The Frozen People
An Ali Dawson Mystery
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-1-5294-3337-1 (ISBN)
Description
SOME MURDERS CAN'T BE SOLVED IN JUST ONE LIFETIME.
'Smart, original and utterly masterful' Janice Hallett
'A pleasure from start to finish' Anthony Horowitz
'An exhilarating new crime series with a fabulous genre twist' Vaseem Khan
'A remarkable achievement from a crime fiction phenomenon' Jane Casey
'vivid, suspenseful, fierce and funny - I was all-in from page one' Louise Candlish
'Inventive, surprising, endlessly entertaining' Gillian McAllister
'An audaciously compelling thriller, full of rare charm, zest and warmth' Nicci French
'A captivating, atmospheric mystery filled with wisdom, wit and compassion' Antonia Hodgson
A brand new series from No 1 bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. If you're missing Ruth and Nelson, wait till you meet Ali and Cain.
Ali Dawson is a police officer working on crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are not only cold but frozen. What most people don't know is that the team travels back in time to complete their research - a process pioneered by the mysterious Italian physicist, Serafina Pelligrini.
So far the team has only ventured a few years back but Ali's boss has a new assignment for her. He wants her to step back to 1850, the heart of the Victorian Age, to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of Tory MP Isaac Templeton.
To prepare for the challenge ahead, Ali researches the Victorian era. She learns that Cain Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Duly prepared, she arrives in London in January 1850, at the peak of the so-called mini ice age, to start her journey in a house used by artists, with a dead woman at her feet.
Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse - she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present, to her life and to her son, Finn.
'Smart, original and utterly masterful' Janice Hallett
'A pleasure from start to finish' Anthony Horowitz
'An exhilarating new crime series with a fabulous genre twist' Vaseem Khan
'A remarkable achievement from a crime fiction phenomenon' Jane Casey
'vivid, suspenseful, fierce and funny - I was all-in from page one' Louise Candlish
'Inventive, surprising, endlessly entertaining' Gillian McAllister
'An audaciously compelling thriller, full of rare charm, zest and warmth' Nicci French
'A captivating, atmospheric mystery filled with wisdom, wit and compassion' Antonia Hodgson
A brand new series from No 1 bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. If you're missing Ruth and Nelson, wait till you meet Ali and Cain.
Ali Dawson is a police officer working on crimes so old, the joke goes, that they are not only cold but frozen. What most people don't know is that the team travels back in time to complete their research - a process pioneered by the mysterious Italian physicist, Serafina Pelligrini.
So far the team has only ventured a few years back but Ali's boss has a new assignment for her. He wants her to step back to 1850, the heart of the Victorian Age, to clear the name of Cain Templeton, the eccentric great-grandfather of Tory MP Isaac Templeton.
To prepare for the challenge ahead, Ali researches the Victorian era. She learns that Cain Templeton was part of a sinister group called The Collectors, the rumour being that you had to kill a woman to become a member. Duly prepared, she arrives in London in January 1850, at the peak of the so-called mini ice age, to start her journey in a house used by artists, with a dead woman at her feet.
Soon she finds herself in extreme danger. Even worse - she appears to be stuck, unable to make her way back to the present, to her life and to her son, Finn.
Reviews / Votes
A new book by Elly Griffiths is always a cause of delight, and this series promises to broaden our horizons. Ali Dawson will capture readers' hearts the way Ruth Galloway did. * Mick Herron * Think you know time-travel? Think again! The Frozen People is a five-star start to a dazzling new series. Elly Griffiths has weaved a corker of a mystery that gripped me from page one. Smart, original and utterly masterful. * Janice Hallett * A pleasure from start to finish. * Anthony Horowitz * Fresh and exciting, with both humor and thrills, Griffiths' first book in her new series knocks it out of the park! * Shari Lapena * Elly Griffiths' new series showcases a writer at the height of her powers, with the confidence to go with the Big Idea. The Frozen People brings together time travel, a compelling Victorian mystery, and characters destined to become familiar names. An exhilarating new crime series with a fabulous genre twist. * Vaseem Khan * In The Frozen People Elly Griffiths brilliantly makes the unbelievable believable - a tour de force. * Peter James * A new series from Elly Griffiths is always a reason to celebrate and The Frozen People is outstanding. With consummate skill and wit, Elly creates new worlds and characters that feel utterly real. The Frozen People is a remarkable achievement from a crime fiction phenomenon. * Jane Casey * The Frozen People has it all: mystery, humour and high stakes for a new group of heroes brought brilliantly to life by an author whose talent continues to dazzle and surprise. * Sarah Hilary * Ending a much-loved crime series to start afresh takes some guts. Of course, Elly Griffiths pulls it off. Warm and engaging characters, a brilliant mystery, a surprise at the end, and - of course - that energising bit of time travel too. Amazing stuff. * Stig Abell * Elly Griffiths is one of our very best storytellers, and The Frozen People is an outstanding start to an original new series. Mixing historical and contemporary drama, she weaves a captivating, atmospheric mystery filled with wisdom, wit and compassion. I can't wait for the next instalment. * Antonia Hodgson * Those of us missing Ruth Galloway need not worry because Elly Griffiths has presented us with a new character to fall in love with. Detective Ali Dawson is such a personable and relatable character. The Frozen People is wickedly entertaining, clever ... truly spooky. I loved every page. * Liz Nugent * The Frozen People is an absolute triumph, vivid, suspenseful, fierce and funny - I was all-in from page one. * Louise Candlish * A brilliant concept executed to perfection by a writer at the absolute top of her game. * Erin Kelly * I really enjoyed this book. Inventive, surprising, endlessly entertaining while being part murder mystery, part historical thriller, and part speculative fiction. Readers of any genre will enjoy sinking into its murky underworld with a protagonist they will love. * Gillian McAllister * An audaciously compelling thriller, full of rare charm, zest and warmth - it will captivate you and it will melt you. * Nicci French * Wildly inventive, brilliantly plotted and another surefire hit from the amazing powerhouse that is Elly Griffiths. * Jo Spain * Elly Griffiths is back with a cast of instantly memorable characters, and a dazzlingly inventive new conundrum. * Ruth Ware * Both hugely entertaining and erudite, The Frozen People is a triumphant start to Elly Griffiths' new series. The most original crime novel you'll read this year * Mark Edwards * Ingeniously inventive . . . an unputdownable triumph * Crime Monthtly * Entertaining * Irish Times * Ambitious and daringly original . . . an exciting blend of chills, thrills and satirical humour * Lancashire Post * Well-imagined and entertaining * Mail on Sunday * Masterful * Sunday Post * Well-researched and well-written . . . a light hearted caper that solves murder in the past and present * The Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
264 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5294-3337-1 (9781529433371)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2025
Quercus
€5.99
Available for download
Person
Elly Griffiths is the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries; the Brighton Mysteries and several standalone thrillers. She has won the CWA Dagger in the Library and the Edgar Award; has been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger, and shortlisted six times for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year. Elly has two grown-up children and lives near Brighton with her archaeologist husband and their cat, Pip.