Publishers Weekly
★ 07/24/2023
A female physician becomes an amateur sleuth in internist Mukerji’s impressive debut. In 1875 Philadelphia, Dr. Lydia Weston teaches at the Woman’s Medical College and sees patients at a low-cost clinic she helped found to serve the city’s working class. One of her patients is Anna Ward, a chambermaid in the home of wealthy couple Edward and Beatrice Curtis. During an appointment with Lydia, Anna is visibly troubled by something she won’t explain; she then misses her next appointment and seems to vanish entirely. Soon after the police are notified of Anna’s disappearance, they find a young woman’s body in the Schuylkill River. Though the corpse is too bloated to identify, Anna’s journal is found nearby. Lydia helps her mentor, police consultant Dr. Harlan Stanley, perform the autopsy, which identifies blunt force trauma as the cause of death. Given her intimate knowledge of Anna’s life, the detectives assigned to the case let Lydia assist in the investigation. She learns that Anna was involved in “a love affair gone awry,” and that both the Curtises and their servants had reasons to harm her. Things take a more complicated turn, however, when Lydia realizes that the body she and her cohorts have recovered may not be Anna’s after all. Mukerji’s taut plotting and vivid depiction of the era’s medical practices and social customs will leave readers eager for a second installment. Agent: Nicki Richesin, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
*An Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel
"Like Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Lydia is a strong and indomitable woman who transcends her circumstances to become her true self and a crusader for social justice. This atmospheric novel heralds the arrival of a talented new writer and an unforgettable heroine."—Kirkus Reviews (Starred)
“Mukerji’s taut plotting and vivid depiction of the era’s medical practices and social customs will leave readers eager for a second installment.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred)
"On the surface, this debut by Mukerji, herself a medical doctor, appears to be a mystery about the death of a working-class servant, but it’s much more, as it examines women’s rights, social conditions, and medicine in Philadelphia just a decade after the Civil War. Fans of Maddie Day’s “Quaker Midwife” series will appreciate this detailed historical mystery."—Library Journal (Starred)
“Murder by Degrees stars a capable, likeable heroine in Dr. Lydia Weston, who battles for acceptance every day as a female doctor in 19th century Philadelphia, and when one of her favorite patients turns up apparently murdered Lydia will need all her diagnostic skills to unmask the killer. Ritu Mukerji—a practicing physician herself, her expertise shining on every page—pens a heartfelt ode to the historic women who blazed a trail in medicine before her as well as a wonderfully entertaining mystery. Hopefully Lydia Weston's adventures will continue in future volumes!”—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
“In Murder by Degrees, Ritu Mukerji delivers a fresh take on a classic genre. When the smart, compassionate Dr. Lydia Weston teams up with Inspector Volcker to solve the murder of a beloved patient, she proves that science is a formidable truth-teller. Set against the vivid backdrop of 19th century Philadelphia, this twisty debut mystery feels refreshingly modern. I can't wait to see what Dr. Weston does next.”—Michelle Richmond, New York Times bestselling author of The Wonder Test
"Ritu Mukerji weaves a thrillingly atmospheric tale of intrigue, featuring a brilliant female doctor who's ahead of her time. The descriptions of medicine in a bygone era are so vivid, you can almost see the glint of lamplight reflected in Dr. Lydia Weston's scalpel as she slices through skin."—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast
"Suspenseful and captivating. Ritu Mukerji brings the operating theaters, drawing rooms, and back alleys of nineteenth-century Philadelphia to life in this darkly atmospheric mystery."—Allison Buccola, author of Catch Her When She Falls
“The evocative nineteenth century Philadelphia setting and the very real early history of the Woman’s Medical College is new and fresh and fantastically feminist. But it’s the kindness and care and the wonderful wisdom of Dr. Lydia Weston—even as she uncovers secrets cloaked in privilege and obsessions shrouded in shame—that makes Murder by Degrees one fantastic read!"—Meg Waite Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Postmistress of Paris
"I was kept guessing until the very end of this gorgeously written mystery set in a highly Gothic, 19th-century Philadelphia. Ritu Mukerji illuminates the little-known history of America’s earliest women physicians through her protagonist Lydia Weston, an unforgettable young woman whose intelligence is equally matched by her compassion. A brilliant start to a series that presents the medical mystery in a feminist light."—Sujata Massey, author of The Widows of Malabar Hill
“A stunning debut. Beautifully crafted characters and twists you won’t see coming. I devoured every page.”—Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Tracy Crosswhite Series
New York Times Bestselling author Robert Dugoni
A stunning debut. Beautifully crafted characters and twists you won’t see coming. I devoured every page.”
Library Journal
★ 09/01/2023
DEBUT In 1875, Dr. Lydia Weston is a professor at Woman's Medical College in Philadelphia. She first met Anna Ward, a chambermaid working for the wealthy Curtis family, at a clinic. Although Lydia encouraged the young woman to further her education, she hasn't seen her in three weeks. When Anna's body is fished from the river, a suspected suicide, Lydia can't believe it. Inspector Thomas Volcker doesn't believe it either. Despite police reluctance to work with a woman, Lydia insists on helping with Anna's autopsy and the case of her murder. Anna's diary entries show a woman trying to better herself, but in the last weeks of her life those entries take a disturbing turn. As a woman who fights daily against male attitudes of superiority and who herself struggled to improve her conditions, Lydia is determined to find answers for Anna. VERDICT On the surface, this debut by Mukerji, herself a medical doctor, appears to be a mystery about the death of a working-class servant, but it's much more, as it examines women's rights, social conditions, and medicine in Philadelphia just a decade after the Civil War. Fans of Maddie Day's "Quaker Midwife" series will appreciate this detailed historical mystery.—Lesa Holstine
NOVEMBER 2023 - AudioFile
Add Dr. Lydia Weston--who is featured in this well-narrated historical mystery--to your list of strong female protagonists. Gabra Zackman does an excellent job delineating the various characters by using tone, pitch, and accents; she excels, in particular, at the challenging job of depicting both male and female characters. Zackman's versatility allows listeners to become absorbed in the twists and turns of the plot. Set in 1875 at a women's medical college, this debut novel from Ritu Mukerji contains detailed postmortems whose vividness disqualify this as a cozy, but those who enjoy police procedurals and historical medicine will find it engaging and well researched. The well-crafted characters are beautifully voiced by Zackman. C.F. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2023-08-12
Debut novelist Mukerji, who is also a practicing physician, applies her knowledge of medicine to a gripping tale set in 1875 Philadelphia.
Dr. Lydia Weston serves working-class patients at the city’s Spruce Street Clinic and teaches future female doctors at the Woman’s Medical College. Her accomplishments are often dismissed by men who believe women are prone to hysteria and not capable of being good doctors. When the body of a woman believed to be one of Lydia’s patients is discovered in the Schuylkill River, Lydia is invited into the police investigation. Anna Ward worked as a housemaid for a wealthy family whose haughty members are far from willing to cooperate with the search for her killer. Their sense of privilege opens the door for Mukerji to morph her crime novel into a social novel that deftly examines the deprivation suffered by people in service and the struggles of women like Lydia and Anna who want to choose their own paths. Mukerji, like Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs, pulls the reader into fascinating and richly detailed forensic autopsies and blesses Weston with the instincts and determination to carry out a murder investigation as effectively as—or even better than—the police. This well-constructed narrative will also be appealing to literature lovers as Lydia finds solace in reading Tennyson, Browning, and Wordsworth. Mukerji writes with the assurance of a more seasoned novelist, and armchair sleuths can hope this is the beginning of a substantive new series. Like Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Lydia is a strong and indomitable woman who transcends her circumstances to become her true self and a crusader for social justice.
This atmospheric novel heralds the arrival of a talented new writer and an unforgettable heroine.
