Kendra Donovan Books in Order: How to read Julie McElwain’s series?
What an FBI agent does in the 19th century? She solves old-timey crimes!
What is the Kendra Donovan series about?
Written by American writer Julie McElwain, the Kendra Donovan series is a mystery series mixed with time travel and historical adventures.
A rising star at the FBI, Kendra Donovan is on the way to the top when a disastrous raid leads her on a path to vengeance, in England. But while trying to escape into a stairwell, she stumbles into another time.
Now she’s stuck in 1815 where she’s using her 21st-century knowledge to get out of complicated situations. All she needs is a plan to return home.
How to read the Kendra Donovan Books in Order?
Every book in the Kendra Donovan series works as a standalone story, but the lives of the different characters evolve from one novel to the other.
- A Murder in Time (2016)
- A Twist in Time (2017)
- Caught in Time (2018)
- Betrayal in Time (2019)
- Shadows in Time (2020)
- Ripples in Time (2023)
What is the plot of the Kendra Donovan novels?
For more information about the books in the Kendra Donovan series by Julie McElwain, you’ll find below the official synopsis for all the books:
A Murder in Time – When brilliant FBI agent Kendra Donovan stumbles back in time and finds herself in a 19th century English castle under threat from a vicious serial killer, she scrambles to solve the case before it takes her life-200 years before she was even born.
A Twist in Time – When Kendra Donovan’s plan to return to the 21st century fails, leaving her stranded in 1815, the Duke of Aldridge believes he knows the reason-she must save his nephew, who has been accused of brutally murdering his ex-mistress.
Caught in Time – October 1815. Kendra Donovan agrees to travel with her new guardian, the Duke of Aldridge, to one of his smaller estates in Lancashire. When Kendra and the Duke encounter a band of Luddites on a lonely, fog-shrouded road, the Duke informs the authorities in the nearby village of East Dingleford that mischief may have been done at the local mill. However, it isn’t just mischief but murder that is discovered.
Betrayal in Time – February 1816. Bow Street Runner Sam Kelly is called to investigate the grisly murder of Sir Giles Holbrooke, who was left naked and garroted, with his tongue cut out. Yet as perplexing as that crime is, it becomes even stranger when symbols that resemble crosses mysteriously begin to appear across the dead man’s flesh during autopsy. Sam turns to the one person in the kingdom who he believes can answer that question and solve the bizarre murder, Kendra Donovan.
Shadows in Time – When Kendra Donovan is approached by Mrs. Gavenston with an unusual request-to find her business manager, Jeremy Pascoe, who recently vanished-the FBI agent is eager to accept the challenge. Unfortunately, the missing person’s case turns into a murder investigation after Kendra finds the man stabbed to death in a remote cottage that he’d been using as a writer’s retreat.
Ripples in Time – July 1816. When Reginald Lansing, the Earl of Craymore, is found mortally wounded on the Duke of Aldridge’s land, Kendra gets the distraction that she’s been looking for. At first glance, it appears as though the aristocrat is the victim of a highwayman. After all, Lansing had been traveling with the Anahita Pink, a priceless pink diamond that can be traced to the lost treasure of King John, and has since vanished. However, some things aren’t adding up, and Kendra begins to suspect that there’s more to the crime than a simple robbery.
What should you read if you like the Kendra Donovan novels?
If you like reading Julie McElwain’s Kendra Donovan Mysteries, you may be interested in more Regency-era murder mysteries. If that’s the case, take a look at the Sebastian St. Cyr series. You might also enjoy Deanna Raybourn’s novels, Jacqueline Winspear’s, or Sherry Thomas’.
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