Murder at the Manchester Museum - Jim Eldridge

History and mystery combined!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is the first historical crime fiction I have read in a while, and it has got me wishing I had dived back in earlier! It is no wonder to me that there are five books in this series; Eldridge's characters and writing style are wonderful and make reading this book a truly immersive experience.

In the fourth instalment of the 'Museum Mysteries' set in 1895, renowned Scotland Yard detective Daniel Wilson, and his partner celebrated archaeologist Abigail Fenton are called to the industrial North to investigate the murder of a Jane Doe at the Manchester Museum. The harder they work, the more complicated the case becomes and the bodies start to pile up. Their path to catching the killer is littered with obstacles, including a corrupt Police force and an obstinate military, and while people desperately strive to keep their secrets hidden in the past, nothing will stop the Detective duo from unearthing the truth.

The main reason I picked this book up in the first place was because it centred around Manchester Museum. As a Manchester resident and a University of Manchester alumnus, there is something enticing about a book set in the city you love and an establishment you have spent a lot of time in! While I cannot comment on the overall historical accuracy, I loved that Eldridge focussed in this novel on important events from Manchester's history, and features and characteristics of the city that make it unique. Manchester has a history rife with political unrest; the famous Emmeline Pankhurst and the Suffragette movement were born here. So the plotline surrounding radical politics and social reform is apt, educational and engaging in regard to the relationship between the industrial leaders and the lower class labourers.

Moving past the historical aspects, Eldridge's writing is delightful. He has a brilliant grasp of how to write captivating crime fiction, He has ensured that theories are constantly being thrown at the reader, pulling you in different directions and keeping your mind whirring. He also provides an array of characters - and therefore potential suspects - with interesting personality traits and values that contrast with each other, and pits them against one another for the prime suspect spot with the favourite always changing. Lastly, I really liked the relationship Eldridge has constructed between Wilson and Fenton. It is both a romantic and an intellectual partnership, they act as each other's support systems as well as their sounding boards. In my opinion this culminates in a candid and credible collaboration.

This book was an easy five stars from me. It has everything I want in a good crime fiction novel; suspense, theories abounding, and complex characters and interactions. As a result I smashed through it in two days! It is safe to say that Eldridge has a new fan in me, (two other books in the series have already been ordered!)

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