Book Review: ‘Murder By Degrees: A Novel’ By Ritu Mukerji

The year is 1875, and Dr. Lydia Watson is a Doctor, who teaches at Woman’s Medical College, and also sees patients at a low-cost clinic. One of her patients, who she has gotten close to, is Anna, a chambermaid, who works for a wealthy couple, and is always having medical issues, and supports her sister, and sick brother. On this visit, Lydia can see Anna is upset about something, but doesn’t want to talk about it, and then Anna just vanishes. The police are notified, and a woman’s body is found in the water, which could be Anna’s body. Lydia is brought into assist, and soon learns things about Anna’s life, including a terrible secret, and she thinks it might not be Anna’s body. Someone else is not happy about her snooping around, and she must figure out who it is, before it’s too late. This is a great debut novel from author Mukerji. It hits all the right notes, and is an intense psychological thriller. Hopefully more novels with these characters are coming.

You can pick up Murder By Degrees in stores on Tuesday, October 17th from Simon & Schuster.