A Murder in Time

A Murder in Time is a blend of time travel, mystery and history that I read as a buddy read with my friend and fellow blogger, Margaret from Just One More Chapter. 

The opening scenes introduce us to Kendra, an FBI agent who hails from brainy yet emotionally distant parents but is brilliant in her own right. The beginning is high energy which I loved but I was surprised that so much page time was devoted to her background when it really didn't impact the rest of the plot. But once she travels to the past (which happens rather quickly without much explanation) things go askew for me because Kendra suddenly lacks basic awareness and common sense. If you're trying to fit in with the locals in 1815, you don't swear, blaspheme or throw out words that haven't been invented yet - like "technology" or "unsub" (which was used ad nauseum). Instead, you mimic the locals and try to fit in. But not Kendra. She changes only minimally from her modern persona, but it was how the locals easily brushed off her repeated social faux pas, modern mannerisms and language that made for a frustrating read for me.

But if I were to base my rating just on just the mystery, it was well done. There are some red herrings, an interesting setting, and nice twists. But McElwain required me to suspend disbelief too far. I couldn't overlook how easily things fell into place for Kendra and found her errors distracting. And, on another note, the overuse of the word mayhap! Argh! If I never heard that word again, it'll be too soon.

Overall, this was a great premise with a beautiful cover and good mystery, but its weak development of the main character and bumpy execution decreased my enjoyment of this promising historical fiction mystery. I had hoped for more.

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Julie McElwain

Genre: Historical Mystery, Time Travel

Series: #1 in the Kendra Donovan series

Type and Source: eBook from Library

Publisher: Pegausus Books

First Published: April 11,2016

Opening Line: He was in hell.

Book Description from GoodReads: 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 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.