By Julie McElwain
This historical mystery held my interest throughout. Julie McElwain did a good job of transporting us into the world of the British elite two hundred years ago. Her detailed 
knowledge of the place and time helps the reader imagine the character’s time travel experience. The story starts out as an FBI thriller, but then the female agent is involuntarily sucked back in time. Her logical mind refuses to accept the new reality. She questions her own sanity and is most afraid of being committed to a Victorian mad-house.
The differences in clothing, housing, employment, and manners between modern day and the 1800s made for an interesting story. The agent’s confidence and skills in forensics, self-defense, and interrogation set her apart from women of the day. She struggles to fit in. The only work available to a female with good moral character, but without family connections, is as a servant. The FBI agent makes a poor house maid, but manages to save herself from being thrown into the street. The Duke knows she’s lying about her past, but is impressed as she takes charge of an investigation into the murder of a prostitute found on his estate.
The novel flows very well for the most part. Here and there, the author’s research is showing—too many unnecessary facts are thrown in, taking the reader out of the story. For example, we didn’t need to know about similar, real-life serial-killers of the time. At five-hundred pages, this novel could have been trimmed by deleting extraneous references and repetition of obvious facts, such as her worry of losing her mind.
Overall, A Murder in Time, is an exciting story, well worth reading.
Jeanne Meeks ~ Fiction Author 