‘The Killing Time’ by Elly Griffiths

Published by Quercus,
12 February2026.
ISBN: 978-1-52943-338-8 (HB)

I have a sneaking suspicion that when Elly Griffiths planned her new so-cold-they're-frozen series, it was at least partly because she wanted to spend time in Victorian England along with her characters. Since, unlike them, she doesn't have access to the necessary technology, she makes use of detailed, meticulous research to bring the era to vivid life for her readers.   

The Killing Time is the second in the series, and like its predecessor, it moves between 21^st century London and its equivalent nearly two hundred years ago. DI Ali Dawson and her team of cold case detectives are still mourning the loss of Jones, the scientist who discovered the secret of time travel, but was stranded in the past when things went wrong in the previous title. This time it's Ali who is stranded, when she attempts to time-travel a few days in search of her beloved cat, but somehow finds herself in 1851 along with Jones with no means of returning. 

As Elly Griffths fans have come to expect and enjoy, there's a wealth of interesting characters, including several familiar faces from the first book. In the 21^st century among others are Finn, Ali's son, Dina and John, her  colleagues in the cold case team, and Bud the eccentric scientist who sends her into the past. In 1851 she encounters a couple of Victorian maids who give her an insight into the world of the lower orders. Then there's a creepy illusionist, and Cain Templeton, who makes as strong an impression on her as on their earlier acquaintance. And then there's Barry Power, a self-styled medium and showman; and Lady Serafina, about whom I'm saying no more. 

Along the way the cold case team are investigating a murder, and another one occurs later. But somehow the crimes seem almost incidental, especially in the 19^th century part of the book. Far more interesting is how Ali is going to get back to where she belongs, and how she ended up in Victorian London to start with. 

Elly Griffiths has proved herself adept at weaving diverse strands into a page-turning story, peopling it with characters the reader wants to know more about, and creating richly visual backgrounds for them. With her new series, she is revealing yet another talent: bringing a period of history to life in a way that makes us believe it. It all adds up to yet another cracking good story which will garner yet more fans for this deservedly popular author.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Elly Griffiths is the author of a series of crime novels set in England’s Norfolk County and featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway. The first in the series, Crossing Places, earned a good deal of praise both in Griffiths’ native country, England, and in the U.S. The Literary Review termed it “a cleverly plotted and extremely interesting first novel, highly recommended.  Since then, Elly has written fifteen further novels in the series.  She has written a second series set in Brighton in the 1950’s featuring magician Max Mephisto and DI Stephens. There are seven books in the series. Her most recent series features Ali Dawson, a time traveller.

www.ellygriffiths.co.uk  

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.