A Twist in Time--A Novel

February 6, 2017
McElwain’s lackluster sequel to 2016’s A Murder in Time finds 26-year-old FBI profiler Kendra Donovan still stuck in 1815 Britain, to which she was transported from 2015 America via an unexplained “wormhole” in time. Longing to return to her own era and irritated by Regency mores, Kendra finds an outlet for her restlessness when Lady Cordelia Dover is stabbed to death in her London townhouse. The onetime mistress of Alexander Morgan, the Marquis of Sutcliffe, Cordelia was a widow whose dramatic sexual liaisons offer motives aplenty for her murder. Kendra, who has begun her own love affair with Alec, hopes to save him from being charged with the crime. Kendra joins with his uncle, her patron the Duke of Aldridge, to investigate the victim’s resentful stepson, the married lover whose family she humiliated, and a violent figure from her hidden past. Copious period jargon and explanations notwithstanding, the depiction of Regency actions and attitudes is consistently anachronistic, and McElwain explores neither the time travel aspects nor the emotions of the story in satisfying depth. Agent: Jill Grosjean, Jill Grosjean Literary Agency.

Narrator Lucy Rayner finds an outstanding voice for 21st-century heroine Kendra Donovan, an FBI agent who has time traveled back to the year 1815 and is stuck there. With steady pacing, Rayner navigates this somewhat complex plot, taking listeners deeply into the social milieu of upper-crust London society while crafting authentic accents and fully voiced, distinct personalities. The Duke of Aldridge's nephew, Alec, is suspected of killing his former lover, Lady Dover. This romantic mystery is engaging with its balanced mix of historical details and story. Rayner's crisp but empathetic delivery adds to the plot twists and fascinating characters. S.C.A. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine