A Novel (Kendra Donovan Mysteries) - A Murder in Time

After having read several "time travel' novels I was surprised by the twists in this adventure. Often I can predict the next written lines and had almost decided not to read anymore of this genre. However, right from the beginning this story grabbed my attention. I also appreciated, the 'then and now' comparisons, of technology, of mankind, and crime fighting techniques. So, I am hooked and confess to looking forward to the sequel!

One of the worse books ever. Just kept repeating the same stuff over and over. A freak, wrong hair style. Get on with the story. So glad this was a free book I would have been extremely pissed had I paid

Warning: spoilers ahead.

I had high hopes for this novel when I saw it at my local library, but in the end, I had to force myself to finish it. The novel is cliché, the characters are infuriating, and the plot is predictable.

The main character, Kendra, is supposedly a brilliant child prodigy who graduated from Princeton with like 4 degrees by the time she was 18, and was recruited by the FBI shortly thereafter. However, she's immature, abrasive, and frankly, an idiot. Within 24 hours of her arrival in the the past she's got the entire castle suspicious of her. Zero attempts made to blend in or even come up with a decent story as to how she ended up where she is. For someone who is supposedly brilliant she sure doesnt seem act like it. She ends up there in the first place on some ridiculous rogue revenge mission she decides to undertake after a mission goes wrong. Walking up some stairs and then all the sudden she's in the 1800s. Uh, what? There's just a random wormhole in the staircase in this old-ass English castle? That nobody has ever found except you? Jesus.

And the love interest! Good lord. Goes through the whole novel questioning her every few pages trying to figure out who she is and where she's from and repeatedly stating that he doesn't trust her only to suddenly start making out on the roof and promising to protect her, I mean come on now. Really?

After finding out that the author is an editor for a soap opera magazine things finally made sense. The characters were terrible, the plot was ridiculous, nothing connected, and all the sudden the book is done, but don't worry, you got the love interest! Ugh. Awful.

Everyone is different. I love time travel novels. However, I put this one down after its gruesome prologue and a first chapter so laced with curse words it became distracting. I'm no prude (Army brat here, who married a sailor). I got tired of everything from 'dam' to GD, and the F word over & over. Overused & added nothing in moving the story forward.

***Spoilers***
I rented this book from the library on their recommendation, and I am glad I borrowed it instead of buying it. It wasn't awful in that it managed to hold my attention for the most part, but that may have been because I was expecting it to get better. There were too many inconsistencies for it to really make sense.

For example:
*Kendra is FBI agent, yet the only real skill she showed was lock picking which she didn't even learn from the FBI! She is even attacked at one point but doesn't even try to fight her attacker off even though earlier in the book we are shown that she not only knows self defense, but regularly practices.
*Kendra's "oddities" due to her being from the future are explained away as her being American, but around that time period, right after the War of 1812, American heiress' were traveling to England to marry peers. She also never tries to fit in.
*Half the time, when she is asked a question about her past or where she obtained her knowledge, she simply doesn't answer. It happens constantly, and instead of pressing her for answers, everyone just lets her go on her merry way. Other times when she actually deigns to open her mouth and speak, her answers are vague and the other characters even remark on it, but of course, they trust her for no reason and simply let her continue on with her "investigation".

I also noticed that the plot is set up to make things easy for her when she is sent back in time... She has a terrible relationship with her parents that is never really explained (I think they disowned her when she was 14 because she wanted to be an FBI agent? Also something with a cult and Eugenics?). She is on medical leave from her job, she has an inheritance that isn't really explained well that she uses to buy her fake IDs. She plans her assassination at a costume party where the servants are expected to dress in period costume down to their underwear (which actually seemed gross to me). Then, the Duke, at whose estate she ends up, is "eccentric" and because of a past tragedy becomes attached to her and so allows her plenty of leeway in her investigation. Lastly, her only friend in the past conveniently is the serial killers' preferred type, as is Kendra herself.

Kendra also acts like every other stupid heroine (as opposed to smart heroines) when she runs off to confront the suspect herself without telling anyone even though she A) doesn't have a gun or other means of subduing said suspect, B) should know better than to go off by herself- if the FBI didn't teach her that, watching any horror/ thriller movie, police tv drama, or reading a mystery book would teach her. C) One of the killers was obviously painting the bodies where they were dumped, these paintings were described more than once, and the genius FBI profiler never picked up on that even though she clearly saw the paintings as they were developing.

I just felt that we were told Kendra was a genius, that she was beautiful, that she was competent, but I only noticed her showing us she was arrogant, and rash. I also found the other characters all blended into one another and I had to go back carefully and re-read parts to figure out who was who. The supporting characters also made no sense in their respective time periods. The men from our current time period were extremely sexist, and Kendra just brushed it off which I didn't expect based on the way she was described. The men from the past actually respected her more than I expected and listened to her from the first which was also weird and didn't make sense. Also, I noted the possible love interest in the beginning, but I was actually hoping he would end up being the killer because that would have been more interesting. Instead, he managed to fall in love in a period of at most two weeks with a woman who answered almost no questions about herself and was super shady.

Back to the parents, they were supposed to both be highly respected scientists, yet they believed in the pseudoscience of Eugenics which has been proven to have no scientific merit. I'm not positive because it was a throw away comment, but I think that these "scientists" also trailed her around on talk shows and talent shows to show off her incredible brain while extolling Eugenics and its role in creating such a genius specimen. This doesn't make sense. They would lose their reputation and most likely be blackballed from the scientific community for believing in something already proven to be untrue. Also, I'm still unsure why it was thrown in that her parents were divorced and her father remarried with two children. In fact that was even thrown in his face, yet nothing came of it. HOW DID THAT ACCELERATE THE PLOT??

Lastly, I was extremely disappointed in the identity of the killer. Like the rest of the book, it was so convenient, his family had a history of incest and mental illness, and it was never actually explained why he hated women so much, nor why his associate hated women so much, and there was only a passing reference to how they got together in the first place.

In the end, there was little relevant information given, little background given on important pieces, Kendra was a terrible character, and everyone else was bland, even the killer. As an added insult, it ended on a cliff hanger with pretty much no threads tied up except for who the murderer was, possibly in anticipation of writing a sequel which I have no interest in reading, so I will never find out how she actually ended up in the past, if she ever returns to the future, if there is an actual reason she was transported to the past, and why the other guy shot Greene at the beginning, causing everything.

When it comes to the Time Travel genre, the offerings tend to be either sci-fi or romance related in my experience. So, I was particularly elated to discover a murder mystery paired with time travel and a a whiff of romantic suspense for good measure.

There were lots of curiosities when I was listening to this one. I thought the author captured the reaction of a modern woman to such circumstances very well. How would one deal with the sensation of time travel? Then, how would one deal with the reality of another time? Is there a responsibility not to mess up time or is the existence in a new time part of it all?

I have to confess that at first l didn't warm up to Kendra. She had issues in dealing with people. Not, to say I didn't understand what motivated her issues between not having or understanding family dynamics and being looked on as a freak by everyone who discovered her origins as a genetic experiment. She got tough and toughened up more as a female FBI agent who pushed to get field work on an all-male team and it all went south on her when she did. Then, she has this big secret about being a time traveler and is afraid of discovery in another world dominated by powerful men. I changed my mind as I grasped all this and saw hints that she honestly didn't know what to do with overtures of help and friendship. In her mind, other people were help or hindrances in her work and she didn't have a private life with people in it. The duke, Rose, and Rebecca, from two different classes in society, gave generously and trustingly to her and it opened the door. Ha! And, then she met Dr. Munro later in the story and it was a shocker to her to discover that others knew a little something about the art of forensics and investigation, too. Oh, and let's not forget the big bad FBI gal nearly panicking when a handsome man is impressed with her including her intelligence and shows an interest making her more jumpy than had she been a true virginal school girl of the time.

So, yes, the main character was a brilliant bit of writing as were the surrounding cast. Time travel as a plot device was handled famously. So, that leaves the mystery.... the author delivered a dark, twisted serial killer who was preying on and torturing young women and wouldn't stop unless Kendra and the others brought him down. It was not a difficult mystery to put my finger on the culprit since the storyline gives the villain a part of the narration along with Kendra, Alec, and the duke. It was fascinating seeing her do profiling and forensics work with what she had on hand in the past. Oh, and it was a little fun to see the reactions of the others to what they saw as an odd kick in her gallop because they thought she was an American servant class woman from their own time. But, she earned their respect. Well, some were contemptuous, but the duke, Alec, the Bow Street runner, and Lady Rebecca were impressed.

I listened to the story and the narrator, Lucy Rayner, was a first for me. I found that it took me quite a bit to get used to her storytelling and, in the end, it was still something of a mixed bag. I thought she voiced accents and genders well. She distinguished each member of the cast. Her class accents for the lower class were alright. My struggles were the sing-song quality to her narration and the tiny voice she chose for Kendra. Many times it sounded petulant or whiny to me so I struggled not to see the character that way. When things got exciting or intense, I didn't notice the issues as much. Far from putting me off, I will be continuing the series in audio format.

In summary, it was a solid start to a new to me series that I can't wait to return to and delve in to this author's colorful descriptions, characters, and tales modern woman doing police work in the past. Those who enjoy historical mysteries and/or time travel stories are a good audience.

Our heroine Kendra Donovan is an FBI profiler. She is on the task force that is taking down two drug kingpins when she finds out her team was undermined from the inside, men on her team killed, and one of the criminals goes free. Kendra goes rogue and decides to take care of this criminal herself. She tracks him down to a castle in England but before she can kill him she gets thrown back in time to the 1800’s where another murder quickly takes place. Is this the reason why she has traveled through time?

Another book blogger wrote about being excited that the third novel is coming out soon and made me curious enough to look this one up. THANK YOU! I’m sorry I can’t remember who you are, but this was a fabulous recommendation! A time traveler mystery is a bit of a stretch but this author set it up so well. Kendra was a child prodigy and is quite young, only in her early 20’s when she gets thrown back in time. Thank goodness because she’s not seen as an old maid. She is briefly thrown by the time traveling, but kind of rolls with it hoping she can find her way home again. It does help that the Duke whose castle she finds herself in was progressive and a scientist of sorts and is fascinated by this brilliant young woman. When the first young woman shows up dead Kendra puts her profiler skills to work and the Duke puts his societal standing behind her giving her gravitas, and allows her to investigate. I love it when a woman enthralls men with her intelligence instead of her beauty!

A Murder in Time is part mystery with a hint of romance. The Duke is not Kendra’s romantic partner, but instead it’s his nephew that she ensnares. The tension between the two of them is intense but really the story revolves around solving the mystery of who among their peers is the killer. This novel held my interest and truly I didn’t want to put it down.

If you love a good mystery and don’t mind a little time traveling, then please pick up this book! I do not think you’ll be disappointed.!

*2.5 stars, generously rounded up. My grandmother, admittedly not a great cook in her later years, used to make a dish for me she called 'mishmash'--a mixture of ground hamburg and canned vegetables (think Veg-All). Believe it or not, at ten-years-old, I liked it; there's no accounting for taste.

I kept thinking of mishmash as I read this book--perhaps because it is a great mess of things that actually sort of work in the end (after simmering a bit.)

Special Agent Kendra Donovan is an exceptional FBI agent, a brilliant young woman who has worked in the Behavioral Science Unit and has recently been moved to a field team of several departments to try to apprehend a deadly terrorist. When the joint maneuver goes terribly wrong, a seriously-wounded Kendra plots her revenge.

In pursuit of this, she flies to England under a false identity and takes part in an historical reenactment at the ancient Aldridge Castle, where she is assigned the role of a maid of the 1800s and dresses the part. She has a plot to poison her enemy, who is one of the wealthy guests attending the party, but another armed assassin beats her to it with a well-aimed bullet. Trying to escape the killer herself, she dashes up a hidden staircase leading to the tower...where she experiences some strange and painful sensations that leave her reeling. What just happened? she wonders.

When she comes back down the staircase, she slowly becomes aware that things have changed. Is this an elaborate hoax being played on her? When she asks a young maid what year it is, the stunned girl replies, "Why, it's 1815!"

The rather curious Duke generously allows her to stay and work at the castle as a maid but she bungles everything and makes little attempt to style her speech to fit the era, using being 'an American' to cover up her mistakes.

When the body of a brutally murdered young girl is found on the estate, Kendra steps forward to offer her knowledge of forensics and serial killers to help the investigation, using esoteric terms like 'unsub' and 'vic' which leave the men scratching their heads. Who IS this bold young woman who is dressed like a maid, but speaks like a scientist? Can American science be so much more advanced, the men wonder?

The 'investigation' is really little more than a series of interviews: "No matter how complex an investigation, it always boiled down to the basics, Kendra thought. Canvassing the neighborhood, questioning colleagues, friends, family, neighbors. The techniques changed, but the approach remained timeless. There was something comforting in that."

Kendra feels a sense of guilt when two more women are killed. Why was she brought to the past if not to stop this killer?

I generally enjoy well-done time-travel fiction. This one gets low marks in that area, especially when compared to great books in the genre. It seemed remarkably silly, to tell you the truth. I also enjoy a good murder mystery--in this case, the MO of the murderer is pretty shocking but the investigation is dull--comprised mainly of shocking the gentry with pointed questions such as, Where were you on the night of...? etc.

The characterizations are cardboard, so much so that I had trouble remembering which man was which. (Is he the one whose mother is insane? Is he the one whose wife disappeared?) The author seems to feel the same confusion with her characters as she occasionally slips and uses a slightly different form of a minor character's name. Bad checking from the proofreaders to let those mistakes slip by! Kendra is supposedly a brilliant behavioral scientist and agent, but misses several clues and really, for all her expertise, doesn't do much to help catch the killer. And of course, there is a little sizzling romance thrown in, ala Outlander.

At about the 70% mark, the story picks up the pace as the killer becomes more unpredictable and Kendra senses she has made a serious mistake. Those last chapters redeemed the book for me. I will give her a second chance and plan to read book two in the series: A Twist in Time which I've gotten from Net-Galley. Will Kendra ever make it back to the future? We'll see.

The premises was interesting and I really wanted to like this book, but it was just too poorly written. It delivers good information, of the kind that can be found on Wikipedia, but the author slipped up in several areas, and in trying to educate the reader the author makes her brilliant heroine with her near perfect memory sound and act like a complete idiot. The dialog is trite, contrived, and relies heavily on gratuitous expletives (I doubt any 19th century duke would be amused at being cursed at by a parlor maid, let alone invite her to formal dinner, and would any brilliant FBI agent who speaks several languages really never have heard of a calling card, or paid companion?) The historical inaccuracies are jarring, the modern day police scenes are straight off TV, and the highly unlikely behavior of the characters, contribute to the reader’s inability to suspend disbelief. Fun premise, lousy book.

I find this novel with its subsequent tale—A Twist in Time,—has become one of many that seem to rate among hundreds that offer shocking and gratuitous violence, especially against women—and written by women. Many authors have jumped on the bandwagon of this kind of violence. Shame on them! Classic literature (even good literature) is quickly fading in a race to present in words, the most graphic sex and violence prevalent in our choices of reading. I believe, perhaps, naively, in the responsibility of the writer to entertain, enchant and beguile us with prose that exemplifies intelligence with articulation—to make us think and move beyond the sheer baseness of human degradation. Instead I see a plethora of writing promising ever greater shock value and obscene titillation than their peers. I also believe it follows that it is the responsibility of the reader to recognize these elements and judge accordingly. An intriguing story of substance is no longer enough, it would seem. We truly have become, now, the newest era of monsters—seemingly immune to the malevolence sold to so many—licking it up like the latest version of chemical-ridden ice cream. Who will be left to judge as ours and future generations become further immersed in such inane and vile posturing of prose, provided by those driven by profit and fame.

WHAT I THOUGHT

A Murder in Time disappointed me. I love time travel novels or novels that have time shifts and such. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is one of my favourite novels. I really expected to enjoy this novel. It just didn’t work for me. The core of the novel, Kendra travelling back to 1815 doesn’t happen for quite a while. A lot of pages are wasted building up Kendra as a character, developing her back story and the case that puts her on the path to ending up back in 1815. A lot of this felt like unnecessary backstory and I got bored a few times. The novel reminded me too much of Outlander. I’ve never read the books but I’ve seen the TV series. I know writers are inspired by the work of other writer’s but I was hoping for something a little more original. There are some things about 1815 that don’t add up. Kendra would have been put firmly in her place and not allowed to speak to anyone, especially men the way she does. The murder of a prostitute would not have caused so much fuss. A Murder in Time is a good idea but isn’t executed as well as it could have been.

I got this book from the Overdrive Big Library Read. I expected it to be a murder mystery, but it turned out to be a poorly fleshed-out mystery-romance-science fiction bore. The writing wasn't very good and the plot was forced.

Put together historical and time travel with a strong female lead (prodigy/FBI agent) and I'm intrigued by the idea. From FBI baddie to a 19th century maid in a castle... I love it. But this one turned out to be pretty average, overall. The writing was just okay and the story only mildly engaging for me. Average. I felt the characters could have been better developed and the historical setting more descriptive. I had to suspend disbelief more than I wanted to regarding her assimilation as a woman in 1815. And I wanted to like Kendra more than I actually did. I didn't feel she always lived up to the whole prodigy thing.

Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. Really just a pleasant distraction during my lunch hour when I read a bit. I'm easygoing in suspending disbelief if I like the premise and the writing is at least okay.

I'd recommend but maybe don't expect too much with all the positive/new release hype, nor is it as bad as some of the prominent reviews here claim. But I think they all make good points. The cover is beyond lovely-- it's the first thing that captured my attention, I must say.

I borrowed this book from the library because it was the book chosen for it's summer reading program (for adults, obviously) and the blurb sounded like it may be a good book.

The story in its basic form is a good one. While going after an arms dealer, an FBI agent, Kendra Donovan, gets transported through a wormhole into the 19th century where she hunts a serial killer.

The ending is particularly suspenseful and it was during the last few chapters that I didn't want to put the book down.

There are numerous, and obvious, mistakes in this book in regard to misspellings, missing words, etc., and at one point character A referred to character B by their name when in fact character A was never told the name. Now, I understand no one is perfect. There are mistakes in every book. I get that. There is no perfect author, no perfect editor. But I found these mistakes to be too many and too obvious. They should have been caught especially if there was more than one edit pass.

There are also a couple points brought out by other reviewers that I agree with. First, the protagonist, Kendra Donovan. For being the brightest and youngest member accepted into the FBI, she acts more like a immature pushy little know-it-all. I found that I could not identify with her at all.

Second, I know this is a work of fiction and therefore some suspension of belief is needed, but there is no way in hell that any man, especially in 19th century English aristocracy, would allow a woman, a servant no less, to take charge of a situation, to question their superiors, no matter how much the Duke found her fascinating.

The story did drag at a few points, which I skimmed over and didn't miss any vital information.

I would suggest borrowing this from your local library and if you like it then go ahead and purchase the second book in the series.

Wheeee! What a great ride. What starts as a good taut modern mystery morphs into a historical novel when our heroine gets sucked into a wormhole as she gets ready to kill the man responsible for the deadly shoot-out that kills many of her friends and almost kills her.
Kendra always has been considered a freak. The product of careful breeding, her super intelligence and skills have made her a loner. So when she falls into Regency England, being the odd fish is not new to her.
She is able to use her skills as the top FBI profiler when she discovers a serial killer is at work in her new neighbourhood. As a woman, and one totally out of step with proprieties, she is looked at askance. No one quite knows how to peg her. Yet when her observations are proven time and again, a grudging respect blossoms for her.
She works to thwart the monster who is killing woman but has she in fact, awoken the killer to attempt worse travesties. The friends whom she develops support her efforts as the danger grows.
It's an exciting, thought provoking, tale that never lets up. The reader is swept along with Kendra as she struggles to find her equilibrium in this strange time while attempting solve the murders. It was hard to put down.
Definitely five purrs and two paws up.

If you want to read a detailed, well-researched time travel story, check out author Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.
I did like the main character in this book, Kendra Donovan. However, that she traveled back in time and seemingly had so little difficulty fitting in to the 1800s is quite hard to believe. Even though many of her modern ways such as her speech (use of slang and contractions for examples) and mannerisms were shrugged off to her being American, it was completely implausible that she was able to take on the hopscotch of positions in the castle nor that the Duke would be so accepting of her skill and knowledge as a murder investigator. No, I couldn't buy what this story was selling; yet I did finish the book and am hoping for a second novel by Ms. Mc Elwain.

I randomly found this book at the library under “fans of outlander might like”...so I decided to give it a go and it did NOT disappoint. I’ve been so bummed with the past murder mysteries that I read that I went into this with low expectations but I was shocked by how quickly I got absorbed into the story. I’m a sucker for romance so naturally I became invested in Alec and Kendra. I enjoy the historical elements as well as how Kendra adapts. I enjoy her as a heroine and was so excited to learn that this is a trilogy. I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel. Please more romance and less present day problems.

The author has woven a wonderful murder mystery plot with a strong female character, plausible suspects, a peek into society and social norms of the 1800's, interspersed with historical tidbits that will keep you enthralled until the murderer is caught.. Kendra, an FBI agent gone rogue after she feels the government has betrayed her, is thrust into the past during her attempt to kill an evil criminal.. At first confused and put into a position of servant, she must use her skills to solve a murder that she alone recognizes as a "serial killing", while overcoming the issue that she is a low stationed woman. In a time when most woman are thought of as being only capable of planning how to use their wiles to trap a husband as means for support, she uses her intellect and 21century techniques of deductive reasoning to catch the woman killing monster.

I really wanted to like this book. The Prologue was intriguing. The first chapter was intense. And after that it kind of fell apart. I downloaded this title as part of a "Big Library Read" The intensity at the first of the book surprised me. I was intrigued by the storyline but very, very disappointed in the book's conclusion. It is supposed to be the first book in a series, and I guess that's why it ended the way that it did but it did not explain many of the activities in this book. There was a lot of presumption in the way she investigated the case and very little explanation for the "in time" portion of the book. I am not interested in reading book two. The ending of book one left me too befuddled to even care if there is a book two.

Just finished Murder in Time.... Fantastic book! I think this is the author's first book. What a winner, I can't wait for her next book! I literally devoured it! Concept, storyline & characters are amazingly done! Visualize an FBI Profiler transported in time back to 1815!!!! That's the start, and of course then there was a murdered woman. I won't give you any more of the storyline, a lot of history & comparisons, but never, EVER boring!!!! There were like 3 main "gentlemen" that she thought were the killer, but of course, you get thrown for a loop! And the ending gave me a Good Chuckle, I hope you will enjoy it too. I wish to Thank Pegasus Books for this opportunity, as they sent me the giveaway book to read & review! What a Privilege!!!!

If you like poorly-written stereotypical crime dramas on television, you may like this. It was just too harshly illogical. I wanted to give it a fair chance, so I read the entire book, but it didn't get any better. I found the writing poor and the main character wholly unlikable. I love a good time travel book, but this wasn't one.

I never found myself interested in murder mysteries, but I got this book on a whim as I saw the cover. I could not put it down and I finished in 5 days. To me, that is in my top rated books when I finish them fast.
Kendra Donovan - independent, brilliant, and the youngest FBI agent in history. She sounds like a woman every girl wants to be when you grow up (at least I did) but, she had a complicated childhood that she is still battling as she tries to move up in the FBI. Together with the CIA, they try to take down an international terrorist and she finds a mole in her investigation that leaves her the only survivor in the mission. Goes rouge after her mission and travels to England to kill the terrorist in a castle. Ultimately she finds that hiding in a secret stairwell that transports her to 1815.
Time travel, drama, historical fiction, etc, these genres that I found throughout the book caught me in a web of fantasy that I had in my mind. To read a book that has embodied all in a suspense makes it better.
Kendra Donovan is written as a complicated woman to understand - then again ever thought what it would be like to be transported to a different time? You can find it funny! That's how I looked to it.
No matter if you find it cheesy or more romance than a mystery...the intrigue is found in a 21st-century agent tries to solve a murder without any technical tools while battling social prejudices of Regency England. Kendra also discovers that in the strangest of circumstances you will always find people to help you along the way.​

I certainly hope to read more Kendra Donovan mysteries and I rather hope they follow after this one. There was plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. The characters were amazing and the intrigue in both timeliness was far from boring. I greatly enjoyed Kendra's character growth as she learned to develop the close relationships she had previously been lacking. It was a bonus for the reader to realize there were those in her own timeline who genuinely cared about her, and I think that readers will enjoy watching as Kendra learns to accept herself and the love of others....all while doing what she does best - hunting the bad guys.

I really enjoyed A Murder in Time ― good writing, mystery, and period details, without dwelling overmuch on the setting or tired cliches. Apparently, some readers think Kendra is too perfect (yet not likeable or smart enough ― so, too flawed in the wrong ways?), and have a problem with her being beautiful, which seems both sad and ridiculous. My impression is that she’s extremely talented but not all that well-socialized/sociable, having been conceived and raised as an experiment by brilliant scientists until her emancipation at fourteen. I like that she’s generally confident and competent, without excessive baggage (particularly since fictional geniuses are almost always men, and Kendra's issues don't come close to those stereotypical of brilliant women in fiction). I’ve been pretty tired of angsty/poorly adjusted/self-sabotaging characters, so her ― and the other main characters’ ― lack of inner demons was refreshing. Some details might be a bit convenient to make the past more appealing, e.g. the Duke's open-mindedness and love of "natural philosophy" and astronomy, or Rebecca's proto-feminism; but I found the characters to be believable and likeable. Looking forward to getting to know them better as the series progresses. (And there’s no reason Kendra can’t teach her fellow crime-solvers a little modern-day law-enforcement jargon, but it is comical.) Can't wait for the sequel!

I liked A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain. This was a selection for a community read through my public library (no waiting time to borrow). This is a mystery combined with time travel. I don't usually read time travel books, but I liked the way J McElwain presented the time travel aspect. The prologue almost almost discouraged me from reading the book, due to the content, but I was glad I decided to read forward. The author did a great job of developing the characters and the story line. The book kept my interest and I finished it in a short amount of time.

I would recommend A Murder in Time by J McElwain.

I loved this .... I actually read the second book "A Twist in Time" by mistake not knowing there was a first in the series. I love time travel related stories but these stories must be written by a talented, gifted writer. Julie McElwain is that. I love the references to 'Now" and 'Then" - especially the roles of women. I know a book I'm reading is good when I start to read more slowly towards the end -- simply because I don't want it to end.

I hope she writes a third Kendra Donavan story.

The book felt a little disjointed for me.
(Spoilers!)
The present day crime is explored in great depth, but then is left completely hanging at the end. With no attempt to really resolve the present day crime, the first third of the book feels like a huge red herring, and a little frustrating to read and have no (or at least not a satisfactory) resolution.

The Author clearly researched the time period extensively, and the exploration of the various classes in the time is really interesting. I think the path to have Kendra actually BE in all those classes for a period of time is a bit contrived. I don't think (as is brought out in the book) that someone jumping around classes like that would be accepted by anyone at any level. It probably would have been smoother to have Kendra befriend someone in each class and learn about them in the course of the investigation, but have her be "upper" class the whole time...

The end had at least one unexpected twist before the completely expected final showdown. Again, the plotline to get Kendra to a one-on-one final showdown is a bit contrived. Kendra was smart enough through the whole book to NOT make the silly mistake at the end alone that lead to the one-on-one showdown (especially in the past, where she knows she doesn't have backup, phones/radios to call for backup, a weapon, etc.). She's smarter than that for most of the rest of the book.

Overall, a fun read. A fun premise. Well developed characters. Fun plot twists. Overall a good read.

Kendra is an intelligent and well-trained agent who finds herself thrust back in time to a Duke's castle in England. The beginning and end of the book were unique enough to hold one's attention and keep one reading. I found the remainder of the book so predictable that I could skip several paragraphs at a time throughout the story, yet still retain comprehension. Therefore, I am not sure why it had such a following and high rating on Overdrive. If you are curious to read A Murder In Time, expect a "light summer read" type of book; it will set you up for a pleasurable read.

I LOVED this story! It was impossible to put down. Kendra, young prodigy FBI agent, always finds herself to be the outcast, and going back in time to 1815 England proves to be no exception, at first. Young women are being targeted by a serial killer who's good at keeping his identity hidden, and it's up to Kendra to try to solve the mystery. The author does a great job of transporting the reader to the past with Kendra, and making each character come alive off the page. I'm glad it was a stand-alone but was sad when the story ended (I loved the ending, just sad that the book was finished).

Just average and not entertaining. It will take a lot to clear the taste of this book of curse words from my thoughts. I am a man who has worked around every kind of men where the normal sentence of ten words contained eight curse words. I don't enjoy or appreciate when the writer tries to cover average writing with shock effect. Not good.