February 1, 2022
Trow's latest mystery is set in London at the end of the nineteenth century and is based on real-life archaeologist Margaret Murray. Deftly evoking the ambience, customs, and gender-defined roles of the time, Trow has a gift for making his story and characters gripping, vivid, charismatic, and quirky. Like the real Dr. Murray, the character in Trow's story is a lecturer at University College London and is one of the few women in academia at the time. A respected but eccentric archaeologist, she has a coterie of students, whose admiration verges on hero worship. But Murray's life turns upside down when two of her students are murdered and one of her colleagues is bludgeoned to death. The officer Scotland Yard has assigned to the case is dismissive, bigoted, and incompetent. Only junior policeman and archaeology enthusiast Adam Crawford seems to have any idea about leads and possible killers. To crack the case, Margaret asks her friend, former Scotland Yard bigwig Edward Reid, to come out of retirement and help investigate. A satisfying, twisty, and clever story that will please historical mystery fans.
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