Book Review: Kendra Donovan Mysteries
Title/Series: Kendra Donovan Mystery Series
Author: Julie McElwain
Genre(s): Mystery, Sci-Fi, Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, Police/Detective, Romance
I came across the first book in this series while browsing a bookstore on Sanibel Island, FL called Gene’s Bookstore. It was sitting on a table in the outdoors hallway located between the first and second buildings, and I picked it up initially because I thought the cover looked super cool (just goes to show that you can’t really judge a book by its cover, but it is an aspect that entices book shoppers to pick up your book). But then I read the inside of the book jacket, and it took literally a sentence to convince me to buy the book. From there, I took a few days to finish the first book, and when I was fifty pages from the end, I wasted no time in buying the next two books in the collection. It was just my luck too that the fourth book was released on July 2 of this year, so I was able to pre-order it, and I got my hands on it shortly after finishing the third. All in all, it took me nearly three weeks to read all four of the books currently in this series, and I can’t wait for the fifth installment to be released.
The first book of this series, Murder in Time, is about a prolific FBI agent named Kendra Donovan who goes rogue on a personal vendetta and in the process enters a wormhole or a vortex in a staircase and is transported back to nineteenth century England. From there, she assumes life as a servant in a castle and tries to wrap her head around her time travel. During a house party at the castle, a girl washes up dead in the lake, and Kendra deduces that the girl has been murdered. From there, we are taken on a journey filled with subtle clues and clever plot twists as Kendra works with the Duke of the castle; the Duke’s nephew, Alec of Sutcliffe; the Duke’s goddaughter, Lady Rebecca; Bow Street Runner, Sam Kelly; and a sawbones, Dr. Monroe, to try to find the killer all without her twenty-first century crime-fighting tools and resources. This book sets the stage for the rest of the series and proposes themes and conflicts that are built upon and capitalized on in each book.
Right now is a good time to mention that I’m not an avid Sci-Fi reader, but the time travel aspect of this series is exactly what makes it so unique and constantly poses itself as an obstacle for Kendra. In each of the books, the theme of conformity and “going with the flow” is presented, and we see how this leap back 200 years into the past poses a problem to Kendra’s investigations as well as her social behavior, relationships, and role in society. Not only must Kendra work with nineteenth century crime-fighting techniques and resources, but she must deal with the fact that women were treated very differently than men and that her sex hinders her ability to easily investigate the crimes and keeps her under scrutiny of the gentry class.
But the time travel is only one factor that makes these books so intriguing and clever. I could probably go on all day about these books, so besides the time travel, I’ll discuss my top three things that I love about this series as a whole that I feel makes it a must-read for every mystery, historical fiction, sci-fi (or all three!) lover.
One of the biggest things I admire about these books is the attention to detail and the amount of research I know went into these books to make them as historically accurate and detailed as possible. Sure, some of the information may be skewed or fictionalized to better fit the scope of the book, but as a reader with some knowledge of nineteenth century England, nothing seemed wildly out of place or distracting to me. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about nineteenth century England in each of these books along with Kendra, which is important to me because we’re learning WITH the character as opposed to just being told all of this stuff. And like a true bookworm, I read the “Acknowledgements” section at the end of each book, and from those, I know that some of the characters and groups mentioned (like ladies who host balls, gentlemen’s clubs, etc.) are named and based off of real historical figures and groups who made an impact on the era. I thought it was insanely cool that McElwain paid homage to these historical figures in this way and also used these tricks to increase the authenticity of her novels. From the “Acknowledgements” sections, I also learned that McElwain did extensive research for each of her novels that ranged from books to blogs, some of which are listed in tribute and recommendation. I respect that so much detailed and dedicated research went into each of these books, and the effort is recognizable and plays a big part in making these books so special.
But, of course, you can have as much detailed and authentic research as you want, but none of that matters if you can’t incorporate it into a well-paced and cohesive story. But that’s no worry here because McElwain manages to do that time and time again, blending multiple genres and historical elements into each book with enriched characters and intense plotlines that keep you hooked throughout the entire story. I personally think that writing mystery is one of the hardest genres to tackle because you have to be so precise, yet subtle, about how and when clues are given, and you have to be able to hint at scenarios and suspects without revealing too much too soon. McElwain’s writing style is entrancing and paced well throughout the entirety of each of her books. An admirable aspect of her writing, to me, was her dialogue. Each character possesses a distinctive voice, and the style in which they each speak clearly depicts their century
and class (i.e. twenty-first century middle-class American woman; nineteenth-century British gentry men and women; nineteenth-century British lower-class maids, merchants, prostitutes, London city-folk, etc.). Even when there was a group of people in a room, I was never confused who was talking and who was participating in the conversation. Combine that with the detailed imagery and flowing prose, and you have word magic here.
For me, loving the dialogue is also a testament to how much I love the characters themselves. Each one has their strengths that make them assets in each book, but they each also have their own ghosts and obstacles that make them more relatable and real. Kendra Donovan is a well-crafted and strong protagonist who is clever and kind-hearted but who also has some major flaws and setbacks, just like any regular human being. Through each of the books, we’re able to explore Kendra’s family life, career ambitions, personality points, and thought processes that make her who she is, even in bizarre situations like time travel back to an era that seems almost completely opposite than her normal world. One thing I love the most is that in each book, we see Kendra evolve and adapt to her situations and to the people around her without her ever really losing her willpower, strength, independence, or any of the other traits that make her so empowering, relatable, and individualistic. In fact, we see each of the main characters evolve and adapt throughout the series as they continue to interact and work together in each mystery. One of the things that gets me excited each book is seeing the characters return. Sure, not every character is present in each novel, but, for the most part, we follow Kendra, Alec, the Duke, Lady Rebecca, Sam Kelly, and Dr. Monroe as they become involved in the different investigations, and I love seeing them work together in each novel and learn more about both the investigations and about life from one another.
There are so many more things to love about these books besides the historical detail, the writing style, and the characters, but these were just some of my favorite aspects. After reading the first book, I kept describing it to everyone as “a British nineteenth-century Criminal Minds episode” because that’s exactly the vibe it gave off for me. I read on another blog post someone said it reminded them of “Criminal Minds meets Jane Austen,” and I have to agree with that one as well. This series is a great read and well worth the time devoted to it. For anyone who loves mystery, historical fiction, forensic science/police procedure, hints of romance, and/or time travel, I fully recommend giving the Kendra Donovan Mysteries a read!
