Publisher's Weekly Review
This intriguing series launch from Trow (the Kit Marlowe Tudor mysteries) stars real-life British archaeologist Margaret Murray. Early one morning in 1900, Constable Adam Crawford, an archaeology enthusiast who attends Murray's weekly public lectures at London's University College, encounters a drunken man having trouble entering a building to collect an overdue rent. Crawford winds up accompanying the rent collector inside, where in the flat of the delinquent renter, they find the body of a young woman Crawford recognizes as Helen Richardson, a student of Murray's. Near her bed is a vial smelling of cyanide. The verdict of suicide doesn't sit well with Crawford, who enlists Murray in the subsequent investigation in the hope that her expertise with much older human remains will be useful. Murray learns that among Richardson's many secrets was knowledge of a sensational archaeological find. An unused rail ticket in the victim's possession leads Murray to Hampton-on-Sea, where she teams up with a retired Scotland Yarder, and the discovery of another dead woman deepens the puzzle. Assured pacing matches the solid plot twists. Fans of Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody will want to see more of Murray. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
Trow, who's already featured Christopher Marlowe as a sleuth in Black Death (2019), introduces an appealing new detective based on turn-of-the-20th-century archaeologist Margaret Murray. Although she's seen plenty of ancient bones, the death of one of her students at University College London forces Dr. Murray to take an interest in a modern murder. There are very few women at UCL, but the public lectures given for free every Friday attract all sorts of people, including Helen Richardson and Constable Adam Crawford, who recognizes Helen from archaeology lectures when her naked body is found in a dingy apartment. People at the college believed Helen to be a telephonist, but apparently she had a sideline in prostitution. Crawford's superior is quite sure she committed suicide, but Crawford, who thinks she may have been murdered, goes to Dr. Murray for help. His innocuous request sets off a chain of events that leads to several more deaths and the uncovering of secrets that members of the faculty and student body have been determined to hide. Some of the clever women attending the college, including Angela Friend, who's developing a romantic relationship with Crawford, also call on Dr. Murray to investigate. After she gets nowhere with the local police, a chance meeting with retired Inspector Reid of Scotland Yard puts her on the trail of another female archaeologist who may have made an astonishing discovery before she turned up dead. All Dr. Murray needs is to discover the motive of a cleverly hidden killer. Plenty of suspects, red herrings, and period detail make this a promising launch. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Trow's latest mystery is set in London at the end of the nineteenth century and is based on real-life archaeologist Margaret Murray. Deftly evoking the ambience, customs, and gender-defined roles of the time, Trow has a gift for making his story and characters gripping, vivid, charismatic, and quirky. Like the real Dr. Murray, the character in Trow's story is a lecturer at University College London and is one of the few women in academia at the time. A respected but eccentric archaeologist, she has a coterie of students, whose admiration verges on hero worship. But Murray's life turns upside down when two of her students are murdered and one of her colleagues is bludgeoned to death. The officer Scotland Yard has assigned to the case is dismissive, bigoted, and incompetent. Only junior policeman and archaeology enthusiast Adam Crawford seems to have any idea about leads and possible killers. To crack the case, Margaret asks her friend, former Scotland Yard bigwig Edward Reid, to come out of retirement and help investigate. A satisfying, twisty, and clever story that will please historical mystery fans.
