PLEASE TELL ME THIS WILL BE A SERIES! I don't usually shout but please, I need to know; what happens next?

Fans of Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike &Robin Ellacott) and Paula Brackston (Xanthe Westlake) must read this! I devoured this book in mere hours because it is such a page-turner.

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong combines a murder mystery and time travel in a historical setting in this first book in a new series. I liked the historical look at crime-solving and early forensics. All of the characters were fun, and. Overall, this is well-written, engaging, and entertaining, with complex characters in a historical setting. I recommend this book and am looking forward to more to come with the series!

This is my first book by Kelley Armstrong, but it won't be my last. "A Rip Through Time" is a Time Travel novel involving a Canadian Homicide Detective, Mallory Atkinson, who while fighting for her life in an alley in Edinburgh in 2019, wakes up in 1869 Edinburgh in the body of a 19 year old housemaid in the home of a very unusual "medical scientist" and his strong willed widowed sister.

The story of how she manages to find her way and help to solve a murder mystery is an exciting and well told tale. The book is full of very fascinating characters and you want to know more, more! I can't wait to see the next chapter in this story!

Kelly Armstrong writes the best mystery series, A fresh take on time travel and Victorian murder mysteries.

Great world building with strong characters. A modern day female detective is thrown back in time fully aware of how improbable her situation is. She is lucky that she landed with characters used to thinking outside the box.

Looking forward to Mallory's next effort to get back to her time.

This book was one of the best books I have read in a long time, I got all but the last forty pages read in one sitting...I tried so hard but my bed called to me. The way Ms. Armstrong details the way Edinburgh was 150 years ago is so exacting it seems to take the reader there. Armstrong has drawn her characters with a depth and a sincerity rarely seen in todays novel's of this type. Since they usually concentrate on the more gory aspects of the crime and not they way it was committed, A Rip Through Time is a book that does not demean the readers intelligence with cheap explanations and answers that come to the characters all to easy. Simply put one the best books, of this genre, that I have ever read. Very well written, extremely intelligent, and well planned and thought out. That ending was perfect...A page turner without peer and I, for one, cannot wait for book two. Well done Ms. Armstrong, you have a new fan in this fellow Canadian.

I have been a fan of Armstrong’s since her Otherworld series and she doesn’t disappoint with this new project. The writing and historic research are topnotch. The mystery’s well thought out and leaves you guessing till the end. If you remember that old 90’s TV show Quantum Leap, then you’re going to flip for this historical mystery/time-travel/body-swap premise. I can’t wait for what comes next in this intriguing opener to the new A Rip Through Time series.

In this book, the first in a new series, we have Vancouver based detective Mallory visiting Scotland as her grandmother is dying. When Mallory is out jogging, she steps in to help a woman who is being attacked, only to be attacked herself. When she regains consciousness, she fins herself stuck in the body of Catrina, a housemaid who was attacked in the same alley…150 years ago. When Mallory starts living Catrina’s life, it’s difficult for an educated 21st century woman. Add in a murder mystery in the the Victorian era Mallory finds herself in, and we have an excellent time travel story with a bit of suspense mixed in.

I surprisingly haven’t read any books by Kelley Armstrong before, but after this one, I’m a fan and I’m definitely going to be reading as many of her books as I can! I loved Mallory’s character, she’s intelligent and independent. Time travel books always need a bit of hand waving away details, because there’s never a chance someone from the 21st century would ever fit in seamlessly in the past, so I’m willing to overlook a bit of this when it occurs in the book. The writing was engrossing and I became invested in these characters and what was going to happen to them.

I’m looking forward to more books in the series! Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Rip Through Time #1

With Armstrong finishing up her Rockton series, which we loved, she has given us a new one. A Rip Through Time is the series debut about a modern-day homicide detective from Vancouver who is in Scotland to be with her Nan, who is dying in hospital.

She goes out for a run and in an alley hears a woman scream. She looks but it’s very fuzzy and then she’s attacked herself. Two women, 150 years apart, attacked in the same way.

When Mallory regains consciousness she is in a bed she doesn’t know and being called Catriona. That bump on the head was a doozy because somehow she has traveled back in time to 1869! Figuring that Cat must be the woman who was attacked before and somehow they have switched places.

Now she’s a maid. With a lot of knowledge about dead bodies. Ending up in the home of an undertaker is convenient as she is determined to find out who killed Cat and who did she bring with her into the past that is still killing people?

Lucky for her, the master of the house is also a bit of a sleuth in cahoots with the homicide detective who is impressed and leary of “Cat’s” knowledge and ability to read and write even. But finding this killer won’t be easy because Cat has a bit of a nefarious past and she isn’t well-liked by pretty much anyone.

But Dr. Gray’s sister is interested and here I think we have the beginning of a mystery-solving trio!

Armstrong is a strong writer. Her characters are interesting and strong women. Here we get a mystery, time travel, a little romance and a lot of good characters, and great writing.

NetGalley/May 31st, 2022 by Minotaur Books

Once upon a time I used to associate Armstrong with paranormal novels. Now not only are detective/mystery plots her speciality but she seems to be using time travel a lot, too. Not that I'm complaining..

This one veers in a different direction from her last time travel story and whereas that was a romance this has none to speak of -- though.. maybe set up for something in the future? there were glimmers -- due to some complicated dynamics but also the strangeness of the whole situation Mallory suddenly finds herself in. One minute, it's 2019 and she's a detective on leave in Edinburgh, just out for a jog. Next, she wakes up after having been attacked, but it's 1869 and she finds herself in the body of an unrecognizable housemaid. Not only does she have to quickly adjust, adapt, and come up with a plausible reason for being confused and out of sorts (beyond being attacked), but she also has to solve her own case; and the case of a local murder or two.

If this had been a standalone, well, a) that would've been a very unsatisfying ending (but it also would't have ended that way) and b) this would be a very different rating. It's still not as high as I think it might be in the future because, now that we have the set-up out of the way, and know our cast of characters, I think the next book (books?) will be very very good. I really enjoyed both siblings that Mallory finds herself, as Catriona, working for -- one is a funeral director (well, what passes for one in the times) and also has a side hustle with the police as a medical examiner, and the other is more or less a chemist. Both intelligent, if a little unusual, for the times and for even more reasons than I've mentioned (leaving some surprises for you). Another character is the local criminal investigator who is also a friend to both.

It was fascinating to see Armstrong, through Mallory, try and determine what criminology and forensic sciences were already at work at the time and navigate the conversations and investigations with her own knowledge while, somehow, trying to make it fit. She didn't always succeed, and often surprised those around her, but I think that made it more believable. I always side-eye a story that has the time traveler way too prepared to blend in to new surroundings.

While the mystery and reason behind why Mallory was attacked in the first place, and why she continued to be targeted, was kind of.. well, not exciting, I also respect having this kind of storyline play out. So often we expect big nefarious reasons for these crimes but rarely are they so dramatic.

So, yes, overall I had a good time with this but I'm very glad we got this stage of the story out of the way and now things can get really good. Can't wait to see what adventures await this ensemble in the coming books.

I met Kelley Armstrong about 10 years ago, and I loved her writing then. Now, 10 years later, I still love her writing and her books. Always amazing!

“Something happened in that lane. Two women were strangled a hundred and fifty years apart.”

Our heroine is a Canadian police detective visiting Edinburgh to see her dying grandmother when she sees a woman being strangled in an alley. She rushes to help and is strangled herself by someone in her own time, and wakes up in the first woman’s place. She wakes up as a maid named Catriona who works for funeral director Dr Gray and his chemist sister Isla Ballantyne. Dr. Gray often works with Detective McCreadie.

When a body is delivered in the middle of the night, Catriona realizes that Gray is a forensic scientist who McCreadie turns so when he needs better answers than the police department’s professional is likely to give. As a detective, she becomes drawn in to Gray’s murder investigation while trying to find a way to get home.

Gray was a more interesting character to me than our-modern-heroine-in-Catriona’s-body. He’s a person of color who studies historical medical texts from across the world and who has a passion for forensics, and he’s frustrated by the politics that keep him from being the police surgeon. It’s possible he’s neurodivergent. He has a dry sense of humor and there’s a Holmes-esque element to his zeal and his obliviousness to things outside of his work.

The setup and first quarter of the book felt a little clunky, and her “historical-novel-speak” was distracting. By her own admission it was stilted speech with five dollar words. Once the investigation into the serial killer was begun and Isla entered the story, it picked up for me. I think future books in the series will read better than this one because the murder and the uncovering of who Catriona from 1869 was were interesting and the next book can start from there.

A note on the POV: First person present tense isn’t my favorite point of view. I feel like I’m being told about the story rather than experiencing the story myself. It was rough in the chapters when there no dialogue to break up all of the “I go to get a coffee” narrative. I know some people like it for the feeling of immediacy, but it rings immature for me. If you like or at least don’t mind this pov then you won’t have the same struggle so did and might rate it higher.

I have read quite a few of Armstrong books and have enjoyed each one. The premise of this read reminded me of the Outlander series for sure. Very well written with great characters. Enjoyable read!

So this was a really interesting premise and I liked how Mallory a modern homicide detective found herself inside the body of Catriona a housemaid in Victorian Scotland. The fact that she didn’t know how to do anything and explained it away as the fact that she has memory issues from the attack that landed her in the past was funny and how she kept trying to sound period specific in her speech but she kept just making it worse and sounding way too smart for the person she is pretending to be which just made everyone suspicious. Poor Mallory kept just getting blindsided with all the stuff Catriona did and having to fix everything so she could stay in her position and figure out how to get back to her own time. She lucked in by ending up working in a household that her employer was an undertaker who was interested in forensic science well the beginnings of what would end up being all of that. So the mystery was interesting and the dynamics with her employer Dr. Gray and his sister Isla and the rest of the household was good. This was a pretty fast read and I am interested to read the next one and see what they tackle next.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press for the chance to read an advanced copy of A rip through time by Kelley Armstrong. This brand new series which is a departure from her Rockton books and not to be confused with her recent A stitch in time series which is more on the lighter side of gothic time travel/romance/ghost story, A rip through time has a darker, edgier feel and I loved it! Mallory, a modern-day homicide detective from Vancouver finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose. Trying to adjust to being a Victorian maid, while using 21st century police procedure without giving yourself away is enough to drive you crazy!!! Luckily the master of the house also moonlights as a medical examiner and needs an assistant! As usual Mallory is a strong female character and the story had plenty of humour. It was fast-paced, and I read it quickly. I am totally looking forward to the next book.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press,.Kelley Armstrong and Netgalley.
I loved Ms. Armstrong's Rockton series. When she decided to end it, and came up with something new? I thought that maybe I might like it.
Nope. I just can't. Timelines and romance. "Wait, I just threw up and must spit it out!"
I never read Armstrong before Rockton, and now I know that I won't after.
This wasn't a bad book. Heck, I can see that many will.love this. Not me. This isn't my sort of story at all.

Name of Book: A Rip Through Time
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Time Travel/ Mystery
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Books
Pub Date: May 31, 2022
My Rating: 3.5

Mallory Atkinson is a Vancouver homicide detective but is visiting Edinburgh, Scotland on May 20, 2019 as her grandmother is dying. While jogging, she sees a woman being attacked, the next thing Mallory is being attacked. Additionally on May 20, 1869, a housemaid named Catriona Mitchell was attached and left for dead in this same spot! Only Mallory wakes up from her injuries but is now Catriona.

This is only my fourth author, Kelley Armstrong why it is taken me so long to get on the Kelley train I have no idea. But I am there now .. looking forward to reading another of her stories and yep! I have tons of options!!!
I read and love “Outlander” so had a feeling this was going to be as good,

So now I have to wait for Book #2!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press ~ Minotaur Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 31, 2022

My thanks to Minotaur Books, as well as to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of A Rip Through Time.

Can you imagine getting attacked while jogging in Vancouver Canada and then waking up to find it's 150 years earlier in time?? I absolutely loved this book! Mallory (the main character) is hilarious as she does her level best to speak as people did in 1869 - and adjust to going from a 3o-year-old detective in 2019 to a 19-year-old housemaid in Victorian Scotland! It would be so much easier to do everything right if she just had her cell phone so she could look things up!!

I don't mean to make this book sound as though it's a comedy, however. There is plenty of intrigue and suspense in A Rip Through Time. Mallory is lucky enough to end up in a household where she is employed as Dr. Duncan Gray's housemaid since he’s fascinated by forensics and interested in new methods. Dr. Gray's older half-sister, Isla, is a chemist and she's a fabulous character! I think she may have been my favorite character in the book.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading time travel with some mystery, suspense, and humor thrown into the mix. I can't wait for the second book in the series to become available!!

I really do enjoy anything by this author. This is a nice modern twist and a time travel historical novel. It reminds me a lot of Outlander and I think that was the point. I will definitely read the next book.

A new series by my favourite author Kelley Armstrong? Yes please! After coming to the end of the Rockton series (one of my favourites by Kelley) I am so happy to be able to dive into a new series and the new setting she has created. If you are familiar with her work, I would say that A Rip Through Time is a combination of both Rockton (detective, mysteries, thriller) and A Stitch in Time (time travel and Victorian setting).

In the book, 30-year-old Vancouver detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While she is out on a jog to clear her head, Mallory hears a women cry out for help in an alley. Mallory approaches to offer assistance only to be attacked, almost strangled, and then loses consciousness. When she wakes, she finds herself in the body a 19-year-old Catrina Mitchell a housemaid who was discovered strangled and left for dead in an alley... exactly 150 years before Mallory was attacked in the same spot.

It did take me some time to get hooked and properly invested in this story, but I think that with this being the first book in a new series, that was to be expected. So much information had to be given at the beginning and an entire world and the concept of time-travel had to be introduced; onto of this, Mallory needed time to process everything and to adapt to her new reality. Once the book reached about 50% I became extremely invested in the crime that was being solved and the characters. I enjoyed the detective work and Mallory's various attempts at convincing her employer, Dr. Duncan Gray (who is an undertaker and medical examiner) that he should allow her to assist him and the investigation.

I can not wait to read more of this story and see what is to come for Mallory and Dr. Gray (especially after that last chapter!). I know that this is sure to become one of my new favourite series.

Thank you to St. Matin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Did Armstrong actually write this one? Is it a "ghost writer" using her name? Having read so many other of her series, it just may be that this one was way too similar to Outlander for my tastes and too dissimilar from the books prior that i absolutely loved. ., with the overdrawn descriptions, the lack of stress about actually traveling back in time.