A review by rusereviews
Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji
emotional
mysterious
tense
3.5
Murder By Degrees by Ritu Mukerji is a debut historical cozy mystery featuring a pioneering woman doctor in the 1870s. The audiobook is narrated by Gabra Zackman.
In 1875 Philadelphia, Dr. Lydia Weston is gearing up to teach her students at the start of a new term. When a body is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the death is initially deemed a suicide. Lydia is suspicious as she knew the young woman in question, and inserts herself into the investigation.
This is a solid debut and I'm definitely interested in continuing on with the series, should more books be published. All of the characters (even secondary ones) are well developed. Even though I figured out part of the mystery, I enjoyed the plot and pacing.
One of the strengths of this book is the fact that our heroine Lydia allies herself with detectives Volcker and Davies to assist in the investigation, instead of trying to do it all by herself. They are a good team, and are able to throw spaghetti at the wall pretty well between them.
Another strength is the description of the medical classes and clinic work that Lydia performs, as the author, Ritu Mukerji, is a doctor in real life. She was a medical student in Philadelphia, and her knowledge of the city also shines. I especially enjoyed the shout out for the beginnings of the Mütter museum.
This is a time period I'm not too familiar with and it was interesting to see that slice of life.
CW: murder, description of surgery, classism, misogyny
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the paperback ARC and Simon Audio (via LibroFM) for the audiobook. All opinions contained herein are my own.
In 1875 Philadelphia, Dr. Lydia Weston is gearing up to teach her students at the start of a new term. When a body is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the death is initially deemed a suicide. Lydia is suspicious as she knew the young woman in question, and inserts herself into the investigation.
This is a solid debut and I'm definitely interested in continuing on with the series, should more books be published. All of the characters (even secondary ones) are well developed. Even though I figured out part of the mystery, I enjoyed the plot and pacing.
One of the strengths of this book is the fact that our heroine Lydia allies herself with detectives Volcker and Davies to assist in the investigation, instead of trying to do it all by herself. They are a good team, and are able to throw spaghetti at the wall pretty well between them.
Another strength is the description of the medical classes and clinic work that Lydia performs, as the author, Ritu Mukerji, is a doctor in real life. She was a medical student in Philadelphia, and her knowledge of the city also shines. I especially enjoyed the shout out for the beginnings of the Mütter museum.
This is a time period I'm not too familiar with and it was interesting to see that slice of life.
CW: murder, description of surgery, classism, misogyny
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the paperback ARC and Simon Audio (via LibroFM) for the audiobook. All opinions contained herein are my own.