Series Debut
I had decided to skip this book because of the time travel element, but what a huge mistake. A friend and book club member listed it on her favorites of the year list, and since I trust her taste, I dove in. I should also, of course, have trusted the great Elly Griffiths, who has one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary crime fiction, not to mention extraordinary storytelling skills. She has a way of writing that draws the reader in. Readers, I was all in with this book.
The story, while complicated, in Griffiths’ capable hands is simply a purely enjoyable ride. The main character, Ali Dawson, is a detective on a cold case squad (cases so cold they’re frozen) that actually utilizes time travel as a detection device. The way it’s explained is quite similar to the way Madeleine L’Engle explains it in A Wrinkle in Time, a sort of compressing of the time line. So far the detectives have used it and stayed for an hour in the past, never going further back than 1976. However, when a very powerful MP asks the squad to look into the supposed crimes of a Victorian ancestor of his, they agree to it, with Ali taking time to research the Victorians (and of course find the proper clothing).
Ali’s son works for the MP. He only becomes concerned after not hearing from his mother for several days, despite friendly texts about her cat, and when he goes to her house he finds the cat both angry and starving. He goes to her boss to demand an answer and he’s told she’s back in 1850.
Meanwhile, in 1850, Ali is finding it almost like being stranded on an alien planet, even though she’s in the same area of London she lives in in the present. The darkness, the different food – the commodes! – all are unsettling. What’s worse, when she goes to the agreed upon “gate” to return to the present she finds it’s not working, and she seems to be stuck in 1850.
While she’s there, the MP her son Finn works for is murdered. The squad figures out how to get her back, only for her to discover that her son is in prison, accused of killing his boss. She goes full on mama bear and she and the squad use every means at their disposal to discover the real killer, who Ali suspects might actually be someone from 1850.
To describe much more of this gorgeous plot would be unfair – you have to experience it for yourself. I will just say that Griffiths’ vivid writing, wonderful characters and her portrayal of 1850’s London are all indelible. I really loved this book. — Robin Agnew