Ms. Chibbaro brings in a teenage fictional character, Prudence Galewski, and puts her into the story at a time when there were no antibiotics and it was unknown how someone, who was perfectly healthy, could transmit a disease to others. Prudence Galewski has her own problems with a father missing after heading for Cuba to fight against Spain and her inner turmoil in wanting to make a difference in the medical world, but not knowing how. Deadly is an interesting look into life in New York in the early part of the twentieth century and how the city was perplexed in how to deal with Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant.
Although I found the constant changes in tense distracting, I did enjoy the book and found the story interesting. It would make a great book club read.
Deadly Reading Guide
