4.25/5 stars

As the first in the Dr. Julia Lewis mystery series, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one and how much I’m looking forward to more.

Set in 1866 London, after studying in America, Julia Lewis is one of Britain’s first female physicians and finds herself having to prove herself in a man’s realm. As a stand-in for her ailing grandfather, she is called to the scene of a grisly murder and finds herself working with the skeptical Scotland Yard Inspector Richard Tennant. As the bodies mount up and taunting messages for Tennant are left at each scene, they must work together, each with their own expertise, to uncover the murderer.

Julia shines here as a strong heroine, determined and tenacious to be accepted and respected as a physician. The plot is well constructed, the suspense building until the surprise villain is unmasked.

An entertaining, satisfying and suspenseful beginning for Dr. Lewis.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing the free early arc of Murder by Lamplight for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

If you happen to be looking for something that has a Ripper vibe to it Murder by Lamplight by Patrice Mcdonough is the book for you. Set in the streets of London a copper named Tennant is called to the scene of a grisly murder where the body has been sodomized and a balloon left as a calling card.

One of Britians first female doctors takes the lead on the case as forensic examiner. More bodies begin to pile up and letters arrive written in purple ink to torment Det Tennant and flaunt the fact that he has yet to be caught.

I loved Murder by Lamplight and hope that a sequel is in the works, if so I can't wait to read the next book.

I want to thank #Netgalley for the chance to read #MurderbyLamplight by #PatriceMcdonough in return for a fair and honest review.

Pick up Murder by Lamplight as soon as you can!!

Anne Perry fans take note: Murder by Lamplight reminds me of her early work, down to the (mostly) historical accuracy. Add in a lady doctor and a world-weary detective and you have an engrossing mix of Anne Perry with Bones, the tv show. It's grim reading in parts-as a lot of Victorian history is grim reading-but overall a very good read. This appears to be the start of a series.

If you took the character dynamics of Miss Scarlet and the Duke, the gritty Victorian East London setting of Ripper Street, and added the perspective of a taunting serial killer, you'd get Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough.

London, 1866. Dr. Julia Lewis has recently returned to London after studying medicine in Philadelphia - though women aren't allowed to study medicine in England, a legal loophole means her American medicine license is valid. Julia has started her own clinic in Whitechapel while also working with her doctor grandfather, hoping to prove herself as a capable physician despite her gender.

A local clergyman's body is discovered - murdered, assaulted, and violated - Detective Inspector Richard Tennant summons Dr. Andrew Lewis to the scene and is surprised when he gets Dr. Julia Lewis instead. Tennant has never heard of anything as ridiculous as a female doctor, but he has to admit that Dr. Lewis proves capable at her job, and the more they run into each other, the more intrigued he is by her.

When more and more bodies turn up around the East End with the killer's calling card - and both Richard and Julia start receiving taunting messages from the killer - they end up working together to uncover the mastermind...before they become the next ones on his hit list.

This was an enjoyable first in a series and I rather enjoyed it. I liked Julia and Tennant and their interactions. They have a sort of verbal sparring match going on, with Julia at times needling Tennant and Tennant being simultaneously baffled by a female doctor, but also not able to get Julia out of his head. By the end of the book, they've developed a closer bond and left things off in a nice place. The character of Tennant is also suffering from what we'd now call PTSD due to his service in Crimea. I think that will be an interesting plot thread to follow in potential future installments.

I will warn readers that the crimes in this book are violent. I think the only other historical mystery I've read with a similar level of sexual brutality is The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner and I wasn't expecting the crimes to be so gruesome. Content warning for (view spoiler). Most books I've read in this genre are relatively gore-free so some readers may want to steer clear of this one if they're a bit squeamish.

I did like how this book touched on many of the relevant Victorian social issues, including sexist laws, workhouses, poverty, cholera epidemics, and homophobic and xenophobic sentiments. One thing I love about historical fiction is how it gives us a vehicle to explore relevant issues from the past and what it might've been like if you experienced it. This book touched on a lot of interesting things.

My biggest complaint would be that throughout their investigation, Julia and Tennant conduct a lot of interviews, and a lot of names are thrown at the reader. (I think there are four or five men named 'William' or 'Willie' alone, which is realistic for a time period when a lot of people were named 'William' or 'Henry' or 'Elizabeth' or 'Jane,' but confusing when you're trying to remember who's who.) Because I was meeting so many people, I had a hard time knowing who was worth remembering, and who was only going to be in that one scene, never to be seen again.

(There was also a bit of corset slander, which I did not like. Dear historical fiction writers, stop talking about how oppressive the corset is. If your heroine is not wearing a corset, what is she wearing? The brasserie hasn't been invented yet. Also, corsets aren't that painful if they're fitted properly, and tight-lacing was not common. Love, Jackie.)

I did guess who the murderer was, but when I got to the reveal, I wasn't disappointed. I was excited that I'd guessed correctly and - I must admit - cheered in my bedroom at 11:30 p.m. Sorry not sorry.

4 stars. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I hope to join Dr. Lewis and Inspector Tennant on their next mystery.

This was a very compelling historical murder mystery. It was pretty dark and dealt with some very heavy themes (sexism, racism, classism, antisemitism, child abuse, death), but the author did a very good job on not making the reading experience feel hopeless. While we get several points of view, the main characters are doctor Julia Lewis and Inspector Richard Tennant. Both are competent, compassionate people haunted by their pasts. They develop mutual respect for each other while working together, which slowly (very slowly) blossoms into something more. The cast of secondary characters is also nicely fleshed out, there are some compelling colleagues and family members.
I very much appreciate Julia, who is aware of the challenges women and minorities face, and who very much does not agree with them, but she is also very aware of the limits there are in change at that time. Very often, authors place modern viewpoints onto historical characters, but this seemed more realistic. It's also clear from the settings and history shared in the story, that this was very well researched.
The mystery was very engaging and well-written, even creepy at times. I did guess who the killer was at 30%, but I think that's more due to intuition and not a flaw in the writing.
The book does conclude the mystery, but it leaves room for more stories about Julia and Richard, which I would definitely read.

An excellent read. I have read similar stories before, female doctor / feminist ,cleverer than her male counterparts/ police, but this is so much better written than most. I do hope that this is the start of a series, I want to know what happens next to Dr. Julia and Tennant. Slight irritation with changing the doctors name from Julia to Julie every few lines.

Murder by lamplight is a historical fiction set in London of 1866, following Dr. Julia Lewis and Detective Tennant of Scotland Yard. Together they have to solve some murders while the murderer plays games with the police.

In general I loved how it portraits Julia as a working woman, especially in medical field, back in the days where women were supposed to stay at home. I also love the way Tennant is reacting to her being involved in the case at first and how their relationship evolved.

Dr. Julia Lewis and Detective Richard Tenant find themselves investigating gruesome murders in this historical mystery set in 1866 London. This is long on atmospherics (the very very dirty streets of London) and less strong on characters and mystery but it's a good read for those who like historical mysteries. It would have benefited from another editorial scrub - and I hope that will happen for the one (because I would like to see more of these two). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough is a historical mystery set in Victorian London in November 1866. It features Detective Inspector Richard Tennant of Scotland Yard and Dr. Julia Lewis, one of Britain’s first female physicians. The two team up to investigate a series of gruesome murders that are linked. The murderer sends the police taunting letters and clues, but how many must die before the killer is caught?

Julia is overworked between her practice and operating a clinic in an impoverished part of town. She is direct, intelligent, curious, and wants to be listened to; not just seen. Richard is dour, aloof, guarded, has a steely resolve, and isn’t easy to know. Shrewd Sergeant Graves and young, but meticulous, Constable O’Malley assist them in their investigations. The characters have depth and seemed to come to life as the story unfolds. Readers also get insight into the killer as his or her viewpoint and thoughts are also occasionally revealed.

The narrative flows a little unevenly, but has a twisty and absorbing plot that is atmospheric. The story immediately fascinated me from the first chapter to its shocking conclusion. One of the things I enjoy about historical fiction is learning something new. In this case, I learned more about the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London and life in workhouses, as well as the beginning of women physicians in England. Readers should be aware that there are graphic descriptions of the sanitary conditions of the times. Themes include murder, immigration, racism, poverty, family, revenge, patience, friendship, and much more.

Overall, this dark, gritty, and engaging book has great characterization with likeable main characters, excellent worldbuilding, and a solid mystery. Readers who appreciate historical mystery stories will likely enjoy this novel. I hope that this becomes a series.

Kensington Books and Patrice McDonough provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 20, 2024.

This Victorian mystery stars Inspector Richard Tennant of Scotland Yard and Dr. Julia Lewis. when a grisly murder is discovered, Tennant calls for Dr. Lewis - expecting Julia's grandfather, but she's taking his calls after a recent heart attack.

Julia was trained as a doctor in the United States since no medical schools accepted women in England. However, a loophole in the law gave her a license to practice medicine in England. She is eager to assist the Inspector in his investigation. And it's quite an investigation.

Someone is murdering seemingly random men and leaving a popped balloon as a clue. Many of the victims were sodomized and had their sexual organs removed. As Tennant and his team struggles to investigate what the victims had in common, the murderer is sending them "helpful" notes containing obscure clues.

Julia is intrigued by the case and is quick to add in some possible suspects including a local business owner who is starting a political party for working men and a newspaper journalist who always seems to be in the right spot when bodies are discovered.

The book is steeped in the time period. The cause of cholera has finally been discovered and agreed upon by most physicians. Julia's grandfather is one of the skeptics who didn't believe the cause during an earlier epidemic which may have contributed to additional deaths. The life of orphans and the doings of workhouses are central to the story too. They give the murderer incentive to gain his revenge on those who took advantage when he was a child.

All in all, this was an entertaining story with engaging characters. There may possibly be a romance in the future, but Julia has many sensible reasons not to marry and give up her independence. I enjoyed both the mystery and the characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Patrice Mcdonough for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Murder by Lamplight coming out February 20, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’m obsessed with Victorian historical mysteries, so I was really excited to receive this book. I love that Julie is a doctor in a time where there were not many doctors who were women. She had to put up with a lot, which helped pave the way for other women doctors. I thought this book was really well researched, and I loved all of the history that went along with it. I think Julia is a strong character. There was some dark, gruesome parts of the book dealing with murder. The writing is a little dry and factual at times, but I really loved it. It reminded me of the TV show Ripper Street. I would definitely read more books in this series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark Victorian historical mysteries!

In November 1866, Dr. Julia Lewis, a calm and efficient young woman, is summoned to a crime scene. Inspector Richard Tennant initially expresses skepticism at a female doctor, but when a second murder shows a connection to the first, he summons Julia again. As they investigate a grisly murder with links to a devastating cholera epidemic and face a calculating killer leaving taunting clues. Can they catch the killer before he turns his sights on Julia?

I knew when I began that this was going to be a dark, gritty story. It definitely had Jack the Ripper vibes. Julia was a competent and interesting character to follow, though she did have a tendency to get on a soap-box every chance she had for social issues. The inspector was also an interesting character with a tragic backstory that affects him through the story.
It is strange to have a story where its strength is also its weakness. The detail of the time period makes the story come alive.
However, it overshadows the characters and at times it feels like information gets dumped on the reader in several places. It was as if the author felt she needed to include everything she knew about the time period.

Overall, it was an interesting book. The killer’s identity did feel as though it came out of nowhere, so points for keeping me in the dark. I would recommend this to readers looking for a dark mystery and aren’t too squeamish.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC. I found this book while perusing Kensington’s mysteries and was pleasantly surprised to find a detective mystery, not a cozy (no disrespect, I read cozies too!).

There was a lot of information packed into this, but I didn’t feel like it overloaded the book at all. Dr. Julia Lewis and Detective Richard Tennant were good characters, but I wanted to know more about Constable O’Malley. If there’s a second book, give him a promotion and a bigger part in the exposition, please!

This was a great read, will recommend to my library patrons who enjoy historical fiction.

Oh, I was all in with this book. The story was so engrossing and pulled me in quickly. There are multiple POVs, including the villain’s, but that only adds to better understanding the MCs. I thought the world building was great, and the identity of the murderer totally caught me by surprise. Fingers crossed for a second book!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Dr. Julia Lewis, one of Britain’s first female physicians, has been called to examine the corpse at a grisly murder site. Inspector Richard Tennant is dismissive of the ‘lady doctor,’ but she is used to the condescension and disregard and won’t let it keep her from doing her job. When another body is found with apparent ties to the first, and the killer begins sending clues and taunting letters to the police, Lewis and Tennant team up to find the killer.

I have recently become fascinated by historical mysteries, so this book, set in Victorian England was a perfect fit. The descriptions of the setting made me feel like I was there, even though I’d rather not have “seen” some of them. I really liked both of the MCs, Julia and Richard. Julia was so focused on becoming a doctor, she went to America to study and earn her degree before returning to England to work with her grandfather. Richard is different from most police at the time, as he is willing to work with – and listen to – a female physician, although it did take him some time to come around to that stance.

It seemed apparent that the two murders were connected, but there weren’t many suspects who could be tied to both killings. One character seemed a little off to me relatively early in the book, but there were others I was considering as well. My first suspicion turned out to be correct, but I didn’t quite get the motive right.

There’s no indication that this is the first book of a series, but I enjoyed it so much that I asked the author (via Goodreads) if this is a stand alone or the start of a series. She replied that she’s signed a three-book contract with the publisher, which made me quite happy, as I’m looking forward to reading more about Dr. Julia and Inspector Tennant.

A well researched historical fiction tale of a serial killer in Victorian London and the female physician and police inspector who work together to solve the crimes.

I wanna be nice but woof, this book.

I will say that the author seems like she really enjoyed the research, the time period and the subject matter and the prose was well written, unfortunately that doesn’t make up for dragging plot, excessive info dumping and stilted dialogue. Please find a really strict editor next time and listen to them.
All this info, though probably really interesting to a person doing the research, dragged the story down and made this book a chore to read. A book can be technically well written but also have a very bad reader experience and though I believe authors should write what they love, they have to consider how a reader will digest a story and this story was like eating a brick. Debut author’s syndrome is really at play here; just because you researched all this info doesn’t make it plot necessary, it’s ok to not include it, the effort wasn’t wasted.
No one needed so much information on sewer systems through the ages, NO ONE!! 😵‍💫

To be fair, I loved the idea behind this book, I love historical fiction with female doctors and I love grumpy detectives who have troubled pasts. The mystery was sound and picked up right away, but sadly it needed to be punchier and faster moving. Authenticity is great, history lessons are not. Not in fiction. I HATE feeling like I’m reading a book filled with expositional ‘teachy’ moments and dialogue that reads like a lecture.

Also the writing style was quite episodic which affected the flow. This is another newbie/rookie thing I’ve noticed in years of reading arcs. Each chapter or sub-chapter is written like a separate scene and not interwoven into the narrative in a cohesive way. It’s crammed full of vignettes that felt out of place and served only to give us nuggets non-plot-significant historical facts. Overall it felt jerky and the transitions were lacking. This book was <I> extremely </I> put-downable because there were so many sub chapters, the breaks often came less than two pages apart. Whenever I’d get to a break, I’d have the urge to take a break and read something else. The style was not immersive for me and I felt like I was drinking from a firehose with all the telling and little showing.
Also the way the author built red herrings was annoying <spoiler> revealing in the prologue that the murderer is referred to as Jackie and then naming all the suspects some variation of Jack - Harry Jackson, Johnnie Osbourne, John Bingham, Jackie Archer and Rowlie Jakeson - is just confusing and not good mystery writing.</spoiler>

I’d love to rate this better, because it was really well researched and obviously a passion project, but sadly it was not at all engaging. I will give a bonus star for having the murder involve two penile dismemberments and one penile crushing, I love gruesome dick trauma and rate it highly, it’s my own personal policy and I stand by it 🤣.

Thanks for NetGalley for the advanced copy, obviously this was my honest review.

I enjoy a good historical fiction story every now and then; it’s a nice break from the all the contemporary stuff I typically read. However, I especially love stories with strong, bold, intelligent, and sassy female MC’s and Dr Julia Lewis was perfect in this role. As a 19th century, female doctor in a country that doesn’t educate female doctors, she is most certainly a rarity among the British population and especially among the “coppers” of London. Scotland Yard Det Tennant is a cop with a humongous chip on his shoulder for the way he has been treated since coming home injured from the war.

The story takes place in 1866 during another cholera breakout (there were many back then). The book summary introduces the primary storyline of Dr Julia consulting with Det Tennant on the bodies of the two victims that were brutally murdered and mutilated. Most of the story revolves around Det Tennant and his Sergeant Graves and Constable O’Malley investigating the murders and Dr Julia trying to insert herself in the investigation whenever and wherever she can, much to the public displeasure of Det Tennant, even though secretly he sometimes appreciates it.

The story flips back and forth between Det Tennant and Dr Julia and the killer. The killings continue and the dead bodies get worse and worse and the killer suddenly makes it clear he’s now targeting Dr Julia. McDonough has weaved such a twisted and intricate story that well into the second half, I still have no clue who the killer can be. It can one or more of several suspects. I love it when a writer can do that!

As much as I loved this story and the way it was written and unfolded, one of the things about this story that really bothered me were the constant descriptions of how foul and fetid the streets of London were. The graphic descriptions of the disgusting conditions of the streets and the homes of the poor with hazardous waste flowing everywhere and the detailed descriptions of the overwhelming stench were so over the top. Visualizing this was horrible, even though I found myself becoming more and more invested in the story. It got to the point, somewhere deep in the second half, where I just started to flip through those parts. Enough already!!! London back then was a cesspool of disease and filth! I got it the first 10x times you described it!

Anyway, I liked Dr Julia and based on the ending it seems like this can be the start of a new series. I hope it is because I would definitely read more about her if the author chose to continue her storyline. I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #KensingtonBooks #MurderbyLamplight

I've started the new year with a bit of binge reading of historical mysteries. Murder by Lamplight is Patrice McDonough's second novel—and the first that I've read. One of the challenges of historical mysteries is that, while staying true to their time, they need to be built around central characters who speak to today's readers. I'm frustrated if time setting is full of anachronisms or if central characters feel too much products of our present day who have been helicoptered into the past. McDonough avoids both these traps and provides the kind of engaging reading that leads one to repeatedly promise "just one more chapter..."

The central characters in Murder by Lamplight are ones I'd like to spend more time with, and I'm hoping this will be the first volume in a series. Dr. Julia Lewis had to travel to the U.S. to get her medical license, since no medical schools in Victorian London accept female students. She's back home now, but having great difficulty finding work beyond the practice she shares with her grandfather. Detective Inspector Richard Tennant is a by-the-books sort, who has moved through the ranks swiftly and faces the pressure of living up to the expectations of someone with early success.

One of Lewis' grandfather's responsibilities is being on call for the police in murder cases. But he's been ill lately, and Lewis has arrived in his place at the scene of the brutal murder of a reverend known for his work with London's poor. Though he's dubious about Lewis playing this role, Tennant does allow Lewis at the crime scene and is both nonplussed and rather impressed by her skills. It soon becomes clear that there's a serial killer active in London who is killing seemingly unconnected individuals, so Lewis, Tennant, and the officers working under Tennant are at a loss trying to understand what motivates the killer and what the victims have in common.

The author builds a bit of mutual attraction between Lewis and Tennant, but does it while keeping Lewis a woman committed to her work, rather than a damsel who needs rescuing—which I appreciate because I hate it when a perfectly good historical mystery is turned into a romance novel. The criticisms I've see of the book are those one might expect from an author with just two books in print: an excess of period information and occasionally stilted dialogue. However, the weaknesses are more than compensated for by a plot that offers unexpected twists.

If you enjoy historical mysteries, you'll enjoy Murder by Lamplight. I found the period information (about London's sewers and an ongoing cholera epidemic) fascinating. And, I suspect you'll wind up feeling as I do, that another volume featuring Lewis and Tennant is something to look forward to.

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

I'm always happy to come across a new historical mystery series. Murder by Lamplight was an enjoyable, quick read, and I look forward to the author further developing her characters in a second title in the series.