She is one of a small team of Cold Case investigators. The joke is the cases are so cold, they are frozen, hence the name of the book.It is fair to say that some murders can’t be solved in one lifetime. 

We are introduced to another member of the team, Dina, a Forensic Digital Analyst, when Ali arrives at work after her walking commute through the East End of London.

Det. Chief Inspector, Geoff Bastian, her boss, briefs her on a new case they have received. The Justice Minister, Isaac Templeton, has requested Ali by name, to head the investigation. 

Templeton is in the process of writing his autobiography, but his family name is tarnished by his 2 x great grandfather, who was accused, but never proved, of the murder of three women, back in 1850. 

Entering the story, we meet Jones. She is an Italian physicist who married, then divorced, her English husband, but retained his name.

Jones has found a way to manipulate time and has been successful at sending Ali and Dina back to prior covid times to test the system. Then she and her cohort, DCI John Cole, were sent back to the 1960s to find evidence on a cold case.

This has been reported to members of the Justice Department, on a 'need to know' basis, but has been noticed by Templeton as a way to savage his family honour by cleansing his ancestor's reputation.

Ali is advised that she will be sent back to 1850 and must make the necessary arrangements to fit into that era. Fortunately, she has a degree in history.

Before leaving she has considerable preparation before she is sent back to 1850s London. To prepare for the assignment, Ali visited her old history lecturer and asked her hypothetically, what was the difference between a woman in 1850 and a modern woman. Her lecturer gave her many examples of the different attitudes and lifestyles that were prevalent at that time. 

Next Ali visited a lady who made dresses for period TV and movie productions and asked if she could create an outfit for her. Her outfitter told her that England was suffering a minor ice age in the first part of the 1800s so, to be authentic, she would need to wear warmer clothing. 

The Royal Mint was next on her list. She asked them if she could have some currency that was in circulation around that timeframe.

Armed with all these accoutrements, she was ready for 'going through the gate' as they called it. But, she soon discovered, the reality was quite different to the theory. 

The story bounces back and forth between 1850 and 2023, to the ultimate conclusion. 

It is easy to see why the author, Elly Griffiths is an award winning writer of several crime series. Her writing style is very relaxed, humorous and conversational, making it an easy read and the story line makes it a compulsive page turner. 

I noticed, while reading the book, that I kept mistaking Ali with the word All. This could have been my eyes, but the other words were fine. Maybe it was the font used, or perhaps a different name choice would have helped so I didn’t have to keep going back to re-read sentences. However, this is the only criticism of an altogether fabulous and enjoyable read. Possibly the best book I have read this year. 

The Author

Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries and the Brighton Mysteries. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library, has been shortlisted five times for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for The Lantern Men. Her new series featuring Detective Harbinder Kaur began with The Stranger Diaries, which was a Richard and Judy book club pick and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in the USA. It was followed by The Postscript Murders, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger and Bleeding Heart Yard. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband.

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