather than the more personal tale of Kate’s father. This ultimately leads to a noticeable shift in tone between the two novels that mirrors Kate’s maturation between the two books. It’s rare to find someone that hasn’t woken up, looked around, and thought “What in the world have I done with my life?” If for this fact alone, Kate is one of the most relatable heroines I’ve encountered, particularly in more dramatic novels.
Oftentimes, sequels rehash what worked well about the first book, changing names as they go. Blackburn sets The Choice apart from most sequels by giving readers a believable, intricately crafted next installment in Kate’s life. The mystery is compelling, the characters realistic, and the locations beautifully brought to life. If you have read The Doctor’s Daughter: Journey to Justice, I highly recommend you continue your adventure with Kate in The Choice. If you haven’t read the first novel yet, do it. You’re missing out. Lovers of period pieces, murder mysteries, and drama will find much to love in The Doctor’s Daughter: The Choice. Blackburn has established herself as an author who can deliver tight, meticulously detailed drama without embracing the easy tropes of immaturity, and I’m eagerly awaiting more from her.
