I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. A good mystery drama novel. Recommend

Bad Blood is the third novel in the Julia McAllister series. I did not really like Julia. She seems very distant, and I could not relate to her. The mystery was also pretty predictable, and the story was very slow moving. Still, I recommend this fans of Victorian mysteries!

1895 London. Not the best age for women - especially single ones like Julia McAllister doing a man's job and pretending
there is a man who actually owns the establishment as otherwise it will not be patronised as it would not be considered
"respectable" enough for ladies to enter. The photographic business is not doing well and it is only Julia's sideline
unknown except for the models and for the men who buy the photographs. If word does get out, that will be the end for Julia.

Austin Forbes is found dead, and Julia is called upon to photograph the evidence before it is contaminated. This is a new
development and one that is not looked favourably upon by the hierarchy as well as the lower orders. In the process of
photographing the dead man, Julia finds that the case could be connected with the abduction of the man's son eight years
prior. Enquiring from all, including the family it transpires the man was disliked, was a womanizer, was harsh in his
business dealings so that there are umpteen suspects in his murder.

The characters both the main ones which fade as the story goes on, to the secondary characters who come out more strongly as the story develops, the setting and the history of this era all come to the fore in this story. So apart from crime
and mystery there is a strong historical fiction element as well.

A good read.

A terrific and fiendishly plotted Victorian muder mystery utterly addictive from start to finish with lots of buried secrets, family shenanigans & undigested grudges, an unforgettable cast of characters & a very unexpected ending that will leave some readers totally gobsmacked. The author manages brilliantly to immerse us into a lush and magical atmosphere of 19th century Victorian "fin de siècle" with great historical details.
A magnificent fictional tapestry that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever 👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for this terrific ARC.

This was a well written historical mystery and the characters are engaging and Julia is a strong, capable protagonist. But if you haven't read the other books in this series it is hard to follow and ends up somewhat convoluted. It also dragged a bit in parts which made it more of an effort to finish. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

This was the first of Marilyn Todd's series featuring Julia McAllister that I have read. I enjoyed it so much, I went and read the first two books! Julia McAllister and DI Collingwood are fascinating characters. Both have flaws and secrets in their past that threaten their future, but underneath it all are good people trying to do their best. A current murder prompts Julia to investigate a kidnapping cold case. Collingwood is warned to interfere with the police investigation but a string of robberies gives him a welcome reason to stay on the periphery. Plenty of suspects with strong motives and secrets to hide keeps Julia from seeing the real evil until it almost too late. I look forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #BadBlood.

As much as I love a good thriller, this one did not manage to capture my interest and I really had to struggle to finish it. But maybe it wasn't just my cup of tea, and someone else might love it.

1895, London
Eight years ago Thomas Forbes, seventeen months old, was kidnapped and the ransom paid but the child was not returned. Now his father Austin Forbes, wealthy jam factory owner, has been shot. As a police photographer though unofficial, Julia McAllister is called to take photograhs of the scene. She decides to investigate both events. Unfortunately Inspector Collingwood is involved in the case of jewel thefts.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery, with its interesting main characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As it turns out this is the third book of a series. I think it would be most advisable to read the others first as the characters are complex and their back stories have a large impact on this one. I've not read many books set in this time frame recently and was looking forward to the change of scene but I didn't particularly enjoy this one.

Here's what Marilyn Todd's Bad Blood has going for it
• a plot that surprises in places
• secondary characters who become perceived differently as new information appears
• an interesting side exploration of the question of whether policing should focus on preventing crime or capturing criminals after a crime has been committed
• strong central characters

Here's where it falls short—
• those strong central characters all have back stories that are so complicated and depressing that they are haunted in ways that paralyze them become irritating over the course of the book
• anachronisms galore
• relatively few moments that make it un-put-downable

If you like historical mysteries and are tolerant of characters whose ethos seems not wholly appropriate for their time and of fairly familiar plot devices you'll find Bad Blood an enjoyable bit of entertainment. If you're looking for historical mysteries that qualify as "literary fiction," Bad Blood won't suit.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

I have a secret soft spot for Victorian mystery series, which feature a strong heroine and a slow-burning romance (see Deanna Raybourne, Anne Perry etc) so I was very excited to read this digital ARC. Bad Blood by Marilyn Todd features a young woman, Julia McAllister who is trying to forge a career as photographer. I haven't read the first two books in the series but Todd made it easy to grasp prior events in order. In this book, a wealthy man is shot dead, eight years after his infant son was abducted-never to be seen again. Julia finds herself drawn to the victim's widow and resolves to help solve the mystery of her husband's murder and her son's abduction.

This was a gripping read that I honestly couldn't put down. It was darker than I expected, with some themes that readers may find upsetting. However, unlike some mysteries, the book isn't depressing and features some more light-hearted moments. I was fascinated by the relationship between Julia and Detective Inspector Collingwood, and look forward to seeing how this plays out in future books!

There were a few times when the characters sound a little too modern and used phrases which seemed more 1950s than 1890s. Julia is an excellent heroine and I'll definitely be reading future books to find out what else she gets up to!

Thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for introducing me to this exciting series!