Return to Port Agnes is the first in The Cornish Midwives series of novels
The last thing Ella Mehenick wants is the fifteen minutes of fame she’s found herself landed with. After all, who wants to star in a viral video of the very public ending of their relationship?
Newly single, and desperate to get as far away from her former fiancé as possible, Ella heads back to the Cornish seaside town of Port Agnes, where she grew up.
Working as a community midwife keeps her busy and, even if some of the locals seem to have an unhealthy fascination with the breakdown of her relationship, the other midwives soon make her feel like one of the team. Despite her disastrous dating history, Ella manages to play matchmaker to her new best friend and even dodges her parents’ attempts to get her to settle down with the boy next door.
Her only problem is Dan Ferguson, who seems hell bent on destroying a local landmark, which will tear the heart out of Port Agnes. When Dan turns out to be the one person who can help Ella, after a high risk pregnancy puts a patient in danger, she discovers he’s not the man she thought he was. But getting to know the real Dan is not as easy as she’d like it to be…
Someone in Port Agnes is determined not to let her move on from the past and will stop at nothing to make sure no-one forgets why Ella is back in town, even if that means breaking the law.
Will she ever be allowed to enjoy her return to Port Agnes, or are some things just impossible to leave behind?
You only have to look at that series title to know you’re going to be in for a treat. As a huge fan of series like Call the Midwife and Doc Martin, I knew this was going to be a pleasure to read when I saw it was the first in the new Cornish Midwives series. I wasn’t wrong.
Following a major personal embarrassment that went viral on social media, Ella returns to her home town of Port Agnes in beautiful Cornwall to take up a position as a midwife at the local unit. She is soon making her rounds, getting to know the expectant mothers in the Port Agnes area, sharing in their joys and fears and becoming part of their lives at one of the most important times they will ever experience.
Not all the mums-to-be are having an easy time. With phobias and unexpected pregnancies, some of them need Ella’s help more than others. Then there’s Tara, whose husband seems to be the most selfish and uncaring of fathers-to-be. When Ella spots him in a compromising situation in a local pub, her opinion of him sinks even lower. But is there more to Dan than she realises?
The Cornish countryside and the rural community comes alive in this novel. A sense of place is always important to me, and I could quite picture myself on the Cornish coast, eating pasties and listening to the cry of the gulls, as I read.
There’s a strong cast of supporting characters and I’m sure many of them will feature in future books in this series. There’s plenty of scope for more stories, as the midwives not only go about their work, but deal with all the twists and turns in their private lives, too.
Jo Bartlett is a lovely writer, and I always know I’m guaranteed a good read when I pick up one of her books. I’m looking forward to the next instalment in this delightful new series and can’t wait for my next trip to Cornwall!
You can buy Return to Port Agnes here.