📖 Publication Day Book Review ~ The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Quercus
13 February 2025

Thanks to the publisher for my copy of the book

 

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they're frozen - or so their inside joke goes. Most people don't know that they travel back in time to complete their research.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London in order to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of MP Isaac Templeton. Rumour has it that Cain was part of a sinister group called The Collectors; to become a member, you had to kill a woman...

Fearing for her safety in the middle of a freezing Victorian winter, Ali finds herself stuck in time, unable to make her way back to her life, her beloved colleagues, and her son, Finn, who suddenly finds himself in legal trouble in the present day. 

Could the two cases be connected?

📖My Review..

Ali Dawson’s work as a cold case investigator is very different from the usual police procedural as uniquely she uses time travel to discover more about certain unsolved crimes. The concept of being able to go back to a specific moment in time in order to solve a ‘cold’ case is an intriguing premise for a novel as it successfully brings both crime and history together.

In order to clear the name of a modern day MP’s great-grandfather, Ali is transported back to Victorian London where she has only a short time to gather enough evidence to prove either guilt or innocence however, the situation goes slightly awry, and Ali becomes stuck in 1850 with only her wits to keep her safe. The time travel aspect is cleverly done, totally believable and written with such fine attention to historical detail that I have successfully navigated Victorian London and shared Ali’s curiosity as she walked the teeming streets of the East End. There’s also a modern day mystery to solve which introduces us to Ali’s son, Finn, in a development of the story which sits comfortably alongside the historical aspect and as neither timeframe seeks to outshine the other, both are equally enjoyable.

Skilfully written, and with fine attention to every detail, The Frozen People really captured my imagination. I would love to think that this is just the first book in what could turn out to be another successful series which brings Ali Dawson back in another time travel mystery.

About the Author

Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted five times for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which was a Richard and Judy book club pick and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.

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