I guess that it’s always a little scary when an established and popular writer tries something new: after all, there’s not that many that manage it successfully. (Stephen King is perhaps my most obvious example.)

But it can be done; and if the writer is both experienced and skilled in prose-wrangling, then it should be good, shouldn’t it? The trick is whether the writer can persuade her loyal readers to take the journey with them. (It’s not for nothing that Stephen King often refers to his loyal readers as being a “Constant Reader”.)

With this in mind I was intrigued to receive for review the latest novel by Elly Griffiths, a very successful crime novelist and who has had published, by my approximate reckoning at the time of typing, at least 30 novels to date. Her Ruth Galloway novels in particular have been Sunday Times Bestsellers.

You might therefore expect this to be another crime novel. And so it is, but with one major difference – this time the story involves time travel.

It is 2023. Alison (Ali) Dawson is a detective working in The Department of Logistics. With her boss Geoff Bastian and super-scientist Serafina Jones, the inventor of the means of time travel, they are developing a means of solving cold cases through time travel – “so cold they are frozen” one character explains.

Although working for the government, this, of course, is all hush-hush. The prime minister doesn’t know about them, although the justice minister Isaac Templeton has been recently made aware of the Department’s work.

His response is to request that Ali go back to 1850 and discover whether Templeton’s great-great-grandfather, Cain Templeton, is a murderer. There have been accusations made that Cain was responsible for the death of Ettie Moran, an artist’s model staying at a house owned by Cain. Isaac, who is in the process of writing a book, wants to clear his ancestor’s name, as he feels that Cain was innocent.

Obviously, there are constraints. We can only go back, not forward (ie: after 2023.) It is mentioned early-on that events in the past don’t seem to affect the future, although it is early days in this time travel process. Just in case, the Department has a charter: Watch, Bear Witness, Don’t Interact, Stay Safe.

Up to now this has not been an issue. Earlier forays into the near past have meant that the Department have usually been like ghosts – felt as a presence, and if seen as something flimsy and ephemeral. This changes when Ali goes back to 1850, because – well, y’know, upgrades.

What Griffiths does well here is create a team that’s diverse in age, race and sexuality, although the focus is pretty much upon the characterisation of Ali. I understand that Griffiths’ portrayal of single mothers in a fulltime working environment is a common characteristic of her work, and if so, she plays to her strengths here. (I’m also reminded of Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watkins here too.)

Ali’s rebellious no-nonsense attitude is to be admired, and as the survivor of three marriages with a young adult as a son, holding down a complex job, I suspect that she may be quickly taken to heart by readers.

By comparison, the other characters, apart from Ali’s son Finn, are pretty standard and barely developed. They are not the point here. When there are complications that occur in the past and a murder happens in modern times resulting in Finn being arrested as a suspect, generally they appear to be there mainly to support. I suspect that we may find more about them as other books are written. (And yes, I have no doubt that there will be more.)

The contrast between the worlds of 1850 and 2023 is well done, in particular. There’s some nice comparisons between the ages in both the locations (same places, different times) as well as differences in society, between life as a woman now compared with that of 1850, when the patriarchy was dominant. “You’re a white middle-aged woman…you won’t stand out so much” one character says to Ali at one point. It reads great – there’s lots of cultural references, side jokes and cultural points that make it seem real and nicely relatable.

Things do appear to happen very quickly at the beginning, as it seems that after only a few days of research and preparation, Ali is whisked off to 1850. The parts following a murder investigation in the near-present are perhaps the book’s strongest part, clearly something the author feels comfortable with, even when the usual procedures are conveniently stretched a little.

The science-y bit is rather general and timey-wimey. We’re not given too much detail, with Jones, the supremo-scientist and inventor often explaining things in a dumbed-down version, because basically (and perhaps conveniently) you won’t understand it.

However, the plot at the end, and especially the ending, didn’t quite work for me. The perpetrator of the modern crime did not seem logical to me, nor their motive particularly strong, although I do accept that in crimes, is the villain usually logical? There were loose ends, an important character doing something that really shouldn’t happen in the last few pages and a big cliffhanger that felt a little convenient – aren’t crime novels supposed to tie everything up at the end? – which will no doubt be continued in the next novel. Others may be less critical.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading The Frozen People. The premise isn’t new (I’d recommend Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book, Christopher Fowler’s Bryant and May books, Jodi Taylor’s St. Mary’s series and the TV shows Life on Mars and even Crime Traveller from 1997 should you want to explore further) but the time travel idea is done here with verve and panache, enough for me to forgive the elements I thought didn’t quite work.

I’d be very interested to read what more regular readers of Griffiths’s work think about the book. If its purpose is to get her usual readers to like something a little different, then I think it will work. I see it as an SF book for those who don’t normally read SF. The Frozen People is a good effort, a brave start to a new series and one which, when it settles down, I think will be very much liked. I would like to read more in the future. (ha!)

This story is right up my street – a whodunit with time travel – and I was quickly absorbed. The author has a nice, easy style of writing with added humour. She also does a great job of making the incredible, credible. (Time travel is impossible.) (Isn't it?) I particularly enjoyed how the main character had to learn how to fit in and cope with the difficulties of someone from modern times living in 1850. And the quirky twists of clues turning up from the past were really clever.

I'm looking forward to the next Ali Dawson book.

Time travelling cops for adults? How is she going to do that? Elly Griffiths you not only did it, you smashed it and this is the first in a series I a m already hooked on!

The Frozen People is a departure from the crime fiction I've read previously from Elly Griffiths, being a time-travel mystery. I went in cold, having not realised that, but wasn't disappointed in any way. What a breath of fresh air, with all the excellence of Griffith's writing and characterisation, but a new idea. Absolutely loved it.

Time travel, is it possible ? A real departure from the usual Elly Griffiths novels or is it? A cold case crime, government minister, a murder and London in 1850. I couldn’t put it down

This was my first Elly Griffiths book and it was the time travel element of the blurb that enticed me to request it. At first I thought it was going down the route of Jodi Taylor's time travelling group of academics but I was soon disavowed of that notion. The frozen people is a murder mystery with a difference....A very big difference! The murderer and the detectives - some of them at least - time travel between 1850 and 2024. What the author gives us is a totally intriguing story which I read in one sitting. I could not decide who the killer was and was very surprised when they were revealed! I loved all the characters. Especially Ali the down to earth, very real DS and her son Finn. I can't wait to read more of this series and will certainly recommend it as a must read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

A new series from Elly Griffiths and let me tell you, it is amazing!! I have become a bit of a fan of this author since I discovered her books. I have been playing catch up on the Ruth Halloway series and living it, but very happy to get in on book one for this new series. A mix of historical fiction and police procedural, The Frozen People was so hard to put down. I tried to savour it as much as possible but I was desperate to see what was going to happen next.

We meet Ali Dawson, an old case detective working in London. Her team are asked to investigate an MPs great grandfather and the rumours about him. This takes them back to the 1850s and Victorian London. And when I say it takes them back, I mean they go back in time. Ali finds herself stuck in a time where things are very different to the present day on the trail of a possible killer.

I absolutely loved this book. Ali was a great character, she loves her son and her cat and will do anything for them. She is sassy and determined and I am looking forward to learning more about her in future books. The story was so clever with the past and present playing their own roles, really well done.

Do yourself a favour and get this on your TBr and get ready to time travel!! Out on February 13th. Thanks so much to Quercus Books for my early copy to read.

Readers missing Elly Griffiths’ Dr Ruth Galloway need look no further than DS Ali Dawson, another middle-aged highly capable, funny, independent woman with an adult son, Finn, and a Siamese cat, terry, both of whom she adores, almost in equal measure.

It’s worth suspending disbelief to spend time with Ali and her crew as they examine cold cases – so old they’re frozen – hence the title. We are asked to believe that an Italian physicist, usually known as Jones, is able to port individuals back in time, allowing them to investigate old crimes. Ridiculous, yes, but this device allows the author to take us back to Victorian England and very entertaining it is to see how people of the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries interact when this happens.

Give this new series a go if you enjoy Griffiths’ storytelling. The move into the fantastical is rooted in the portrayal of her use of convincing day-to-day details, and her characters are as nuanced as ever. An enjoyable yarn.

My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I feel I've waited some time to read ‘The Frozen People’ by after picking up the sampler at Harrogate last July. But thanks to the publisher I'm now up-to-date and not a second too soon.

The premise of this is hot! And as part of a new series you should absolutely jump on board now. Not later.

The basic gist of this is a secret government agency has been set up to investigate cold crime cases, some so cold (ie investigating something from 1850s London) they are practically frozen. Hence ‘The Frozen People’. It's my favourite (and very new) genre – ’Crime Travel’.

And so we join main protaganist Ali Dawson as they step back in time, firstly to a week before the pandemic hit in 2020, then slightly further back in heatwave-hit 1976 (six years after Ali's birth) as they test their time travel boundaries.

Then to a fully fledged investigation in the mid-19th century where a modern-day MP, Isaac Templeton wants the team to investigate his great-great-grandfather Cain to clear rumours about his possible involvement in some murders of the day.

It's obviously not that simple because the Team Charter has rules to abide by:

1. Watch
2. Bear Witness
3. Don't Interact
4. Stay Safe

But time travel is complicated and as Ali finds herself stuck in the past, things begin to change for the worse in the future as a family member is …

Well, there's little else I can say about this book for fear of spoilers. If only I could – and then you could all travel back in time so you didn't hear them from me.

Needless to say, I LOVED it. It has all the right elements for a time-travel crime novel. I genuinely felt concern at Ali being stuck in the past and also genuine joy with some revelations (shh) that will no doubt be explored again in future books.

I absolutely thought I had it all worked out but the author switched things up and absolutely surprised me with the wrap up.

Don't expect a definitive ending or all the answers right now. This plays out fantastically well as a series opener – and a trip I can't wait to continue at a future point in my timeline.

4.5 stars!

Wow! Murder mystery meets Dr Who meets historical novel in this latest book from Elly Griffiths. Her new protagonist is Ali Dawson who is part of a specialised secret team working on cold cases in a very unusual way that includes time travel. We travel with her and the team between 1850 and the present day in an attempt to uncover the family story of a prominent MP. I really hope this is the start of a new series as I found this book a totally absorbing and compulsive read and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I read this at the perfect time, with a freezing fog descending on England and ice everywhere. The Frozen People was atmospheric and moody, following police officer Ali and her journey back and forth to Victorian London in search of answers to a cold case over 150 years in the making. In her quest for answers she'll meet several shady characters (mainly men), a belligerent housekeeper and one rather charming aristocrat who also happens to be the major suspect to a murder.

I really enjoyed Ali as a character. She's incredibly sassy, intelligent and independant. I mean at the start of the book she's got three ex husbands and bright red hair. She's the perfect protagonist to send to Victorian England in my opinion, as her personality is so at odds with the rather sombre mood that permeats the era. She's also good at making friends, making her inquiries and inquisitive questions a part of her off personality and charm rather than abrasive.

I also thought the plot was well paced and thought out. With time travel, especial dual as in this case, it's easy to let the timeline run away with the story but this is tightly controlled with the help of a strong science based logical explanation of how the travelling works, and the character of Jones to keep it grounded. If anything I would have liked to have seen more of Ali's colleagues and their initial dilemma with Ali's situation to help build up their on page relationships instead of relying on being told how close they are as a team.

With any dual timeline there's always one I'm less interested in, and as perhaps expected, the modern day timeline was less interesting even with Ali. I wasn't expecting the curveball thrown in half way through however, and that certainly helped to keep my attention to the end. Far and away however, the Victorian timeline was superior in every way. It had the intrigue and atmosphere and by far the better characters.

Really unique blend of historical mystery and science fiction that I feel would appeal to a broad audience. It's got a flavour of Sherlock Holmes and the St Mary's series, but perhaps slightly more on the serious side of the scale.

The Frozen People is the first book in Elly Griffiths' stunning new adventure into time travelling crime fiction and I loved it. It's a departure from the realism of her more traditional detectives set more firmly in the "real world", but it was certainly a success from my point of view.

Ali Dawson is a sensible woman with a cat and an adult son; she's coping with a responsible job with the Metropolitan Police investigating cold cases and keeping the government secret use of time travel under wraps. Time travel is a new technology, recently discovered, and the team are still testing the boundaries. When Ali goes on a mission to 1850 it's the biggest test so far and it all goes a bit sideways - can she get back to her son and her cat?

A highly recommended read, even if you think you don't like science fiction and time travel.

Many thanks for the opportunity to read this. This particular one didn't grab me as some of the author's previous books have done, but it's such a subjective thing! I think the time-travel element was simply not my thing, but it's still nicely done and I was grateful to get the chance to read and try it.

I absolutely loved this! It’s a really bold departure from her usual genre, but it really works. This is time travelling to solve murder cases, a fabulous idea; but this is much more than that. You can almost smell the streets in Victorian London due to the great writing. I’m hoping this will be a series? If it is, please can we have more of Fin as he was my favourite character.

Ali, a cold case detective, investigates a Victorian serial killer. The current Minister for Justice is a descendent of the lead suspect and wants to clear the family name. As he holds the purse strings for Ali's experimental unit, she has no choice but to take the case. What makes the unit experimental - and top secret - is that Ali is physically sent back to the time and scene of crimes to gather new evidence. But the furthest back she's travelled until now is 1976. Due to the untried technology, Victorian London could be a trip too far.
This is a good premise, written at the cosier end of the mystery spectrum. Ideal for readers who like lots of backstories, research details and simple humour. This new series will not disappoint fans of the author.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
Upon publication I will post this review on my blog.

Having read all of the Ruth Galloway stories, and Elly Griffiths being up there as one of my top authors, I requested this as soon as I saw it.

However, I will admit I was a bit sceptical about this one. Time-travel is not something I am interested in and a time-travelling detective story did sound a bit ‘out there’ for my liking. But…I have been completely proven wrong!

I was gripped from the start, I thought the story was well told, really original and interesting, and the time-travel parts were not as daft as I was expecting. I think I actually enjoyed that part of the story the most.

I would definitely recommend this book and say to anyone with any doubts to give it a go. You won’t regret it.

Still one of my favourite, and most recommended, authors.

The Frozen People is the first in a new series. Elly Griffiths is a must read author for me, so I was very keen to read, and it didn't disappoint.

Ali Dawson works for a cold case team with a difference - they can travel in time, to the original scene. When the team is asked by the Tory MP that Ali's son Finn works for to prove the innocence of a relative in 1850, they agree and Ali travels back to the Victorian times. However, in the modern day, the MP is found murdered and Finn is accused. Can Ali solve the 1850 crime and prove her son's innocence?

Definitely crime fiction with a twist that sounds as if it shouldn't work, but it really does! It is written in Elly Griffith's usual easy to read style, it is well researched and very entertaining. It finished perfectly set up for many more instalments, and I cannot wait to read more.

Being a fan of Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway and The Brighton Murder mysteries series, a new book with a new series from a favourite author is always exciting.

The Frozen People takes us in a new direction a crime procedural but with a fascinatingly original twist- time travel.

Ali Dawson works for a cold case team but with a huge difference ; the discovery to go back in time to potentially solve cases.

When requested by a Government Minister to research whether his ancestor was a serial killer, Ali finds herself back in 1850 and trapped! Simultaneously, the aforementioned Minister is found shot dead and Ali’s son Finn is accused of the murder.

This is a gloriously mind- bending crime novel - ingenious and highly original .

Keeping up with the time changes and focus upon how time travel worked keeps you on your toes but it works brilliantly.

Combining Elly Griffiths’ dry wit and meticulous period research, The Frozen People is a great read. For a successful author to take a new path must be a risk but rest assured this new direction is great fun and gripping - where the series goes next ..well that’s anyone’s guess …so much potential

Highly recommended - and come on TV companies it’s about time an Elly Griffiths series was adapted for the small screen ..maybe this new series could be the one!

A great new read for 2025

I’m a massive Elly Griffiths fan and was so excited to get the chance to read The Frozen People.

This is a new series and the protagonist is Ali Dawson who works for a Cold Case unit in the Met Police in London. I loved everything about Ali, with her postbox rea hair - she is a feminist firebrand! She’s a single-mum who put herself through University and then joined the Police and had a successful career.

The Cold Case unit is a little bizarre - they time-travel to investigate cases. I was a little dubious about this element of the story. However, I very quickly got sucked into the story. I found the Victorian strand fascinating. I loved the fish out of water element of Ali having to navigate Victorian England. I also really enjoyed Ali revisiting the buildings and streets she had spent time in the Victorian era as many of the buildings still stand in East London.

It’s a page-turner and absolutely engaging read. Ali Dawson is a great leading lady for a series of new books. Her colleagues, her son Finn and finally and not forgetting her cat Terry are great supporting characters.

I look forward to reading the next Ali Dawson instalment in the future.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Quercus Books, for the e-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It took me a little while to get into this book, Elly Griffiths has always been such a fabulous author that I decided it was worth persevering when the beginning seemed a little far-fetched and complicated. It was absolutely worth. The book is about Time travel because it needs to be for the plot to work, but actually this is about betrayal friendship and the strength and weakness of relationships. The bond between mother and son is explored as is the ties that are made through work colleagues and what ultimately people are willing to give up the safety and love of others.. the murder mystery is well told and whilst the unpicking of the murderer at the end was a surprise it was a great read.