Murder by Moonrise

London's first woman doctor and a skeptical Scotland Yard detective find their holidays sidelined by a murderer threatening the royal family in this historically rich, gritty mystery set in Victorian London.
1867: For commoners and nobility alike, the Isle of Wight is an ideal holiday destination. Queen Victoria and her family frequently spend time at Osborne House, their stunning coastal residence. For the next few days the island will also be home to Dr. Julia Lewis, who is traveling with her grandfather and her great-aunt. But despite the pleasant surroundings, Julia is beset by worries.
Julia and Inspector Richard Tennant grew close during their last investigation, but he abruptly left England on a dangerous chase. She has heard nothing from him in weeks; meanwhile her maid, Kate, is nervous about rising anti-Irish sentiment. Editorials call for harsh retaliation against those determined to rid Ireland of British rule.
When Julia is called to perform an autopsy on drowning victim Lizzie Dowling, a young, Irish-born servant at Osborne House and a favorite of Princess Louise, she discovers that the girl was pregnant. Was her death a suicide? The distraught princess is eager for answers, and as Julia digs deeper, a second tragedy points to murder and perhaps a political scandal. There are rumors of smugglers funneling weapons to Ireland-and assassins who would target the Queen herself.
Motives abound but time is in short supply-and every day brings deeper urgency and threats that neither riches nor royalty may withstand . . .

Patrice McDonough taught history for over thirty years. She was lucky to grow up in a reading household-her mother and father always had current books by their reading chairs, and others lined up. They were a history-loving family, too, which kindled her later professional direction. She read her way through her older brother's hand-me-down copies of the Hardy Boys and all of Agatha Christie, so, as a mystery-loving history teacher, it was natural that she would turn to the historical mystery genre. Visit her online at patricemcdonough1789.com.