I had a hard time getting through this one and had to dnf it. I normally love Kelley Armstrong's books but this one really wasn't for me.

What a delightful book! The characters are relatable and show some development through the story. Even through there’s a supernatural element to the story it’s not front and centre and doesn’t turn everything steampunk or fantastical as other similar stories have a tendency to do. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

I'm kinda hooked on this series now and I just finished listening to book 2 - The Poisoner's Ring too! Both of these books have been amazing and they're probably my newest favorites in historical mysteries!😍 I had read this author's urban fantasy books a few years ago and I loved them but I think I've missed out on reading her thrillers and mysteries(gotta change that now!).⁣
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Mallory Atkinson is a Canadian homicide detective who has traveled to Scotland to spend time with her ailing grandmother. While she's out for a run she hears the cries of a woman in an alley and decides to check it out, but she's attacked by a serial killer and loses consciousness. Upon waking up she discovers that she's now in 19th century Edinburgh and she's in the body of a housemaid - Catriona Mitchell, who'd been strangled in the same spot where she was attacked. Not only does Mallory have to adjust to being in a new body and a different time period(talk about a double whammy!) but she also has to blend in while performing her duties and try to figure out a way to go back home. And in the meantime, she ends up assisting her employer - Dr. Duncan Gray, who runs his family's undertaking business and moonlights as a medical examiner, as he works on some cases.⁣
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Mallory was such an interesting protagonist because she was very intelligent and resilient. But she's not arrogant either and realizes her shortcomings and analyzes things quickly. I also liked the fact that the other characters weren't any less intelligent than her and not all of them bought her amnesia story 😂 Both Duncan and his sister Isla were amazing and I really enjoyed the murder mysteries! I guessed some things but some other twists surprised me in both of these books! There's also a hint of a slow burn romance and I'm really excited for more 😆 I can't wait to dive into my arc of book 3 now!

MAY 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.

MAY 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half day off, only to be discovered that night strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one hundred and fifty years before Mallory is strangled in the same spot.

When Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to her new reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late.

Excellent mystery with a twist! Often, time travel stories feel wrong somehow. Not this one! Armstrong weaves a gripping tale a body swap through time. The mystery and magic in this, as well as the mundaneness of a Victorian-era housemaid is a pure joy to read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

First off a big thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for inviting me to read and review A Rip Though Time , because up until now I had no idea this series existed even though its by Kelley Armstrong, and I love her work.
Going into it I had no idea what to expect and let's just say it didn't let me down, it had me hooked from the very first page .

Upon retiring, Ally has decided to turn a Scottish malt house into a B&B. Her first paying customer is found dead on the property by her helper. Who and why are the questions that haunt her. He was trying to prove he should be the heir to the castle, but was murdered before he showed his hand. To complicate matters his brother and fiancée show up at the B&B looking for answers.
Goodreads

I LOVED this book. I was pulled in right from the start and it was just so much fun and so exciting.

Mysteries aren't usually my go-to genre, but this series has me hooked. I love how we have a thrilling mystery mixed with a historical backdrop, time travel/body switching, and perhaps a dash of romance? The characters are great and so compelling. The crime to be solved was very intriguing and honestly I wasn't sure where we were going until we got there!

Really looking forward to more in this series.

A great first book in a new series by a fav author . I don’t. Normally enjoy time travel but this one was so much fun to read !

"A Rip Through Time" is the fantastic start to an amazing series.
Anyone familiar with Kelley Armstrong's books knows that you can always expect strong female characters as well as suspense and humor. Here, our FMC Mallory is transported back in time where she must not only try to fit in, but also catch a killer before she becomes his next victim. All while trying to return to the present.
If you're a fan of thrillers and multi-layered characters, this book (and the whole series) is for you!

I waited entirely too long to read this book. I downloaded it and guess I forgot, but as soon as I opened it I pretty much devoured it. Can't wait to read more in this series.

I started off by reading the second in this series first so had to go back to the beginning. I did not feel confused just wanted all the story. This is a fantasy time travel mystery and it is addictive. Lots of info on Victorian Scotland, the beginning of forensic science and the start of formal police procedures. Mallory is a police detective in Vancouve. Canada who is attacked in an alley at the same time it is happening to another girl 150 years before. She ends up back in time as a housemaid while trying to figure out how to get home. Great characters, good read.

I love Kelley Armstrong and very much enjoyed A Rip through time. Time travel into a distant time with body swapping can be tricky but Armstrong does a great job with keeping the reader engaged and not confused. I loved the journey into 1800 Scotland. Armstrong is also great at creating strong female protagonists and Mallory is that in spades. I enjoyed the side characters as well and the overall mystery. I had to grab the sequel immediately.

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

I'll be honest, when I read the premise of A Rip Through Time, I was cautiously intrigued. I was intrigued because I've loved everything I've read by Kelley Armstrong thus far and because it sounded like a really interesting idea. I was cautious because it vaguely made me thing of another book series. I had literally no reason to be cautious as this was completely a unique take on the modern female detective being transported back in time and having to find a way to solve a murder and try to get back to her own time. I absolutely LOVED Mallory as a character and have to admit that she adapted so much better than I feel like I would if I were in her shoes. Armstrong truly did a ton of research into the time period and crime solving techniques. She not only had to adapt to a different time but to being a housemaid in that time period. That would be hard, thankless work! So, she went from a position of authority to one of subservience. Every second of this story had me intrigued and I am truly glad there are more books in the series for me to read!

*Review will be posted 6/11/24

I've had the pleasure of reading Armstrong's Rockton series and absolutely loved her writing style. Naturally, when I saw she had a new mystery/thriller series coming out I knew I had to request it on Netgalley. Unlike her other series, this detective series includes a historical factor that I think added another interesting angle to the story.

Mallory is a modern-day homicide detective who is visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh when she's attacked in an alley. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the body of a housemaid in the year 1869. Now, she must not only navigate the challenges of living in a different time period, but she must also figure out who tried to kill her before it's too late if she wants to have any hope of returning to her time. 

I really loved the concept of a modern-day detective being trapped in the Victorian era! Armstrong put a lot of research into the era too which she used to add interesting details and challenges to the story. It was fun tagging along while Mallory tried to find her way through an average day in the Victorian era. It was also fun seeing how Mallory had to rely on her instincts and old-school investigative tactics to find the murderer.

Mallory's relationship with Dr. Gray was also a huge plus. I loved how progressive and open-minded Dr. Gray was. He respected Mallory for her mind regardless of her status or sex. Of course, he had some faults but compared to most others he treated women more than fair. He was always willing to hear Mallory's theories and stood up for her when needed. 

The whole plot was very well done, although I have to say the ending left me with so many questions. We didn't know what happened to Mallory's body in the modern day, or even Catriona. If Catriona was meant to die, would Mallory's actions affect the future? Obviously, it's a little hard with any story that adds an element of time travel, but I'm hoping we get more answers in the next book. Overall, this was a great start to the series and I'm looking forward to continuing it!

A Rip Through Time is the first novel in Kelley Armstrong's time-travel series of the same name. The third book, Disturbing the Dead, was recently published. Grab all three fantasy books, you will not be disappointed.

While visiting her dying grandmother in Scotland, Mallory Atkinson decides she needs a break and goes for a jog. Being a Vancouver Detective, she thinks she can handle herself, and when she hears a woman's cries down a dark alley, she instinctively goes to investigate. What she finds is a girl in Victorian dress being strangled, when suddenly someone comes up behind her and starts strangling her. The next thing she knows, she wakes up in the woman's body...in 1869 Scotland.

The book is a little slow to start while building the foundation of the time-travel and getting Mallory settled into the life of housemaid Catriona. Once it is established that Mallory is there to stay, the rest of the book is told from her point of view as Catriona. A former thief given a second chance by lady of the house Isla Ballantyne, Catriona hadn't given up her wayward ways, she had only gotten better at hiding them. Now that Mallory has taken over Catriona's body, she can read, write, and is extremely articulate, making the people of the house suspicious of her. When Catriona takes an interest in Dr. Duncan Gray's forensic science experiments, he accepts her help and insights into his case. Not being able to stifle her detective instincts, she investigates on her own, putting herself and others in danger. Can she solve the crime and get back to her own time?

A well-researched and written mystery, seeing the difference between what we now know of forensics and the fledgling ways that Victorian Scotland solved crimes was rather interesting. Seeing how Isla and Gray interacted, knowing that in those times women weren't educated or seen as intelligent people who could handle any type of work, Gray and Detective McCreadie are very open-minded for the times, accepting Catriona and Isla into the investigation.

All in all, a great time-travel mystery filled with suspense and intrigue. The writing really puts you into the environment of Catriona, Isla, and Gray. For anyone who enjoys historical fiction mixed with murder, this was a great beginning to the series.

Thank you to @Minotaur_Books and @NetGalley for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

As a long time genre romance reader, I have been a fan of the time-travel plot for literal decades. Well before Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series became a publishing sensation across genres, other beloved writers had used it to great effect, often breaking genre conventions at the same time.

In this novel, the first in the eponymous series, we have thirty years old Mallory Atkinson, a 21st Century Canadian police detective, traveling back in time–exactly one hundred and fifty years–her consciousness occupying the body of Catriona Mitchell, a much younger parlor maid, who is employed at the household of a bachelor with great interest in the nascent science of forensics.

The story is told by her in first person, present tense, in such an engaging voice that I stopped the noticing the narrative device well before I was done reading the first chapter. By the time I started chapter two, I was fully invested–who needs sleep?

I have heard other readers sing praises over Ms Armstrong’s writing for years; as I am not a fan of Young or New Adult, I gave her work a pass for years. Then, a few years ago, this cover caught my eye–just look at it! After reading the blurb, it was a given that I would request an ARC (time travel? sign me up!), which I was very happy to get.

Beware: first person, present tense narration; phonetic spelling for a Scots accent; racism; sexism: xenophobia

As the novel starts, in the present, the reader is given a quick yet comprehensive snapshot of both Mallory’s character and her current circumstance. When, after a brutal attack, she comes to in Victorian Edinburgh, her skepticism and her attempts to “wake up”, back into her present, are very well rendered–as is her shock at finding herself in the body of a woman more than a decade younger.

Mallory’s discovery of crotchless undergarments is ::chef’s kiss:: perfect, and the fact that she’s out of her depth because of her modern reliance on instant access to centuries of knowledge via smartphones and the internet is the cherry on top. The lacunae in her historical knowledge, even within her own areas of interest, is a fantastic device to introduce the reader to the period while lending realism to her experiences.

“I conduct an otherwise through survey of the house and find nothing to suggest I’m not actually in the nineteenth century. Moreover, while I see many things I’d expect, I also see things that I don’t expect, but on reflection, they fit. Like gas lighting and coal stoves. Ask me to imagine this period, and I’d conjure up candles and fireplaces. I’m not sure I’ve ever given much thought to what came between candles and electricity or wood and oil furnaces, but gas and coal make sense.” (Chapter 4)

Upon meeting Dr Duncan Gray, Catriona’s employer and head of the household, Mallory first assumes that he’s part of a bodysnatching scheme; a conclusion stemming mostly out of her vague memories of the historical period. Her realization that he’s interested in what we know call forensic science, and of how the social and political realities of the time mean both he and his friend, Detective Inspector McCreadie, must engage in what amounts to a charade with the well-connected young doctor elected to perform autopsies, write the corresponding reports, and sign the death certificates, comes later.

Indeed, being a modern woman from Vancouver, Mallory doesn’t at first realize the significance of Dr Gray’s skin color in Victorian Edingburgh; much less how the circumstances of his birth affect his social standing, regardless of his education or income. Plus ça change, plus c´est la même chose.

“There are people of color, but I’d guess most are in service or working menial jobs. They are not doctors or undertakers, and not imposing and confident men wearing a gentleman’s attire. That is what makes people uneasy. Gray has stepped out from the box in which they’d like to keep him. Not that different from home, really.” (Chapter 9)

The sense of time and place is very well realized and seamlessly integrated into the narrative; as the characters live their lives and play their roles in the world they inhabit, they move physically through the city, spurring cultural shock in Mallory.

“This is true squalor, with the stench to match, the kind of place that reminds me how, only hours ago, I’d acknowledged that some people would happily take Catriona’s job. Now I see those people, for whom a daughter in service would the “the one who got out”–the pride of the family, sending home whatever shillings she could spare. (Chapter 10)

The writing voice is snarky, and Mallory’s observations are often sarcastically funny, without making light of seriously unfunny things, from her grandmother being in hospice and expected to die soon, to her current predicament trapped in a place and time in which she-as-Catriona, a young woman in service, is essentially a non-person.

“It reminds me of all the times someone told me I was lucky to have a detective partner who treated me the same way he would a male partner. Lucky? To have a partner who treated me like an equal? If I do the job as well as a man, should treating me like one be commendable? The fact it is only proves how screwed up the system still is.” (Chapter 13)

Due to the narrative voice, our perception of all the other characters is filtered through Mallory’s; even then, the author conveys their individuality and makes them three-dimensional through dialogue and action, as she processes her observations. Alice, the young scullery maid: younger protege or victim; Mrs Wallace, the housekeeper: humorless hag or justifiably wary; Simon, the coachman, honest friend or shady accomplice.

Mallory is an excellent protagonist; she’s capable and competent, but not perfect. She makes mistakes, both in her reasoning and in her impersonation of Catriona, partly because of all that she doesn’t know–both about the time period, but also about who Catriona is/was: innocent girl or conniving opportunist–and partly because of her emotional state.

Because, honestly, who wouldn’t be rattled out of their wits, waking up in a different time.

And so, a good part of her subconscious is busy just trying to keep calm.

Several times over the course of the novel, Mallory is forced to reassess her initial snap conclusions about everything and everyone, from Catriona’s position and character, to her employers’. While this self-reflection makes sense in the narrative, and as part of her own character arc, the phrasing is repetitive, and I wish dearly that an editor had caught it, because the writing is otherwise most excellent. Even prefacing at least one of these instances with “Once again, I realize/consider/reflect…”, would have changed the tenor from “covering the same ground” to “character growth” for me.

Speaking of excellent writing, in the character is Isla Ballantyne, Dr Gray’s widowed older sister, the author addresses something that always strikes me when readers discuss what they perceived as anachronistic or too modern heroines in historical settings: there have always been women (and other marginalized people) wanting equality and fairness; some of them may have never understood what their lives lacked–agency, freedom–or how to get it, but they’ve always existed.

The challenge for authors is to make these progressive characters fit in the historical period; show where the are comfortable and where they struggle against social and legal constrains, and how society accommodated, controlled, punished, or accepted them, depending on everything from social class to beauty, family connections to wealth.

“It is easy to look into the past and presume few women wanted a job or an education. Just those “special” ones, who “aren’t like other girls”. That’s bullshit.” (Chapter 20)

They–we–have always been there.

Because social progress doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it is not an spontaneous phenomenon, absent one day and present the next. Change only happens when enough people demand it, which in turns means that, to reach that critical number where it changes from talking to doing, from rumbles to protests, there must have always been individuals thinking along the same lines–chaffing against the same injustice, needing or wanting the same things denied to them–and sharing those ideas and aspirations with the people in their lives.

This is an excellent novel, and a great introduction to the author’s work; I immediately bought the second novel in the series.

A Rip Through Time gets a 9.00 out of 10.

I was browsing the publisher's listing on NetGalley and saw this as a "read now." Having read (and loved) other books by Kelley Armstrong, I saw it as a sign that I should start a new series.

What a ride! Armstrong does a wonderful job with time travel, but this one is quite different, as the main character, a police detective named Mallory, has switched places with a woman living 150 years earlier than she was. One aspect of the story is about taking on another person's identity while also adjusting to a new time period. One complication: the person whose body she's in isn't the nicest or most honest person. It's quite a change for a detective!

The secondary characters are fascinating - the allies and morally grey ones. There's also a nice bit of humor here, which is interesting when reading about murder!

This is a fun time travel mystery that will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. I'm not a big fan of the body-swapping time travel trope, but the story was interesting enough that I kept reading, and I imagine the series will get even better now that the character is established in the 1800s.

As a long-time fan of Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series and now her Haven’s Rock series as well as a few of her standalone mystery thrillers, I’ve been wanting to check out her time travel stories for a few years now. There’s the Stich in Time series and the Rip in Time series and I’ve had the first installment of the Rip in Time series on my to-read list for a while now (Nov2022). One of my 2024 reading goals was to finally get around to some of the really great books that have been on my to-read list for a while. Now seemed as good a time as ever to finally get around to checking this book out.

The book summary just basically introduces the start of the story and most of the story revolves around Mallory adjusting to life as Catriona until she can leave as soon as she can, which is quite hilarious sometimes. I love it when a story can make me laugh, although I’m actually rather easily amused. Mallory’s attempts at trying to portray an illiterate maid as well as her slips of modern references were funny and entertaining.

What the book summary doesn’t mention is that Mallory instinctively falls into detective mode and role. It’s these absentminded moments that raise suspicions with her employers, Gray and Isla. It’s not long before Gray and Isla realize that something is VERY different about Catriona. Mallory passes it off as a result of her being attacked and nearly killed the night she was attacked. They don’t believe her and Isla becomes very wary around her, but somewhat clueless Gray blows off her strange behavior and her sudden knowledge of stuff that Catriona shouldn’t know as a maid. Gray starts to see her as a potential new assistant.

Most of the story revolves around Mallory/Catriona trying to figure out how to get back to 2019 as well as assisting Gray with autopsies. New dead bodies are discovered and Mallory believes the murders are by the same person who tried to murder her in 2019 and that he traveled back in time just she did. The murders pile up as well as another attack on Mallory/Catriona and it’s well into the second half that Mallory begins to develop a whole other motive for the killings. The ending is a lead in for the next installment.

I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next book. There were some characters that were better developed than others and the pacing kind of ebbed and flowed. I loved the storyline and Armstrong wrapped it up nicely and didn’t leave it with a cliffhanger, but rather a look into the next story. Overall, a solid 4star rating. I want to thank NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #ARipThroughTime

Kelly Armstrong did it again. She found a way to knock her readers completely for a loop, sending them on a ride of a lifetime, when they think it's just not possible for her to do it any more. I've read all of Ms. Armstrong's Other World series, Darkest Powers series for YA, - that takes place in the Other World setting - Cainsville, Casey Duncan, and Haven's Rock. I've been looking forward to reading A Rip Through Time, and this book is everything a fan of Ms. Armstrong has come to expect from her, and much more. A Rip Through Time takes the reader from modern day North America completely across the Atlantic Ocean to 19th Century Scotland, something Ms. Armstrong has not done before in any of her books, which in itself was a surprise. When she had the heroine help solve a murder, in that time period, surprise mingled with a thrill that she was willing to do what not many authors are - bend history to create a story that her readers will devour in the span of one sitting. If you're not familiar with Ms. Armstrong's work, check this book out, this book is a great way to be introduced, and if you are familiar with her work, this a great way to make new book friends!