Everything starts somewhere. For Elspeth, it is landing a nursing job at the Pan American Exposition Hospital in Buffalo, NY. It is 1901, and this opportunity is one most coveted by many and one that promises a future for Elspeth, a great beginning and hope for her family. But the job turns out to be more than anything she’d imagined with the increasing stress of having to deal with a large number of patients, handle overbearing doctors, and face the reality of prejudice and cutthroat competition from other nurses. She has no choice but to push on, because she is the breadwinner and the family bills are on her. But things take a dramatic, tragic turn when President McKinley’s visit turned out to be an event that would mark the assassination of the twenty-fifth President of the United States. Read on to discover how this event gets Elspeth involved and the dangerous path she must walk to clear her name and to secure the lives of those important to her.

The reader is immediately introduced to the conflict from the prologue, a very brief statement of what the story is about. The writing is as focused as the plot, and there is no distraction at all from the narrative. Joseph Pillitteri’s writing is flawless and delightful. The tension builds up very fast and doesn’t slow down until the satisfying conclusion. Courage Between Love and Death is focused, deft, and balanced, and the reader will follow the protagonist through her emotional and psychological turmoil until the very last page. A gripping story with great historical references, it’s an edge of the seat read. Courage Between Love and Death by Joseph Pillitteri is a historical novel that is well-researched and written to great satisfaction.

Courage Between Love and Death by Joseph Pillitteri is a historical novel that explores the circumstances surrounding the assassination of the twenty-fifth US President McKinley and one woman’s gritty story and the role she plays in the tragedy. When Elspeth Shaughnesshey accepts the job as a nurse in the prestigious Pan American Exposition Hospital in Buffalo, it is like a dream come true for her and she begins to envisage a better life for herself and her siblings. But a few days into the job, she faces great challenges, including the large number of patients all clamoring for help, the cocky and demanding doctors, and the nurses who would do anything to put her down. Keeping her morale high, she perseveres, but things take an unsuspected and spiraling turn with the president's visit and his assassination. Elspeth is in a tight spot and finds herself in a race to clear her name and regain her life, but can she?

Courage Between Love and Death is a well-researched and masterfully crafted historical novel with strong characters and a mesmerizing plot. Apart from developing a very strong conflict, Joseph Pillitteri does a brilliant job in weaving powerful dialogues and intrigue into the story. The reader is transported into an atmospheric world with medical personnel, strong personalities, and a historic event that will remain engraved in the minds of many. There is so much to enjoy in this novel — the drama, the emotional and psychological intensity of the story, the excellent prose and the compelling characters. I was sucked into the narrative from the very first page.