Murder on the Steel Pier - A Review

 Review

MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER by Rosie Genova
The First Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery 

In celebration of her March 31st birthday Tess Mancini headed to Atlantic City to celebrate. But after too much tequila she wakes up with a hangover and the biggest April Fool's Day surprise of all. Instead of her hotel room Tess finds herself in what appears to be an old-fashioned B&B. Without her phone! Somehow she knows where things are and soon discovers when. Tess Mancini has stepped into the life of her Great Aunt Theresa in 1955. If that weren't enough, her hot-headed brother (well, Theresa's brother, her grandfather) is accused of murdering one of the guests at their boarding house. With some innate knowledge and the words of Theresa in her head Tess will have to figure out what happened to her aunt, how to get home, and clear her grandfather of a murder charge so that she can be born! 

I love a good time travel story and MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER certainly qualifies! With WWII in the recent past and the Civil Rights movement in the near future I loved how the book incorporated aspects of both in this 1950s setting. I also love how Tess encountered two very important real people and while not explicitly giving their names I knew exactly who they were! I also liked how Tess was able to appreciate some things of this time, such as the fashion and the quiet, while glad certain other aspects of the past remain there.

The first Tess Mancini Time Travel Mystery isn't a complete fish out of water story. Tess struggles with a lot of the differences in 1955, but she has an in with Theresa. While Tess doesn't know how to drive a stick, Theresa does and thus Tess can. Theresa also provides a knowledge of who's who and how to properly handle certain situations. Tess may be up a creek, but she has a paddle! I appreciate how Tess is able to give some spunk and sass, surprising people who see a more quiet "good girl". 

The mystery itself was well plotted with plenty of red herrings, twists and turns, and more than one surprise. I really enjoyed the varied characters and how they interacted with each other with Tess pushing the boundaries of Theresa's time, with a little help from her great aunt.

Wonderful characters, loads of period detail, and an intricate mystery combine to make MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER a delightfully unique start to a new series.