A Murder in Time: A Novel (Kendra Donovan Mystery)

by Julie McElwain

When brilliant FBI agent Kendra Donovan stumbles back in time and finds herself in a 19th century English castle under threat from a vicious serial killer, she scrambles to solve the case before it takes her life—200 years before she was even born.

Beautiful and brilliant, Kendra Donovan is a rising star at the FBI. Yet her path to professional success hits a speed bump during a disastrous raid where half her team is murdered, a mole in the FBI is uncovered and she herself is severely wounded. As soon as she recovers, she goes rogue and travels to England to assassinate the man responsible for the deaths of her teammates.

While fleeing from an unexpected assassin herself, Kendra escapes into a stairwell that promises sanctuary but when she stumbles out again, she is in the same place—Aldrich Castle—but in a different time: 1815, to be exact.

Mistaken for a lady's maid hired to help with weekend guests, Kendra is forced to quickly adapt to the time period until she can figure out how she got there; and, more importantly, how to get back home. However, after the body of a young girl is found on the extensive grounds of the county estate, she starts to feel there's some purpose to her bizarre circumstances. Stripped of her twenty-first century tools, Kendra must use her wits alone in order to unmask a cunning madman.

• ISBN10: 1605989746
• ISBN13: 9781605989747
• Publish Date: 11 April 2016
• Publish Status: Transferred
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Pegasus Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

We meet FBI agent Kendra Donovan in the hospital. She is in a coma as we learn about the undercover case that left her wounded and her teammates dead. Once recovered, Kendra is intent on revenge and goes rogue. She travels to England to seek out the killer. While in the Aldrich Castle, she finds herself in peril. In her efforts to escape she slips into a hidden stairwell and soon finds herself in the same castle but in the year 1815.

McElewin quickly pulls us into the tale, as Kendra Donovan comes to term with her surroundings and soon finds herself working as a lady's maid. She is determined to find her way back, but a murder soon pulls her into this world when she realizes they are dealing with a serial killer.

I loved the attention to details, although for me I found a few discrepancies in descriptions and quite a bit of head hopping. However, these were minor. Kendra, of course, stands out from her mannerism to speech garnishing the attention of the Duke of Aldridge and his nephew Alex. When the body of a young woman is found in the fountain, the agent in her cannot help but become involved. A Lady of the ton who is outspoken on the rights of women elevates Kendra's position to companion and she soon finds herself actively working the case. Secondary characters like Rose, Rebecca, and Molly added depth and interest.

The murder-mysteries and Kendra's inclusion in the investigation were wonderful and engaging. While she stumbled a few times with her knowledge, Kendra tried to use her skills, steer the investigation and catch the killer all why avoiding Bedlam. I loved how open minded the Duke and eventually, Alex was with Kendra's knowledge. Kendra even managed to impress the Bow Street Runner. This was a clever mystery with a cast of suspects and multiple murders. All of it, kept me listening as Kendra tried to apply her 21st-century knowledge and skills. It was fun seeing her back peddle or use her knowledge of history to explain terminology when the group questioned things she said or did. She was quite the eccentric.

There was a romantic thread, but it was never in the forefront as Kendra hoped to return to her time. There was a turning point and we see the potential for their relationship to become more. Either way, I was not invested in this thread. The tale is truly a time-traveling murder mystery case and we will have to wait and see if more develops.

The tale was narrated by Lucy Rayner and she did a decent job despite my dislike of her male voices. I thought she captured Kendra well.

The 1815 murder mystery wrapped up nicely with a satisfying conclusion but things don't go as planned for Kendra. We do get an update on happens in the 21st century and if left me anxious. I cannot wait to listen to A TWIST IN TIME. Even though I am not thrilled with Rayner's male voice, I will continue to listen as she is the voice of Kendra.

Audio provided by publisher. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

My favorite part of A Murder in Time was Kendra trying to figure out how to utilize her knowledge of forensic science and the psychology of killers in a world when the term serial killer hadn’t even been coined. Heck, in 1815, London doesn’t even have a police force. There’s a lot of history and mulling over how to put things in context for the men Kendra encounters. Good thing most of the men she encounters are somewhat forward thinking and Kendra finds a like minded woman, Rebecca, to assist her in her investigation.

It was fairly easy to settle into the past with Kendra. (Once she accepted that’s where she was.) The story felt a bit like Outlander, Sherlock Holmes (both the Doyle and Moffat versions) and Downton Abbey. There was an air of familiarity which made it a perfect companion on my summer vacation.

The only disappointing aspect of the story was the romance. There was supposed to be something between Kendra and Alec, but I just wasn’t feeling it. Kendra was often with large groups of people during the investigation and doing her best to avoid everyone else the rest of the time in the off chance someone would figure out her secret. There’s wasn’t much chance for anything to develop between Kendra and Alec so the few times they are alone, it feels incredibly awkward.

Fans of time travel, mystery and forensic science will like A Murder in Time. Kendra’s adventures in the past are not complete and there’s plenty of adventure and intrigue awaiting her in the present time. I look forward t reading the next book in the Kendra Donovan series.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews