Kendra Donovan is a rising star at the FBI. But, after a
catastrophic raid where half her team is killed, and she
nearly also, she is furious to learn that the man
responsible for the deaths is going scot-free. So, she
decides to go after him no matter what. She goes rogue and
travels to Aldrich Castle, England, where she plans to
assassinate the man in question. But, something goes wrong,
in a stairwell running from a foe she is suddenly
transported back in time, to 1815. There she must try to
act as a lady's maid and adapt to the time period in
question, but that's not easy for a 21st century woman. And,
then the body of a dead girl is discovered and Kendra
realizes that there is a killer loose. And not an ordinary
killer, it's a serial killer.
I was quite taken with the lovely cover when I first saw it
and then I read the description; a historical mystery, with
time travel and a madman that has to be stopped. I felt
that this is not the usual time travel book. Ordinarily, a
woman goes back in time to find herself a man, Kendra goes
back in time and it's not a man she is after, well it is,
but he's a killer. She is not after romance, although,
there is some romance in the book, or let's say a hint of
that.
This book was good, really good. Kendra Donovan is a
brilliant young woman, she is working at the FBI to catch
killers and is perfectly capable of that, but she is back
in a time before killers like Jack the Ripper terrorized.
And, she has some problem blending in and acting as a
ladies' maid. She is just not suited to serve spoiled young
women. It's hilarious to read.
This book is nothing I have ever read before, to write
about a modern woman going back in time has been done over
and over again. But, to have an FBI agent go back in time
to catch a serial killer that felt refreshing. Kendra is a
strong competent woman that can take care of herself
without needing a man to save her all the time. Although
she catches the eye of a man in the book, and let me say they
have some pretty amazing chemistry together. I just hope
that there will be a sequel to this book because the way
the book ended. I feel that I want to know more about
Kendra, what will happen next for her?
I recommend A MURDER IN TIME to anyone looking for a different
kind of historical mystery. It's a dark story, but, there
are lighter moments and sure sometimes I felt that Kendra
was very lucky not to be thrown out by the Duke that owned
the castle. She is fortunate that the Duke seems to like
her eccentricity.
A MURDER IN TIME is Julie McElwain's debut book, and I'm
looking
forward to seeing what more she will write in the future.
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.