FOUR THOUSAND DAYS

Trow, who’s already featured Christopher Marlowe as a sleuth in Black Death (2019), introduces an appealing new detective based on turn-of-the-20th-century archaeologist Margaret Murray.

Although she’s seen plenty of ancient bones, the death of one of her students at University College London forces Dr. Murray to take an interest in a modern murder. There are very few women at UCL, but the public lectures given for free every Friday attract all sorts of people, including Helen Richardson and Constable Adam Crawford, who recognizes Helen from archaeology lectures when her naked body is found in a dingy apartment. People at the college believed Helen to be a telephonist, but apparently she had a sideline in prostitution. Crawford’s superior is quite sure she committed suicide, but Crawford, who thinks she may have been murdered, goes to Dr. Murray for help. His innocuous request sets off a chain of events that leads to several more deaths and the uncovering of secrets that members of the faculty and student body have been determined to hide. Some of the clever women attending the college, including Angela Friend, who’s developing a romantic relationship with Crawford, also call on Dr. Murray to investigate. After she gets nowhere with the local police, a chance meeting with retired Inspector Reid of Scotland Yard puts her on the trail of another female archaeologist who may have made an astonishing discovery before she turned up dead. All Dr. Murray needs is to discover the motive of a cleverly hidden killer.

Plenty of suspects, red herrings, and period detail make this a promising launch.