The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

I am a fan of Elly Griffiths’ mysteries especially the Ruth Galloway series, so was thrilled to see a new series begin with Ali Dawson, a detective specializing in cold cases, as the lead character. The frozen people is a departure from Griffiths’ traditional series which were  set in modern times. This time she sends her detective back to the Victorian era to investigate whether a MP’s ancestor has murdered women in the past. She gets stuck in 1850 arriving to find the body of a murdered woman at her feet. Meanwhile her son Finn is accused of murdering the MP in the present. How will she return to modern London and has someone from the past murdered her son’s employer?

As a fan of both mysteries and science fiction I had no trouble with a time travelling detective and was delighted with the depth of detail about Victorian times that Griffiths gave as a background to her story. However it was the depth of character that gripped me and made me very reluctant to see the end of The frozen people. Ali Dawson’s back story was fascinating. Married three times, bringing up her son as a single mother working as a cleaner, she finally entered university as a mature student, valuing the gift that education has given her and never forgetting her working class roots. There are subtle glimpses of class barriers, especially of those who have attended a comprehensive school and those who were privileged to go to a private school.  However, Ali who subdues her flamboyant red hair to travel back to 1850, disregards these, intent on her job of investigating the past, and loving her son Finn and her cat Terry, who is a character in his own right.

Readers who enjoy Griffiths’ clever dialogue and in-depth characterisation will easily plunge into The frozen people and like me, may find themselves wishing that the next in the series was already published.

Themes: Murder, Time travel.

Pat Pledger