The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

 This seemed like a very timely read when I saw the review. It's set in Dublin during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, Our heroine is nurse-midwife Julia Power, who lives with her shell-shocked brother and works in a poor, overcrowded hospital taking care of pregnant women during the pandemic. The whole book takes place over the course of a few days and is compelling reading. 

Julia shows up for her regular shift and realizes she's on her own for the whole shift, so she asks one of the nuns to find her someone to at least be a runner for her--which is how she meets volunteer Bridie Sweeney, whose heartbreaking story Julia hears in bits and pieces as they frantically try to keep several flu-ridden mothers and their babies alive. She also meets controversial doctor Kathleen Lynn who, rumor has it, is in hiding from the police but whose help Julia desperately needs.

This book made me extremely glad I was not living in 1918 because as hard of a time as we're having controlling Covid, at least we know how it's spread and what can help slow it down. In 1918, they didn't seem to have a clue. I just shuddered every time Julia got on an overcrowded bus to go to work.