This book has a new twist on time travel. Mallory, a detective in modern day Edinburgh, hears a woman scream in a dark alley. She sees what seems to be a vision of a woman dressed in old fashioned clothing being strangled. As she is trying to understand what she is seeing, she is attacked from behind and a rope is placed around her neck. She tries to fight her attacker but loses consciousness. When she comes to she is in the body of a housemaid from 1869 Edinburgh. As she tries to make sense of what happened and make sure she is not carted off to bedlam as a crazy person, she finds herself in the household of an undertaker and his sister. The undertaker has a medical background and helps with solving crimes. As Catriona, the housemaid, she is able to insert herself into helping the undertaker. Unfortunately it seems as if a serial murderer is on the rampage and it is not long before Mallory realizes her attacker has also travelled into the past with her. It then becomes a race to find this killer before he strikes again and perhaps alters history by preceding Jack the Ripper as the first known serial killer.

Phenomenal! I literally could not put it down! I like the way the author brings plausibility to time travel. The story makes you step back and ponder… what would I do in this scenario?
The characters and scene draws you in as if experiencing the Victorian era yourself. I pray the author continues the storyline.
Definitely recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery!

This one dragged for me. It was a huge plot setup for the series. Its super heavy on the mystery suspense, so if you like that plus history setting, then you'll enjoy this. I think when I initially requested this I thought it was a standalone. The ending is somewhat left hanging to continue to the next book. I think the voice in the storytelling was hard for me to get into.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a fun series-starter from Kelley Armstrong featuring a modern-day detective who inadvertently time travels to Victorian-era Scotland. Armstrong's imagined scenario of present-day Mallory trying to blend in with her environment as well as help solve a crime without giving away that she's from the future generates tension that really pulls the reader in and leaves us wanting to know what happens next. This a win for Armstrong fans, especially those who love detective Casey Duncan or the Stitch in Time series, but would be a great place for newcomers to start as well. I'd also recommend to folks who enjoyed the first Outlander novel for the accidental time travel, desperation to get home, and life-or-death necessity of learning to live in another century.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Minotaur and St Martin's Press.

This book was AMAZING. I loved reading about Mallory as Catriona as she tries to solve a murder and figure out how to navigate back to her present time. I am so bummed that I have to wait who knows how long for another in this series! I hope Armstrong has already written the next one!

I requested to read and review this book for free from Minotaur Books an Imprint of St Martin Publishing Company. This book will leave you guessing until the end! I would have never thought the book could end like this! Cat is an interesting person let's go with that. Isla and Gray are very keen open minded people almost before their time. Mallory was in the wrong place and the wrong time or maybe right place at the right time? This book will take you on a crazy fantastic journey. You will not want to put down this story. I really can't wait to read more! This book is for any type of reader and anywhere.

I was on the fence of giving this a 3 or a 4 but ultimately gave it a 4 because I did enjoy reading this story and the supporting characters. This was outside my typical read, and was a very fun mix of genres including historical fiction, sci-fi/fantasy and murder mystery. I absolutely loved that this was fast paced, the story took off immediately in chapter one.

There’s a lot of comparison between the forensic science of the Victorian era and present day. I enjoyed this element woven into how their discoveries during that time set up modern policing protocols. Armstrong has clearly done her research pertaining to historical accuracies of the Victorian period.

I found myself more drawn to Dr.Grey and Isla than the main protagonist Mallory. I felt this first book focused on the background of the characters of the Victorian time period. The reader doesn’t uncover much about Mallory other than what was outlined in the first chapter. Personally, I enjoyed Catriona’s storyline the most throughout the book. She’s not your typical obedient housemaid. We learned so much through Mallory uncovering the truth of who she is inhabiting chapter by chapter.

I’m looking forward to reading the second book in this series since book one did an excellent job of setting up the story. There’s definitely a lot more mystery and questions I’d like to see answered in upcoming novels.

I liked it, but don't understand how no one else has pointed out that it's very very similar to Julie McElwain's Kendra Donovan series..Time traveling female detectives who suddenly find themselves in the 1800s is not, after all, really THAT big of a trope that I'd expect multiple series to cover it...

It's a fun construct and I did enjoy the book. I've read Armstrong before and she tells a compelling tale and is generally very good at plotting and pacing, although there were a few points where this one provided a bit more exposition (at the expense of action) than I anticipated in this type of book. Where she shines is characterizations, and this book was no exception. I found her characters detailed and three dimensional and they kept me engaged and curious enough about what would come next that I'd pick up the next book.

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in A Rip Through Time series. I got an eGalley of this book to review through NetGalley.

Thoughts: I am a huge Armstrong fan and really enjoyed her Rockton series and her Nadia Stafford series. I enjoyed the premise behind this story, however I thought the middle was very slow. We spent a lot of time in the main protagonist's head listening to her hash and rehash theories and it felt very drawn out. I almost put the book down and stopped reading it all together because I just didn't care. The story does pick up again towards the end and I enjoyed how it wrapped up.

The premise is a fun one. A modern day homicide detective, Mallory, gets sent back in time and ends up as a Victorian house maid. She gets caught up in trying to solve both some Victorian murders and in figuring out how they tie into the mystery of the person that attacked her in modern times. I enjoyed most of the characters, but they are kept at a distance for most of the story. I was finally starting to engage with them when the book ended. The whole time travel aspect seems very random and is never explained.

My Summary (3.5/5): Overall this wasn’t my favorite Armstrong book. It had a fun premise and some interesting elements but it moved too slow for me. I also never engaged with the characters that well until later in the book. They are intriguing characters, they are just held apart from the reader. I don’t plan on continuing with the series.

There is just something about Armstrong's writing, I absolutely adore it but throw in a Victorian Era murder mystery and a little ripple in time and it is completely irresistible and downright hard to put down.
This was so so much fun and I am beyond ecstatic that it seems to not be a stand alone but a new series! I adored every single minute of it and was not ready for it to be over so I am beyond excited to get more. I love this characters and all their feistiness and can't wait for more.

As a fan of Armstrong's Rockton series I was intrigued by this series starter which takes a modern day homicide detective, who is being strangled by an attacker, and throws her back to Victorian England in the body of a young house maid who was recently almost strangled to death. It turns out that her body's employer is into forensics and trying to solve a murder very similar to hers and it was very interesting to see her try to use her skills to covertly help help by sneaking in modern day science knowledge while trying not to attract too much attention - as in why would an illiterate maid be so savvy. The story kept me engaged and eager to see how everything plays out - how she struggles to survive in that time as a woman in the serving class - trying to impersonate a stranger - all while helping with the murder investigation and figuring out how to get to her own time. I am definitely looking forward to seeing where this series goes next.

ARC via NetGalley courtesy of St Martin's - Pub Date 31 May 2022

I really loved this book. It was fun to read along with a really good mystery. I hope there are many more books in this new series! I highly recommend this book and author.

This is a good start to a new series by the author. There is much information given to the reader to set up the characters and the time travel. I am hoping that the actual time travel part will be explained in future books.
I also liked the details into the clothing that mid-19th century women wore, and I would like to have more information on the clothing for middle class and the working-class people.

The book is written in the first-person point of view, which was jarring. Lest we forget, this is also a mystery, with a serial killer on the loose, who has also traveled back in time. No spoilers here!

The addition of the sister Isla made the story more interesting. Until her appearance, I had a challenging time being interested in the novel. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

4.5 STARS

Caught in a time warp!

A new series from Kelley Armstrong.

Mallory, a modern day homicide detective, is out jogging when she hears a women's screams. She quickly steps in to help and is knocked unconscious.

She wakes up to a different time and space. She is now Catriona, in Victorian Scotland. What the two women have in common is they were both strangled at the exact time and place 150 years apart- she has crossed over.

"I've been kidnapped and thrown into someone's sick fantasy version of a Victorian home, complete with a poor kid forced to play the role of maid."

This was such a fun read! Mallory playing Victorian detective and part time maid, trying to find the killer, having all her knowledge of modern techniques and forensics, taking the opportunity to experience police work in a past century.

There are suspenseful moments, cliffhangy chapters, imposters, dark cloaked figures and some double crossing villains. Really enjoyed and looking forward to the next in the series!

Recommend to Kelley fans and those who enjoy historical mysteries, time travel and engaging characters.

I loved Kelley Armstrong’s Stitch in Time book that I read last year. It was one of my favorite books of 2021. Therefore I was very excited for the opportunity to read her upcoming Rip Through Time. This new series started off with a bang! It was a very vibrant and immersive story that took time traveling into another level. Imagine waking up in another body in another century after being murdered! What a ride! A homicide detective Mallory ends up in a body of a Victorian Housemaid Catriona transporting her from 2019 to 1869. I was so happy that this story took place in Edinburgh, Scotland because most Victorian books take place in London, England. I am crazy about Scotland so this was a big bonus. This story had major Stalking Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, Penny Dreadful, and the Alienist vibes with a modern twist. I could not put the book down! It was thrilling, emotional, and funny. I enjoyed the modern humor in the Victorian life situations, and the witty, bright and curious detective who had to learn to navigate life in another body in another era while helping to solve brutal murders using her modern day job experiences without going overboard in fear of ending up in a Victorian insane asylum. I have to give Mallory credit for not losing her mind after she ended up in Catriona’s body. I would not handle it so well. I also appreciated how they touched on serious issues like women’s rights, immigration, and the treatment of people of color. Overall this book was absolutely amazing and the cliffhanger left me wanting more. Thank you, NetGalley for my ARC copy!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

Mallory is a 30 year old Canadian police detective is in Edinburgh visiting her dying grandmother in 2019. While out for a run she hears a woman being attacked in an alley and goes to help. Mallory ends up being attacked and wakes up in 1869 in the body of a 19 year old housemaid, Catriona.

Mallory/Catriona tries to help her boss who is a medical examiner to find out who attacked her while trying to get back to 2019.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Rip Through Time with a great set of new characters. The author did a great job of bringing a strong independent into a time when women did not have a lot of options. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

In this historical time travel murder mystery, Canadian homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is thrown back in time to Victorian Scotland. Mallory is visiting her grandmother who is dying. While out jogging she is first distracted by sounds of a woman possibly being attacked and sees what appears to be a projection of a woman in historical clothing being attacked. Suddenly Mallory is attacked by a killer who uses a rope to strangle her. When she wakes up, she realizes she has somehow gone back 150 years in time to Victorian Edinburgh and is in the body of the young woman she saw being attacked. Mallory has to quickly learn who nineteen-year-old Catriona was, how things were done in this time, and how to fit into the household. In the meantime, she claims her amnesia and personality changes are due to her head injury.

I really liked the main characters, they provided a strong core to build the story around. I also enjoyed Mallory realizing her misconceptions about life in Victorian Scotland. While trying to help solve murders, she also tries not to give too much information about future advances in forensic science, so as not to change the future.

This is a great start to a new series, and now that I know the foundation of the series it will be fun to settle in and eagerly await the next book.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of A Rip Through Time. This is my honest review.

I jumped at the chance to review this as I enjoyed Armstrong’s Rockton series, and I’m not disappointed. I enjoyed the strong female lead in Mallory and the characters in the Victorian household where she finds herself are also well developed. The work of detectives, early start of forensic science and tasks of a maid in those times is interesting, and unexpected twists kept me guessing as to the identity of the serial killer. This series starter will appeal to fans of Julie McElwain’s Kendra Donavan books. Recommended

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was a delight, and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

A modern day detective from Vancouver finds herself transported back in time to 1869 where she is a housemaid and still finds herself in danger.

I love that it is a historical mystery with a modern female perspective! Mystery fans are going to love this!

It’s often tricky to pull off the time travel story; the writing really has to be strong enough to achieve the willing suspension of disbelief that’s critical to this genre. I will say that this book manages it, largely because of strong characters and a strong mystery that pulls you in. My only quibble is with the ending, which obviously sets up for this to be a series. Looking forward to the next book, but it may as well have had …to be continued “ at the end. Not quite as satisfying as one would like, but again, an enjoyable book.