Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji is a crime fiction story set in Philadelphia in the late 1800s.

"Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor at the Women's Medical College. The body of a patient is found in the river. The police coroner calls it a suicide but Dr. Weston is not convinced and is reluctantly brought in to the investigation. Aided by poetry in the girl's diary, Lydia uncovers a long-buried secret. But she must act fast before she becomes the next target."

It's nice to see some crime fiction set during a period where investigators have to think and not rely solely on forensics (DNA). Mukerji does a good job hiding the killer and sending the reader off in different directions.
The ending felt a little rushed. And at times the medical science overwhelmed the story. It doesn't add to the story and can be skimmed if you want.

This is a crime procedural set at a time where many things were different than now. Mukerji writes about the attitude toward women in a way that's not heavy-handed but enough to make you take notice

Nice debut from Mukerji. I look forward to more stories from her.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book at first, because it is neither a quick read nor a cozy mystery. The author has certainly done her research – a lot of historical information is included both about the setting (Philadelphia), about women and their roles and difficulties in becoming medical professionals, and the prejudices against women and the working class in the late 19th century. Our heroine, Dr. Lydia Weston, is a medical doctor, and her examinations and treatments of her patients are graphically described. All of the background information given helps the reader to empathize with Lydia and understand the choices she makes as she pursues the disappearance of the maid Anna. I thought the mystery was intriguing, with lots of twists and turns, and it kept me turning the pages! I will definitely be looking for the next book in the series. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ritu Mukerji for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder by Degrees coming out October 17, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Philadelphia, 1875: It’s a new term at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lydia Weston, professor and anatomist, loves teaching her students in the lecture hall and hospital. When the body of a patient, Anna Ward, is taken out of the Schuylkill River, the young chambermaid’s death is ruled a suicide. But Lydia doesn’t believe the ruling and is called into the police investigation.

Aided by a journal filled with mysterious poetry, Lydia discovers more about the young woman she thought she knew. Through her skill at the autopsy table and her clinical experience, Lydia works on finding out the truth. Soon a long ago terrible secret will be revealed. But Lydia must act quickly, before she becomes the next target of those who wished harm to Anna.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Not sure if it’s a debut author. I love historical murder mysteries, so I was interested in checking it out. I loved this book! I loved the heroine was one of the few women doctors during the time and she worked hard to be taken seriously in the field of medicine. She wasn’t overbearing, but she did what was necessary to solve the case. The time period is one of my favorites. They were on the cusp of modern medicine and inventions. The writing was really great and I was interested in the storyline. Hopefully there are more books coming out like this.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical murder mysteries!

Set in 1875, the story revolves around a doctor, a young woman, who is also a professor in an all woman school of medicine. A unique story line that worked well as an interesting and somewhat educational tale. Dr Lydia Weston will work with police investigators to solve a death that has all the hallmarks of murder but is declared a suicide. Women professionals were few in 1875. For this one women to fill so many skills that were considered "manly" makes the story more interesting as she handles the prejudice at every step of the investiagtion. A great murder mystery that adds extra to the characters and back story.

Murder by Degrees has a few of my favorite components to it: historical fiction, mystery, medical fiction, and a strong female character navigating the misogyny of her profession. This new mystery is set in 19th century Philadelphia and written by a physician. It’s well paced and is full of detail which will satisfy anyone with a medical background. I hope this marks the beginning of a new series.

What a total treat this book was! You can tell that the author had medical background (actually she is a doctor) because it would not have worked otherwise.
Set in Philadelphia in 1870, our heroine here is a female physician working in a world where women are not taken seriously. But although that fact is a backdrop for the story, this isn’t some feminist rant. Instead it’s a well written book with believable characters and a great plot. There is a lot of medical information but I found that very interesting . I loved that it is set in Philadelphia since I am so familiar with the city. The plot involves the mysterious disappearance/death of a young maid. Brought into the case by the local police detective and his assistant, Dr Lydia Weston a teacher at the Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia is alarmed when she realizes that she knew the victim who was a patient of hers. Determined to get to the bottom of the murder, Lydia sets out to investigate. There are numerous twists and turns and not all is what it seems.
A great book. I look forward to seeing more of these characters in what I hope will be a series.

You’ll be hooked from the prologue in this period mystery set in the 1870s as a doctor’s patient disappears and she becomes a part of the investigation!

I loved Dr. Weston as our female protagonist. She is such a forward-thinking proponent of women in medicine. Her intelligence is on full display as a physician, professor and detective when she gets brought in to assist on the case. And I especially loved how her empathy and compassionate bedside manner allowed the women being interviewed to open up to her and propel the investigation forward.

The precise medical terminology and passages of poetry used throughout weren’t my favorite parts, but I appreciate their inclusion to Dr. Weston’s characterization. Just went a little over my head at times! But if you like the tv show Bones, I think you’ll enjoy this one from the medical perspective with the added element of the historical time period. It’s a quick read at just over 300 pages, and has a satisfying ending (but no spoilers! 😉)

Thank you again to Simon & Schuster for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review as a part of the Simon Books Buddy program!

What a well done mystery. Set in the 1870’s in Philadelphia. The main character Lydia Weston is on of the few female physicians from that time period. She gets together with two police detectives and becomes a detective herself in a murder.
I loved the time period and the cast of characters. I believe this is the start of a series and I can’t wait for book two.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Comes out on 10/17
4⭐️

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji

Taking place in Philadelphia in the 1870s, Dr. Lydia Weston tries to help solve a murder. Author Mukerji treats the reader to lots of interesting facts about early Philadelphia and a hard look at the poor treatment of women, but especially women in the medical field of that time.

Lydia’s young patient Anna goes missing. The police are asking questions, but Lydia’s sharp intuition sends the men to the right places asking better questions. Many players could be suspects. Dr. Weston is threatened and an engaging story develops.

My thanks to #Simon&Schuster and #NetGalley for this book for my early review, and to the author for a well-paced, solid four star story for mystery readers to enjoy.

Murder by Degrees is a solid four star historical mystery. The novel is set in 1875 Philadelphia, as women start to become professional physicians. The main character, Lydia Weston becomes involved in investigating the murder of one of her patients.

The characters are interesting, the setting intriguing, and the mystery sufficiently twisty to stay compelling. This is a debut novel, and I look forward to reading more in what I hope will become a series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am a healthcare professional for almost 2 decades now and I do love a good medical drama or mystery. While this book is something that I am supposed to be invested in, some details were not necessary that it gets a little too much in being in an atmospheric theme. I feel like a lot of things described would have been easily removed and still enjoy the story. It was a good, cozy medical mystery overall, backed up with solid research and information.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon Books and author Ritu Mukerji for an ARC (physical and eARC) in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @SimonBooks #SimonBooksBuddy for the free book in exchange for honest review. 🤍

Murder by degrees is a story set in Philadelphia in the 19th century. The story's main protagonist is Dr. Lydia Weston, a doctor and a professor at the Women’s Medical College. The term has just started in session, and an unfortunate event happened with one of her patients, Anna. She became involved with the investigation by assisting the police in questioning some of the people she frequently interacted with.

One thing I liked about this book is the idea of having a female doctor during this time. There was a lot of misogyny during this period, and a lot of people believed that women were not capable of doing this line of work. Although this was the case, Dr. Lydia didn’t let this affect her as an individual, and she became a role model for her students. She stands up for women’s capabilities and fights back if she faces misogynistic remarks from her male colleagues.

Overall, I liked the setting of the story. There were many things to learn from, especially the author's explanation of how certain things were done in the medical field during this time. However, there is a lot of heavy medical jargon to look out for in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advice copy of Murder by Degrees. As a native Philadelphian, the timing of the book—1876—and the post-war atmosphere and historic aspect of the story was of interest. Dr. Lydia Weston is the rare female practicing physician and teacher at The Pennsylvania Medical Society. When one of her students goes missing, she gets involved with the police in trying to understand what happened to her. The missing young woman, Anna Ward, has left behind her diary and clothing making it appear a suicide. But is it? At the heart of the book is a good story with interesting characters. In the early pages, there are descriptive passages on procedures undertaken to determine diagnoses, gross anatomy, and autopsies, that were very graphic and not for the faint of heart. I happen to be one of those so I found myself skimming swaths of the writing. The book also would have benefitted from better pacing.

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji is a crime thriller that took me back to the late 1800s and led me on a chase to find a killer before it's too late. I loved the way this story was written. The historical aspect immersed me and never felt cumbersome or weighty in the story. This is a fast-paced medical thriller, and the short chapters, frequent action, and large dose of suspense keep the pace quick and engaging.

The medical aspect is fascinating primarily because of the period. I love that it adds a women empowerment angle since females in medicine were not commonly accepted back then. The main character, Lydia, is an excellent doctor who stands up when male practitioners denigrate women's abilities. The medical terms can be confusing because I don't know them, but that only impacted my reading experience minimally.

The main character, Lydia, is just incredible. She is easily someone I can get behind as a reader, and I loved learning more and more about her. Her past is seamlessly incorporated into the current story, and she is fully developed with layers that explain so much about her and her decisions.

A superb lead character, a women's empowerment thread, and a fast-pace make this thriller an exceptional read!

An atmospheric, clever debut with good characters and a twisty plot! It's 1875 in Philadelphia and when the body of a young woman is pulled from the river, it opens a mystery (and a can of worms) that Dr Lydia Weston, a pioneering physician finds herself working with the police to solve. It's not, as everyone thought, the body of her patient Anna, a housemaid who has been missing for two weeks. So who is it? And what is the connection between the family she worked for, the charitable institution she visited, a foundry fire during the Civil War, and so much more. The police, far ahead of their brethren, make her a full partner in the investigation (in part because she's better at interviewing women). There are wonderful small details here-and the poetry! And, best of all, there are twists, tricky ones. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This was a great read and Lydia is a dynamic character I'd like to see again.

Good murder mystery set in 1875 Philadelphia. Dr. Lydia Weston when not fighting prejudice in a male dominated profession is helping the local police try and solve the disappearance of one of her patients. I really enjoyed this book.

Murder By Degrees was a good historical fiction murder mystery that I did enjoy reading. The two things that bothered me with the book was all the medical information the author gave us and to me the book was slow going. I would still recommend this book to others! Overall the author did a good job writing this and I would still read another book by her. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review.

Murder by Degrees introduces Dr. Lydia Weston, a professor and clinician at the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia, 1875. Her patient/mentee, Anna Ward, has disappeared. It is out of character because she has a disabled brother and an adult sister who depend on the money she earns in service. When her body is pulled from the Schuykill River, an apparent suicide, Lydia gets involved with the initial autopsy and what turns into a police investigation. This takes us to the Curtis home where Anna worked, to a charity where Anna sometimes worked on her employer's behalf, helping poor women to get education and training. We learn about the Curtis foundry that had a serious fire in 1863, during the war. The Curtis's have a number of employees in service who were affected by the fire either directly or indirectly. We learn about Ida Thornton who established the charity with her great wealth. We find out about the other doctors at the medical school and the students. We follow the doings of the Curtis household.

I love Mukerji's use of verse from famous poets of the era. It is never too many lines and not too often and it's a pleasure to take a moment and read some lovely poetry that got woven into the storyline. I like Lydia a lot. The concept of a working woman in a professional field is still not okay with a lot of men in 1875, but the Quaker community influenced the founding of the medical college, now 25 years old. So there's also enough time that there's some acceptance. You can tell this was a period when medicine began to be more modernized and Lydia is well equipped to be on the "cutting edge." I like very much how Philadelphia forms the backdrop. I'm familiar enough with the city to recognize much of it in the book and it's used wonderfully. Mukerji is a pleasing writer as well.

The plot and twists were good but a few clues were obvious because they were not sneaked in adequately. For awhile I thought these clues were red herrings. Mukerji needs to be a bit more artful in placing the evidence without giving things away too early/obviously. Also, having given a clue, one ended up standing out because how a particular person behaved never jibed with the clue enough. So it seemed planted intentionally and detracted from otherwise good writing. There were also a couple of scenes that weren't as well and smoothly executed. It was like the writer was thinking, I have to pull this part together and it ended up being less believable scene than the largely believable plot/storyline. This is a very strong debut. I will read this series. The characters from the school and the police who will likely be working together in future books make good partners. I just hope it gets a bit more subtle and believable in how clues are placed and how some necessary connections are made. Highly recommend.

Murder by Degrees is a historical mystery that takes place in Philadelphia, 1875.

Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor at the Women’s Medical College and works at a clinic. One of her patients, Anna, a young housemaid has not shown up for her scheduled appointment. The body of a woman is found in the Schuylkill River. Lydia starts her own investigation into the young woman's death until she herself is in danger.

This was an interesting mystery. I liked the style of writing as it draws you in giving you some history wrapped up in a murder mystery.

This was a lot of fun, it felt like watching a murder mystery show. It stayed engaging throughout the whole novel and I could easily see it becoming a series. I think that the mystery wasn't too hard or too easy to figure out, and there were some twists and turns that kept me guessing. Overall really recommend it if you read historical fiction and mysteries.