Book Review: Long Lost Midwife

Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta

A slow-burn historical thriller about family secrets lurking in the past

Pamela is newly married and terrified of having a child at the beginning of Long Lost Midwife. It’s a state of mind she can’t explain and something her husband Frank cannot understand.

After some strife and bargaining between them, Pamela gets pregnant with the couple’s first child, stirring up memories of Minnie, a black woman who looked after her as a child and who disappeared from her life with no explanation. After her family forbids her tracking down Miss Minnie, Pamela goes behind their back to track her down, unleashing family drama and dire consequences for the both of them.

Due to the novel’s setting in 1932, it explores some interesting familial and racial dynamics, particularly because Pamela doesn’t necessarily act as a “normal” housewife of the time period should. She is reluctant to sleep with her husband, rebels against the instruction of her husband, her father, and authority figures like her doctor or pastor in order to find Miss Minnie. She drives without a license, goes into neighborhoods where she is warned not to go, and sticks to her gut feelings even in the face of conflict. She is also prone to mood swings, acts irrationally, and doesn’t present in the most proper way. She is a lovable and sympathetic character even when her actions are difficult to stand behind. She feels like a real person in a historical period when many women weren’t seen or allowed to be seen as such.

It is difficult to understand Pamela’s dedication to finding Miss Minnie at the beginning of this story. Why is this search worth infuriating her husband and her family over? we ask. Pamela seems baffled by her own reaction to becoming pregnant, so it’s understandable that the reader would feel the same way, but being kept in the quiet withholds a real emotional connection to Minnie.

It takes some time for the thriller elements to come into fruition. The crime that sets off the mystery element doesn’t occur until about halfway through the book. The rest is given to fleshing out Pamela and Frank’s relationship history, family dynamics, and introducing the Miss Minnie storyline.

The tension might be roasting slowly in the first half, but once it hits, it hits hard and fast. The latter half of the novel is brimming with tension. The mystery is time-period appropriate, and so is the detective work used to solve it. The detectives are quite fascinating characters, even with a more minor role.

Long Lost Midwife is an authentic historical thriller with a dynamic lead and a setting that adds real complexity, especially in terms of race and gender. For those who like a historical setting and a character-driven crime novel, this is a great choice.

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