Read delightfully by Mary Jane Wells, this was a truly sweet story that broke several of my rules and still kept my interest.
Typically I do not like first person voice, but once in a while the author carries it. I've had two of these just recently - one an ebook, and this one - an audiobook. A second rule it broke was that I do not usually like slow-moving stories. This one was one such story but it kept my interest anyway, because the character was engaging and the reader's voice was quite captivating. The third rules was that this was an early twentieth century novel which I usually do not enjoy - WW1 and WW2 are not my thing. Again, this was set in 1919 in an asylum for 'shell-shock'; victims - people suffering from what we now recognize as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but still it told an interesting story that had not been done before - not in my experience anyway - and it made a good job of it.
Kitty Weekes arrives at Portis House - a very remote house that was once in private hands but which is now given over - at least the parts of it that are not derelict - to the care of soldiers from "The Great War" who are not themselves. She hears from a third party about how desperate they are for nurses at this place and she outright lies that she's a nurse who has worked at a hospital in London, Due to staff shortages and disorganization, her story isn't checked and she's hired. She's also relieved because this is her last hope. Kitty is running from something and she is happy to be somewhere - even a place as dismal and disturbing as this - where she feels she can safely disappear.
She had an interesting relationship with the other staff - a handful of nurses and orderlies, and an rather antagonist relationship with matron, who discerns very early that she's not a nurse, but is desperate for the help she can offer, so the two have this sort of love-hate relationship that's really quite charming to read about.
The patients are a variety: some are fairly benign, others quite disturbing even to experienced nurses, and they all seem to be tormented by bad dreams - even the same bad dream. But there seems to be something else loose in Portis House, in the odd noises, the strange, chill breezes, the voices, and the inexplicable sightings of unfamiliar people.
There's also the anonymous patient 16 which only certain staff are allowed to interact with. Naturally Kitty bluffs her way into the room and is startled to find out she knows this guy - not because he's a friend or relative, but because he's a well-known personality and this is why his presence there is being kept secret. Over time she bonds with him and they both start investigating the unnatural aspects of Portis house, leading to a showdown one dark and stormy night - literally - when the rain is exceptionally heavy, patients are falling to the flu, and the bridge from the Portis House island to the mainland is in danger of becoming impassable.
I loved this story and the characters and I commend it strongly.
