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The Secret Healer Kindle Edition

by Ellin Carsta (Author), Terry Laster (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 10,277 ratings
See all formats and editions

In the fourteenth century, opportunities for women are limited to the home. But spirited young Madlen finds her calling as assistant to the city’s trusted midwife, Clara. Working alongside Clara, Madlen develops a surprisingly soothing technique and quickly becomes a talented healer.

After Clara’s tragic death, Madlen alone rushes to assist the birth of a local nobleman’s child. But rather than the joy of birth, Madlen walks into an accusation of murder and witchcraft because of her extraordinary gifts. Forced to flee her own town, she establishes a new identity in the home of her aunt. Yet even though it endangers her life, she cannot resist the urge to help the sick patients who seek out her miraculous treatment. When she meets handsome Johannes—an investigator hired by the Church to bring her to justice for sacrilegious acts—she becomes drawn to the very man that could destroy her.

Will Madlen’s gifts bring about her downfall? Or can love and reason prevail in a time of fearful superstition?

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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 2
    The Secret Healer Series
  2. Print length
    366 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Amazon Crossing
  6. Publication date
    May 1, 2016
  7. File size
    7418 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

I held my breath as I tore through the pages of this triumphant historical novel, anxious to see what would become of Madlen, the spirited young protagonist at the story’s core. Coming of age in fourteenth-century Germany where superstition reigns and a woman’s word is worth very little, Madlen discovers that her options in life are limited. From the moment I met her, I was enthralled by Madlen’s confidence and hungry to see where her instincts might take her.

As Madlen finds a place in life as a midwife’s assistant, her talent for soothing women in labor raises eyebrows. When one of her patients turns up dead, Madlen makes an easy scapegoat. And so she must take to the road and forge a path for herself. The courage of her flight to freedom is invigorating. Safety can only be found in hiding—Madlen knows her life is in danger—but her heart cannot resist the desperate pleas from loved ones of terminal patients whom doctors have given up on. Once more her unusual talent leads to cries of witchcraft and heresy. But the people whose lives she has touched know there is nothing sinister or supernatural about Madlen. Her craft is unique and inexplicable, but its effect on the lives of her patients is real. How could the community turn against this compassionate woman, the only one who was willing to help, the one who had saved so many?

Like me, you may feel inspired by Madlen’s brave dedication, spellbound by the light of her healing flame, and moved by the bonds this “secret healer” forges with those around her.

- Gabriella Page-Fort, Editor

About the Author

Born in 1970, Ellin Carsta is a successful German author who publishes under various pseudonyms. She is married with three children, ages twenty, eighteen, and sixteen. Although writing books is her passion, she also enjoys sports, especially jogging and cross-training.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0142BVMF4
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amazon Crossing (May 1, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7418 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 366 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 10,277 ratings

About the author

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Ellin Carsta

Ellin Carsta

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Ellin Carsta is a pseudonym for Petra Mattfeldt, the German author of thrillers, crime novels, and books for young adults; she also writes historical fiction under the name Caren Benedikt. Her many novels include the bestseller The Secret Healer and its equally popular sequel, The Master of Medicine, as well as The Draper’s Daughter. Her historical novel Grapes of Gold made the short list for the 2017 Skoutz Award.

She lives with her husband and their three children near Bremen. More information about the author can be found at www.petra-mattfeldt.de and www.instagram.com/ellin_carsta.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
10,277 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

sendrain
5.0 out of 5 stars Very believable story and a great read
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
I loved this reading by the author Ellin Carsta. The Secret Healer is book 1 a series of 2. As I read this book, it was a constant reminder of how women were viewed as witches and evil. Who would have thought that using herbs to heal people from various ailments would cause there to be a witch hunt. This book was a reminder of how women were persecuted without proof and or fabricated lies in the Middle Ages and even now although it is not as rampant. It seems that women have had to fight just to stay alive in a world that was a dominated by men and many ways it is.

The author did a great job weaving this story together and also giving good character depth in various character that was introduced throughout this book.

If you are reading this book in Kindle format then this quote is located on on 4226 (page 310 for hard copy) :"even thought I'm still young, I have the feeling I've seen it all. I've experienced generosity and warmth as much as as I've known hate and lies. I've found true love and lost it again."

This was one of my favorite quotes throughout the book as it highlights Madlen, who is the main character in the book who is being sought for murder of a woman whose husband is a nobleman. Throughout Madlen's journey she tries to suppresses her gift but can't seem to bring herself to do so because she has a God given gift to select herbs to bring healing to people.

In the process of secretly healing people, she is on on the run from the nobleman who wants nothing more to bring her to justice on some trumped her charges. Even though she was in hiding she met great people along the way who helped her out. Despite the turbulence that she face, she was also aware of the good that lies out there within people.

It was a great read that has adventure, joy and suspense all wrapped in one.

I look forward to reading book 2 in the series.
4 people found this helpful
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Maria Prieto
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet & Lite
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2016
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This was a Kindle First purchase for me. Historical Woman’s Fiction, which I love despite the fact that my mind fights the laws of society for the time periods. I could never imagine myself in the situations that most of our historical heroines find themselves in, at least not without giving them a piece of my mind and a mouth full of curse words. This is one such story. Healers were always at odds with religion throughout Europe. “Here, have some tea,” could have you burned at the stake, hung or drowned. These times were definitely precarious for healers and women in general so they are exciting to read about. The writing was simple and flowed well, with female characters being more developed than male (Duh, its woman’s fiction). The romance is lite, tasteful and brief almost YA in nature. I read and listened to the beautiful voice of one of my favorite narrators, Angela Dawe. The audio is perfect and Dawe was an awesome choice for the story.
Madlen is forced into assuming a different identity when things go wrong for her after the stillbirth brought on by an abusive husband, apparently later the noblewoman is found dead and she has blood on her hands and tons of witnesses. Madlen flees to her aunt’s house assuming the identity of Maria, a seamstress in training. While with her aunt her life takes a change for the best as she establishes herself and falls in love a very handsome lawyer/church investigator, Johannes. She marries him only to find out that the church is having him search for “The Secret Healer”. Her life takes a major swerve off its path. Matthias is hunting for her, not only to place the murder of his wife squarely on her shoulders but to improve his community standing and gain power. Maria flees again to save her life and that of her unborn child. Johannes has a momentary lapse in judgement believing everything he is told about his wife, he catches up with Maria only to have her stolen from him and brought to trial. Johannes has a change of heart after speaking with Madlen’s brother and others that care for her, he vows to save his wife’s life. Madlen is left desolate believing that all is lost as she stands trial. As both Maria and Madlen she has touched many lives, lives that will not let her die unjustly, in the end many people come forward on her behalf changing her life forever. The story although lite and predictable is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

The Oracle Reviews offers only honest reviews.
2 people found this helpful
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Ceci
3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing plot, unpolished execution
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book was free to me through the Amazon First program. The plot was a fine idea, and had a great deal of promise. Ultimately, some rough secondary character development held the story back. There were points where characters were too easily moved from one point of view to another, or were underdeveloped, and it detracted from the believability. I also strongly suspect that some of the things they thought and said would never have had the impact they did at that point in history, no matter the passion behind the words.

One gets the feeling this was meant to be a "strong female characters" book. On the one hand, I enjoy seeing women take a lead role in books. On the other, some of it just did not mesh well with how the book described women as being treated then. One moment the barriers are all there, the next they vanish after a speech? She also rather undersold men in the process. This creates the additional problem of making the women seem less than they could have been, since they seem to utterly miss so much fickleness when they are otherwise canny.

That being said, the heroine was likable and the villain both dislikable and not too stupid, so I appreciated that. I enjoyed the few medical parts, and some of the religious content, which was not clumsily ostentatious as with other books that involve faith. The descriptiveness of scenery could have been better, but the author conveyed emotion we'll both through words and character action. In sum, not bad, and enjoyable enough.
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Top reviews from other countries

Jean Bowen-crafty person
5.0 out of 5 stars Historically pleasing!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book enormously, and have recommended it to my book club! I shall look out for the second book in the series!
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Marlene Sheculski
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
sorry when it ended
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Ulrich M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and exciting historical novel
Reviewed in Germany on May 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
An amazing historical novel. Very well written with interesting characters and an exciting story! I could not stop to read!
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the time!
Reviewed in Canada on August 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
It was not a clean book and around 50% of reading there is an abortion... I stopped reading at that point. This book started out as seeming like a Christian novel then turned very ugly. I was not impressed.. Will not be finishing the book, or reading anymore from this author...
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swisssusie
3.0 out of 5 stars Life as a woman in the Middle Ages, up close!
Reviewed in Germany on May 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
Upon recommendation by a close friend, I read this book, and followed it through, despite feelings of simplistic plot design. The good guys and the bad guys. Happy ending. It is a quick read, and enjoyable. The injustices towards women are very blatant and an eye-opener to younger readers, perhaps.
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