Bitter Medicine - Mae McGraw

Katie Harris is a young nurse returning home to Ohio from the Civil War with the desire to become a doctor. As a woman of 1865, she knows that there will be many obstacles to her quest, but she hadn't counted on solving her brother's murder as one of them. Heartbroken by the news, Katie is then frustrated and angry when she learns the village's inept marshal has done little to find her brother's killer. She fears the murderer will go free and sees no other recourse than to investigate his murder herself. As Katie pursues her investigation, she learns more about her brother's past. Some of his secrets lead her to befriend a fortune-telling gypsy, renew old friendships, and gain a new friend and ally, a handsome newspaper reporter eager for a story. Thwarted by deception and cruel men with rattlesnakes, Katie fights a high-stake's battle for justice and her future as a doctor.