While the blurb for Ritu Mukerji’s historical mystery, Murder by Degrees, suggested it was for readers of Jacqueline Winspear or Charles Todd, I thought of Maddie Day’s Quaker Midwife series. Both authors write about women in medical fields in the U.S. during the second half of the 19th century. Even after finishing the book about Dr. Lydia Weston, I thought of Rose Carroll in Day’s series.

Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor and anatomist at Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1875. After her father’s death, she and her mother struggled in poverty and worked to find the money to send Weston to school and then to medical school. In the 1860s and ’70s, it was a struggle for women to be accepted as doctors. Dr. Harlan Stanley and Dr. Anthea Stanley, Lydia’s friends and mentors, are right there beside her as they educate women in the profession. At the same time, they’ve opened the Spruce Street Clinic because medical care is not just for the rich. One of Lydia’s patients has been Anna Ward, a chambermaid to the wealthy Curtis family.

Lydia hasn’t seen Anna for three weeks, but she’s been so busy time got away from her. When she learns of the body found in the Schuylkill River, and Anna’s sister identifies her, Weston can’t believe it was suicide. Inspector Thomas Volcker doesn’t believe it was suicide either, despite all appearances. Because she feels guilty that she didn’t help Anna more than she could, Lydia insists that she help with the autopsy. Despite Sergeant Charles Davies’ reluctance to work with a woman, Volcker accepts Lydia’s help in interviewing those who worked with Anna at the Curtis household.

A death that appears to be suicide. A chambermaid who appears to be a different person to everyone who knew her. To Lydia, she was a young, hardworking woman who loved her sister and brother who lived with a disability. She was trying to better herself by reading. Her diary entries contain poetry, but take a dark turn before they end. Weston, who had to work for her own education, and fights daily against male doctors’ attitude of superiority, understands a young woman’s desperation. She’s determined to find answers for Anna Ward.

On the surface, Murder by Degrees appears to be a mystery about the death of a working class servant in 1875. But, Mukerji’s debut examines women’s conditions, social conditions, and the history in Philadelphia just ten years after the Civil War. There’s a little more medical information than some might appreciate, but Dr. Lydia Weston’s knowledge and education are essential to the story. Those details also show the state of the field at the time, with techniques that seemed modern and up-to-date in 1875.

Mukerji’s Dr. Lydia Weston is a fascinating new protagonist in mystery literature.

Ritu Mukerji’s website is https://ritumukerji.com/

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji. Simon & Schuster, 2023. ISBN 9781668015063 (hardcover), 304p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley to review for a journal.