A Murder in Time by Julie McEwain when FBI becomes famos in the 1800's

Book Synopsis

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. A Murder in Time 

 

My Opinion

3.75/5 stars.

I know you usually do not start a conversation with "so" but just stay with me would ya?

So... I got my eyes on this book since last year when it was chosen for mystery/murder book on OverDrive. I borrowed. I kept it for 21 days and did not read it. Classic me. (For those of you who are not familiar or do not know about OverDrive, it is a website - and app - where you can also use your library card to borrow books, audiobooks, movies etc., if your library is affiliated with OverDrive.)

Recently I got my hands on the eBook and trust me when I tell you that I had this baby for months on my Holds list. Yeah, that high was the waiting list for this book.

Anyway, I am glad that my waiting was not in vain and the book did not disappoint. The binning was rather slow in my opinion, except for the prologue - or chapter 1, I do not remember exactly - which was creepy and got me hooked. Yes, the first seven or so chapters where a pain in the bottom to read through. After that, the book got better and better.

The writing was easy to follow and understand. It flowed nicely and every detailed clicked in place.

I was able to connect with main because I would react the same way if I was trapped in time/past. Finally, I encountered someone with real thoughts about time travel. Despite the romance, she knows she does not belong and the potential thought of being trapped in 1815 forever terrifies her. I mean who wouldn't be? Especially a woman. I will go nuts without my life conditions and the ability to be who I want to be despite people's opinions, trends, and fashion. I want my pants, my modern shoes, modern undergarments, present medication... What am I talking about? I want present everything. I mean it is not perfect but it is better than 1815. I know. I know. I know I sound selfish but so would you, trust me. And no amount of love would convince you otherwise because only death is certain in life.

Ok... That's too much of a serious topic for this book review. Ha-ha-ha! Or is it?

Moving on...

The romantic aspect did not captured the whole attention of the book. It was slow burning and realistic. Alec is a very fine future duke if you ask me. Another small detailed, which was under tuned in the book, was the Greek mythology. - Loved it! - If you read the book you would know what I mean.

The author's does a great job of keeping things real and not having the "character protection instinct". My brain was in the full Sherlock Holmes mode and I was able to figure out the murderer because I was paying attention to the details. Although, I was still surprised when it was revealed because there is a twist. But I was still right!!!
 

 

Don't judge me! :))
Now let's move on to the stuff I did not like in the book.
For a main character who is a genetic prodigy from FBI, Kendra is not as calculated and does not show the self-control I was expecting from her. Because she used with the modern times, sometimes she appeared naïve and too confident with a killer on the loose. At some parts, Kendra herself and her actions were accepted rather quickly by the people in the 1800's. She also expects full trust from the people who see her as a stranger. Oh! For a smart person, she did not recognize that she fits the pattern. Either that or she did not care. But that was the feeling I got from the book. I know that Alec points that to her.
Another down was that the author focused on a handful of suspects making it quite easy to guess the killer. At least from my point of view. She was not vague enough. I don't know my previous experience with mystery-detective novel is the Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith (books 1-3). So, my comparison range is very limited. SPOILER - I am still amazed that I was able to find the single word which clues who's the main killer :) - END of SPOILER.
Now, there is another character who acted out of character in my opinion. :) Small Spoiler - April is a prostitute business woman. She owns a brothel and she runs it too. But when it comes up to meet with a killer, she does not cover her a-s-s. Really? Woman, you should know better! - End of Spoiler.

I am not an expert in mystery-murder novels. And, in my opinion, this book is a good starter for this genre. Who knows? It might be your cuppa tea! ;) I definitely enjoyed it. 

I know this has been a long post. So, look! Jimmy Fallon dancing bellow!

 

 

This is my sole opinion. ^_^

 

Genre: Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Time Travel
Language: moderate to heavy-ish
Sexual content: heavy (most of it ties with the murders)
Violence: heavy (it's a murder mystery)
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate