In 1875, Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor and anatomist in Philadelphia. Her patient, Anna Ward, is found dead and it is deemed self-inflicted. Dr. Weston suspects foul play instead, and finds herself a part of the police investigation due to her sharp questioning skills, dedication to Anna, and her overall intelligence. During a time when women were expected to take care of the home; she is met with significant pushback at every turn. However, this doesn’t stop her from unraveling all of the secrets that were being buried along the way.

I enjoyed this debut novel! The genre mashup of historical fiction and mystery was appealing and well done. It was authentic - you can tell Makerji did a lot of research of what it was like to be in Philadelphia for her characters at this time. This was crucially important - as the range of characters was vast. We had old and young, wealthy and poor, men and women, etc. She did well transporting the reader into the setting. I also think everything tied up well in the end - it wasn’t predictable, but it wasn’t completely random either - just how I like it.

On the other hand, I didn’t love the extensive medical scenes - it felt like they went on for too long. I can appreciate it; but I think in this case “less is more” as it did pull me out of the story a bit instead. The pacing of the book also felt slow - it picked up for me personally around 70% - which does tend to happen with mysteries as the scene needs to be set; however, I wish there was more in the beginning/middle to keep me WANTING to read it until the end, instead of feeling like I HAD to because it was an ARC. Finally, I didn’t connect with any of the characters on a personal level. Of course I was rooting for Lydia; but I don’t feel connected to any of them (which is one of my favorite parts of reading).

TLDR: I liked it, but didn’t love it. I think it will appeal to specific readers. Read it if you enjoy a cozier historical fiction mystery, don’t mind slower pacing, don’t mind reading about characters that you don’t really have a chance to connect with on a personal level, and prefer to let the setting shine.

I was given an advance ebook of this debut novel from the publisher. It was a great combination of history, medicine and suspense and I definitely enjoyed it. It was a surprising whodunnit of the best kind, leaving me scratching my head over the villain until the last pages of the book. Dr. Mukerji tells in her bio how she lived near the Pennsylvania Hospital during her schooling and became fascinated by the idea of a woman doctor a hundred years previous. I'm happy to recommend this as a solid and interesting story.

Murder by Degrees, by Ritu Mukerji, is a thrilling murder mystery. With a strong female lead, relatable secondary characters, and major plot twists to keep readers entertained, this book is well worth the read.

Set in Philadelphia in 1875, Dr. Lydia Weston frequently faces the prejudices of males in her profession. But when a friend and patient ends up murdered, Dr. Weston must use her well honed medical skills to find out what happened to her friend and work closely with the Philadelphia police to catch those responsible.

This book is well written, with a great amount of detail used to set the scene in Philadelphia, just 10 years after the end of the Civil War. The authors knowledge of medicine and anatomy also added a depth to the book that I greatly enjoyed. I was completely enthralled by this novel, and I would recommend it to any murder mystery lover.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Philadelphia 1875: Dr. Lydia Weston, professor at a women’s medical college and practicing physician, is suspicious when the death of one of her patients appears to be suicide.

This cozy mystery was a little slow to start but interesting, with a heavy focus on the medical field, including a detailed autopsy.

Side cases were shared with more medical detail than I felt necessary as they weren’t relevant to the crime, just showing Lydia’s life and sharing information about medicine in this time period. I found myself skimming a bit in these scenes.

The last third of the book was well-paced as the investigation found new leads, which led to some danger for our MC, and answers were revealed.

This book is a good fit for readers with an interest in medicine or who generally like learning about new things when reading a cozy mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Books for the ARC.

I love the idea of a mystery starring an early female detective who uses her smarts and skills to aid the police in solving crimes, so I was eager to give MURDER BY DEGREES a go. While there are definitely things I enjoyed about the novel, it still fell short for me. Lydia is an admirable heroine. She's an intelligent, compassionate, confident trailblazer who does important work. Unfortunately, she didn't ever feel developed enough as a character for me to really connect with her. In spite of her desire to serve the poor and needy, something about her still felt cold and clinical to me. Not surprisingly then, I didn't really warm to her. The other characters also feel underdeveloped and cliché. As for the plot, it moves very slowly. Mukerji is a physician herself and she spends a lot of time on medical details that drag down the story. It's not until the end of the novel that we get any real action and, even then, it's pretty anticlimactic. I usually whip through mystery/thriller novels in a day or so, but this one took me a whole weekend to finish because it was just so putdownable. The story interested me enough that I pushed through and finished the book, but in the end MURDER BY DEGREES was just an average read for me. Bummer. I really wanted to love it.

Murder by Degrees was one of those mysteries that just immediately sucked me in and transported me amongst the characters. Based in the 1870s and told from the point of view of a woman doctor trying to solve the disappearance of a young patient, there is little here that wouldn't catch your attention.

I won't lie, the fact it's set in Philadelphia also was a big win for me but the depth of characters and time period that was chosen was such a wild ride. The complexities of the relationships throughout the story on top of the twists and turns was addicting and delightful. I don't other read mysteries and even fewer would be considered historical mystery but this was just an all around fantastic read that I could not put down- seriously, I ate this up in an afternoon.

The ending works great and was one that I wouldn't have gone with myself- something I enjoy in mystery and thrillers is obviously the closures you don't see coming. I'd rank this a step above a cozy mystery as just the right about of tension and intrigue to keep the story steady.

TSVM to Netgalley for the arc of this. This one had personal intersections with my own life (the history of women in medicine is part of my research and I am a female physician) Dr. Lydia Weston is a pioneer in the field, practicing and teaching at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (again a school part of my research which made me so happy). She becomes worried about Anna, a young maid who is both her patient and someone Lydia is trying to help up in society via education. Anna was acting weird and has stopped coming to see her.

She relates her concerns to her benefactors Harlan and Anthea (both doctors) and he introduces her to his friend detective Volker and his junior, Davies. It seems Anna has met with an unfortunate end and Lydia helps them by talking to some of Anna's friends while the detectives do their best to unravel a case, they weren't sure wasn't actually suicide by drowning. Once the autopsy proves it's murder, they have to navigate the waters shaped by large class disparity when not one but two very wealthy families have ties to the girl. It's a race to discover what happened before Lydia herself is the next victim.

I very much liked Lydia (and the detectives). I thought there was a nice balance between her seeing patients, the medical details, the ties to India and her childhood and most of all her going up against and winning against her male colleagues. I know how dead set against women doctors some of my own colleagues were in 1990. I can't imagine the hardship of the real women Lydia was drawn forth from in 1875. So content warning: misogyny, medical details that some might find gory (I'm not a good judge of that).

The mystery was well paced with nice twists and turns and some very good red herrings. I would absolutely look for more from this author. I hope to see Lydia again (though next time I'm hoping if someone is literally in her house she doesn't dismiss it and tells the cops, that crap makes me nuts)

I've been starting to read more historical fiction and I've always loved murder/cozy mysteries. This was the perfect combination of those styles! It was well researched, had good characters, and flowed well. I truly enjoyed every page of it and hope to see more from this author in the future!

A mystery wrapped in history.

What a lovely tale of the 19th century. The centerpiece of the mystery is a female doctor who aides the Philadelphia constabulary in solving the murder of a young woman who’d frequented the doctor’s clinic and medical lectures.

Carefully written, the prose was solid in conjuring a time other than present day, and had the stilted tones one might presume of a more Dickensian tale. The character development was solid, and the story line interesting and fluid. One thinks of similarities to Conan Doyle in the weaving of the tale.

An enjoyable read and a well-crafted story.

Dr. Lydia Weston has her hands full with teaching at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and doing her rounds at the hospital, but when the body of one of her patients is found floating in the Schuylkill River, Lydia dedicates herself to finding out what happened. Despite Anna Ward’s death being deemed a suicide, Lydia is convinced there is something more sinister behind the young chambermaid’s death. Working along with the Philadelphia police, Lydia delves into Anna’s life and puts her own life at risk as she uncovers the secrets of the chambermaid’s employers.

MURDER BY DEGREES is a fascinating historical mystery, and Dr. Lydia Weston is a top-notch protagonist. As a woman making her way in the male-dominated medical field, she faces a lot of chauvinism from some of the male characters. It was heartwarming to see her encouraging her female students as they faced prejudice from the male doctors, medical students, and patients. Lydia’s duties at the medical college, hospital, and clinic provided a solid secondary plotline to the murder investigation. While Lydia does do some investigating on her own, she also works alongside the two police officers who were tasked with looking into Anna Ward’s unusual death. The novel’s point of view switches between Lydia’s perspective as well as the perspectives of the two officers, allowing the reader a well-rounded look at the investigation. Overall, an enjoyable novel.

Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor and anatomist at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, an institution that many feel is inappropriate, as women aren’t meant to be medical professionals. When the body of one of Lydia’s patients is fished out of the river, her death is ruled a suicide. Lydia disagrees and is able to convince at least one member of the police to investigate – and to allow her to help.

The book blurb described this book as something that would appeal to fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, both authors I enjoy, so I had somewhat high hopes for the story by a new-to-me author. Having read The Doctors Blackwell not too long ago, I knew some of what it was like for women trying to practice medicine in this era, which probably made me more sympathetic toward Lydia. I admired her drive and determination, and was in awe of her knowledge of anatomy and other medical issues, along with her ability to explain those things to laymen so they could easily be understood.

The victim in this story was in service, and therefore deemed inconsequential to many officials who should have put forth effort to investigate her death. As stated previously, I have problems with the whole issue of servants and classes in society, but that unfortunately goes with reading books set in this time period. There were several names on my list of suspects, but I wasn’t able to figure out who was the most likely culprit until just before it was revealed in the book.

There is no indication that this is the first book in a new series, but I will keep an eye out for future books by this author, as I’d like to read more about Lydia, her career and her life in 1870s Philadelphia.

I appreciate that Ms. Mukerji is a physician, however the excess detail on putrefaction and autopsies slowed the story a bit.
The mystery was excellent. I did not see the twist at the end. This was very well crafted.
I thought the characters and their development was done very well. Lydia Weston is an interesting character. I'd like to read a book #2 (and more) with her and Charlie Davies.
I recommend this book to any that like intelligent female characters and a good mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC of Murder by Degrees.
#MurderbyDegrees#RituMukerji#Simon&Schuster#NetGalley

3.5 stars rounded up. This was an interesting and promising debut historical mystery. There are a lot of unique elements to it -- the setting in 1870's Philadelphia provides interesting historical context that is not often explored in historical fiction, and the protagonist being among the earliest groups of women physicians in America allows for further discussions of developments in medicine and women's rights at the time. The medical details go a bit too far in the first half of the book, including an extended and overly graphic description of an autopsy and other post-mortem testing, but as the plot picks up pace there was less time spent on those details and more on the mystery (thankfully!).

It took me a little while to warm up to the two main characters, but as they both thawed out a bit during the course of their investigation, they become much more likeable. Lydia is headstrong and independent and does not wait for the investigators before following a lead -- which unsurprisingly puts her at odds with Davies (the junior investigator on the murder case at issue). Davies prefers a methodical and logical approach, and Lydia's more emotional appeal in eliciting information from witnesses often creates friction. Lydia's personal connection to the murder case drives her forward even when the investigators believe they have their own solution.

Althoug this was darker in tone and content than my usual preferred historical mystery style, I would be interested to see where the series goes next.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

3.5/5⭐️

This is a historical mystery debut centered around Dr. Lydia Weston, an anatomist and medical professor in 1875 Philadelphia.

Dr. Weston treats a young woman in service as a maid in a wealthy home and is drawn into a friendship as she admires and encourages Anna’s drive and yearning for further education. When Anna disappears, she works with an inspector and his sergeant to uncover what happened to her and discovers a myriad of secrets and coverups.

I enjoyed this mystery. I did have two issues though. The pacing of the book was a little off as there were stretches which were somewhat boring and could have used some tightening up. And while I appreciated the insight into the obstacles faced by women doctors during this time, there was entirely too much medical jargon. I understand that the author is an internist herself, but while somewhat interesting, there was simply an overabundance of medical-related facts…listings of various bones of the body, medical procedures, etc.

Other than those frustrations, I do hope that this might be the start of a series as I think it definitely has potential.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing the free early arc of Murder by Degrees for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

It kept me reading through the night. Late 1800's, extreme challenges for female doctor fighting for truth and always against prejudice. It is a complex plot that results in edge of seat drama/action.

Four Star Read

Murder By Degrees, by Ritu Mukerji

Thank you to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Dr. Lydia Weston, the main character of this book, is an admirable and appealing creation. It is 1875, and women’s efforts to be part of the medical world still are not accepted by many. Lydia and her close colleagues work in Philadelphia at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, where for 10 years she has lectured and practiced.

The story centers on one of her patients, a young woman servant in a wealthy family, who disappears. Lydia works with two policemen, a rather crusty inspector, and a more sympathetic sergeant, to find out what happened to the missing Anna.

I was drawn to this book because of the publisher’s “blurb” about its being for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Charles Todd, both of whose series I have greatly enjoyed. Unfortunately, it is nothing like those polished, believable books. Murder by Degrees is a gothic novel, opening with a prologue of a damsel in distress, fleeing a menacing male figure, over the dark and deserted fields to the river’s edge.

The story line then focuses on finding the young woman, and all the lies and subterfuges used by the wealthy families with whom she worked. Some characters are well-drawn and believable; others are not. There also is too much detail, too many repetitions of information, yet surprising gaps. For example, the varied tools for autopsies are minutely depicted; a servant’s pock-marked face is described repeatedly; and we are frequently reminded that Lydia has practiced as a physician for 10 years. But I still do not understand why the title is “Murder by Degrees.”

I would like to see more of Lydia Weston, and think there is much potential in her character and situation. However, I hope the author will use a less gothic writing style in presenting the adventures of this worthy and remarkable woman.

I enjoyed this book... good storyline, good characters, some history of the medical field (which I relished). And, with a mystery thrown in, made for a good read.. I recommend this book to all mystery lovers!

I wished for a deeper point of view to help me connect with Lydia. The historical minutiae and info dumps slowed things down. I’d cut back on the medical and historical references and spend more time on showing not telling us about Lydia.

Then, there’s this that I hate:
“They didn’t see the dark figure watching them from the alcove off the hall.”

This kind of narrative trick drives me bonkers. Have the detective bump into a shadowy figure on his way out.

The pacing could have been tighter and clues and developments felt out of left field…but I was still drawn into finding out what happened to Anna. If this is a series I might read book 2 in the hopes that some of these narrative and pacing issues are improved because the plot was good.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
I REALLY liked this book! I hope the author is making this into a series! This story takes place at a time when it is not acceptable for women to be doctors. In spite of this, Lydia has bucked the system and become a doctor and a teacher. When one of her patients, a young chambermaid, is found dead by drowning Lydia becomes involved in finding out who killed her. This was just my type of story. I liked the gothic feel, as well as learning about early medicine. It was a really good mystery with lots of twists and turns!

Definitely unlike anything I've read before. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes books written about (or by) subject matter experts - where the profession, or interests, of the characters are presented in great detail and showcased by the overarching plot.

Our main character, Lydia, is a doctor who also teaches female students at a medical college. When one of her patients disappears, she finds herself in the middle of a mystery that she feels compelled to solve. The book is both a whodunit, and a unique depiction of medicine and the plight of female doctors in the late 1800's.

The most memorable aspect, for me, was the description of diseases and treatment during that time. It was fascinating to read about the different ailments people faced due to their harsh living conditions, and how the treatments could be as dangerous as the sicknesses. I loved the scenes of Lydia teaching at the college, the descriptions of her work, her patients, and their symptoms. The author is a doctor, and you can definitely tell.

The mystery was solid, though a bit less original feeling than the rest of the book. There were a lot of moving parts that fit together nicely by the end. It really served its purpose as a vehicle for the setting, characters, and medical topics to shine through.