I have to say, when I first read the synopsis of The Frozen People - a secret cold case team within the Met who time travel to gather evidence on historical crimes - my initial reaction was to think "Really?! This is what's replacing our beloved Ruth Galloway series?!" And it's a bonkers premise, let's be honest, but somehow it kind of works. This is down entirely to the strength of Griffiths' writing, and especially her character development. Quite rapidly the reader understands who Ali is, what makes her tick, and why we should care about her. And care we do, so when she gets stuck in the mid-19th century while investigating the ancestor of a prominent MP (an MP for whom her son happens to work), we want badly for Ali and her team to work out how to get her back to the present day.

There's a little too much going on in the narrative, what with mysterious chairs and a sinister secret society and a present day murder case and and letters from the past suggesting that Ali will return to 1850 at some point, but altogether it manages to (just about) cohere into an enjoyable and well paced mystery. I shall certainly read the next in the series.

I absolutely loved The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths! As a new reader of her work, I was captivated by how she skillfully blended time-traveling fantasy, historical intrigue, and crime elements into a gripping and imaginative story. Her ability to create vivid settings and compelling characters kept me hooked from start to finish. This was my first experience with Griffiths’ writing, but it definitely won’t be my last—I’m now eager to dive into her Ruth Galloway series to see more of her storytelling.

The genre I didn’t know I needed - time travelling crime. Am so excited about this series - I’m no science fiction nut but this offers me just enough to get me fantasy juices flowing while still being focused on history and crime (my faves) in only a way Elly can do.

As always her characters are beautifully human and loveable, the book is well researched and gripping through the flow of the story as well as keeping you hungry for nuggets of Victorian facts throughout!

It was pacy at the start, slowed down in the middle and then whizzed towards the end in the last 5 or so percent so perhaps could have been paced a bit more smoothly but I loved it none-the-less.

Please give us more and quickly.

This is mind-bendingly good, even for such a seasoned author as Griffiths. The idea is fresh and exciting and she executes it in such a way that the core plot point almost sneaks up on you. The cast of characters is fascinating and credible, from the investigating team to the political advisors and even the cats. The pacing was perfect, the dialogue carefully executed to align with the locations and plot and the back stories just full enough to add value without detracting from the very exciting main story line. I can’t wait for more!