Shadows in Time

Oh, how I’ve enjoyed this series! <br /><br />I always look forward to taking these journeys with Kendra and watching her navigate her way through the early nineteenth century. With each book I have grown more and more attached to these characters and have enjoyed watching the relationships grow. The mysteries/crimes are light and a bit tidy, but I still can never guess the outcome. Reading this series reminds me of how I felt watching Downton Abbey... just a perfect world to loose yourself in and forget the world around you. Highly recommend this entire series.

Shadows in Time is the fifth book in this series. They keep on getting better and better. I have loved everyone of them. <br />I love Kendra’s character and all the trouble she finds herself in.<br />Kendra Donovan is an FBI agent who time traveled to the 1800’s.<br />This is my favorite. What will happen next? I can’t wait to find out<br />

What’s an FBI agent to do when she finds herself displaced over 200 years in the past? Investigate crime, of course. Shadows in Time is the fifth book in the Kendra Donovan series. Kendra is a 21st-century FBI agent who suddenly found herself displaced in 19th-century London. Now she is a ward of the Duke of Aldridge and accepted into elite circles, where she finds herself dabbling in her old occupation. Kendra is investigating the disappearance of a local brewery employee at the request of the brewery owner, who is, surprisingly, a woman. In addition, the Duke’s long-lost daughter, always presumed dead, has returned. Is she really who she says she is? Kendra, accompanied by Sam Kelly, Bow Street Runner, and Alec, the Marquis of Sutcliffe, fervently pursues both mysteries, using her skills as an FBI agent. Although this is the fifth book in a series, it can be read as a standalone novel.<br /><br />This is a historical mystery more than a time-travel novel, as the time traveling was done earlier in the series. Kendra seems to have accepted her life in the 1800s, except for occasionally bemoaning the absence of Google and DNA analysis. The characters are well developed and engaging. The investigations are compelling and well-paced, and life in 1815 London is described in interesting detail. We are reminded of the restrictions put on women back then, as Kendra has to have a chaperone everywhere she goes. The two mysteries Kendra is trying to solve are complex and not easily predictable. Wonderful nuggets of history abound in the book, and a romance has developed as well. If you enjoy historical fiction, mysteries, or stories with a dash of romance and time travel, you will like this novel.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book from Pegasus Crime via Historical Novels Review Magazine. My opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/52938648.Shadows_in_Time__Kendra_Donovan__5_" title="Shadows in Time (Kendra Donovan #5) by Julie McElwain" rel="noopener">Shadows in Time</a>. The mystery was solid and the secondary story concerning the Duke’s daughter coming back into his life was very good. There were plenty of twists and turns. At the same time, Kendra’s and Alec’s romance was on solid ground. <br /><br />Though I am not a writer, I couldn’t have written a better ending. Kudos to Ms. McElwain. I can’t wait for the next story in this series. <br /><br /><b>A side note</b>: I <u>would not recommend</u> reading this as a standalone. Characters return from the previous books and I think it is important that you learn their background and the necessary buildup. That said, I think <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/52938648.Shadows_in_Time__Kendra_Donovan__5_" title="Shadows in Time (Kendra Donovan #5) by Julie McElwain" rel="noopener">Shadows in Time</a> is my favorite.

Many series tend to get stale after a few instalments; some just get better and better. Fortunately for readers like me, the Kendra Donovan series falls firmly in the latter category.<br />Time-traveling twenty-first-century FBI agent Kendra Donovan is getting acclimated to her life as ward of the Duke of Aldridge in the early nineteenth century, but she is not going to let the strictures imposed on women in that era keep her from investigating if someone needs her help. When a real live nineteenth-century businesswoman, owner of the Barrett Brewery, asks her to help locate the brewery’s business manager, who has disappeared, Kendra’s search leads her to the man’s body. Kendra finds herself investigating another murder, to the amusement of the Duke’s young niece and the great distress of his sister. Her attitude towards Kendra is summed up nicely in this passage, “On a good day, the countess viewed her with thinly veiled tolerance. Unfortunately, there weren’t many good days with Lady Atwood.” It is also hard on her maid Molly. When Molly politely objects to something Kendra is about to do, Kendra says, “Having a negative attitude ages you, you know”, to which Molly replies, “Oi think being yer maid does that.”<br />As usual in this series, the writing is good, and the story is well-paced, with lots of suspects and interesting situations. At one point, Kendra makes a very unlikely leap of intuition that I found hard to swallow, but I’ll give the author one such item!<br />The characters and the setting are as important in this series as the plot, and author McElwain continues to do a good job of painting the society of that era, especially the role of women. The theme is doubly well treated in this installment, given that the brewery has a history of being owned and run by the women of the family for several generations, and some of the menfolk are not happy with the situation. Men are not universally painted as bad guys, though, especially the Duke’s nephew Alec, whose relationship with Kendra gets warmer in each book. Nor are women all angels, and when a woman shows up who claims to be the Duke’s daughter, who everyone thought had been lost in a boating accident when she was a child, Kendra also investigates to see if the woman is an impostor.<br /> One of the pleasures in reading novels set in the past is learning some history. This is true for my enjoyment of the Kendra Donovan series. For example, who knew that the word “brewster” originally meant a female brewer? The author takes her responsibility to present an accurate historical picture seriously, does significant research, and provides her readers a nice Afterword to let them know where she has strayed from fact. Kendra does everything she can to avoid changing history, so I suppose the author feels she must also do her part.<br />Both new and old readers of the series will enjoy losing themselves in the book, but I recommend new readers begin with the first book to avoid spoilers. As the book ends, it looks like there may be some changes in Kendra’s future but there is no indication that these will prevent her from seeing justice is served whenever a crime is committed. <br />

4.5 stars

Kendra finds herself doing some soul-searching in this fifth installment. As a missing persons investigation becomes a murder case, a distraction pops up in the duke's household. A woman comes to visit claiming to be the long lost daughter swept out to sea twenty years earlier. The sketchy tale told of the previous twenty years has Kendra's spidey senses tingling. She feels very critical of this interloper, but then begins to see her own situation with fresh eyes.It is edifying to see our misplaced FBI agent finding new ways to solve the case without the tools she is used to in our time. She is a force! Also love the cameo appearance of a famous author and other bits about history from her future perspective. This was an enjoyable ride although a bit tedious at times. Perhaps the murder mystery was too complicated alongside the "is she or isn't she the long lost daughter" dilemma? My original expectation for this series had Kendra finding a way back to the 21st century by the end of a trilogy. Not that our protagonist is firmly ensconced in the 19th century with no exit in sight, I has settle in and am looking forward to seeing what comes along in Book Six.<br /><br />Thank you to Pegasus Books and Edelweiss + for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This series just keeps getting stronger and more interesting!

I just love this time travel series !!<br /><br />Edit (Now that I have read it )<br /><br />Wow !! just wow!! it was worth the wait ,I just knew I'm going to love it and I freaking do !! this installment was brilliant just like the first one that got me hooked , I truly appreciate this author dedication and research to get fact right ! I adore all characters main and side both . Wish I can tell you what I loved precisely ;Which is whole lot in this amazing book - but I don't want to spoil it to anybody just like I read it without reading any reviews . So if you are reading this " What are you still doing here go read the book if you had it or buy it cause it's really worth it !!<br /><br />**P.S dear author Julie McElwain Kindly never end this and I promise I'll wait always your next book with trepidation !!

Oh my.... that ending... perfect! I am soooo giddy with how it ended. Now, I want the next book!