Bad Blood by Marilyn Todd

1895 London. Not the best age for women - especially single ones like Julia McAllister doing a man's job and pretending there is a man who actually owns the establishment as otherwise it will not be patronised as it would not be considered "respectable" enough for ladies to enter. The photographic business is not doing well and it is only Julia's sideline unknown except for the models and for the men who buy the photographs. If word does get out, that will be the end for Julia. Austin Forbes is found dead, and Julia is called upon to photograph the evidence before it is contaminated. This is a new development and one that is not looked favourably upon by the hierarchy as well as the lower orders. In the process of photographing the dead man, Julia finds that the case could be connected with the abduction of the man's son eight years prior. Enquiring from all, including the family it transpires the man was disliked, was a womanizer, was harsh in his business dealings so that there are umpteen suspects in his murder. The characters both the main ones which fade as the story goes on, to the secondary characters who come out more strongly as the story develops, the setting and the history of this era all come to the fore in this story. So apart from crime and mystery there is a strong historical fiction element as well. A good read. Sent by Sapere Books for a unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.