A Rip Through Time
By Kelley Armstrong


May 20, 2019: Starting off Mallory is in Edinburgh terribly upset that her grandmother seems to be dying on her way out. Sleepless she is out on a jog and, Mallory hears a woman in distress. Trying to help she is drawn to an alley, where she’s attacked losing her consciousness.
May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that evening in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead. Only this was exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years as Mallory got strangled in the same spot.
Fortunately as well as unfortunately, Mallory does wake up. Unfortunately, she is not in her own body, but her body is Catriona’s and the year is1869! God help her! Mallory is shocked realizing she needs to adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland.
Here she hopes and discovers that one of her bosses, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man. Actually she understands that his death seems similar to the attack on herself. She only hopes that catching the murderer can send her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late.
Marilyn Rondeau

Armstrong's A Rip Through Time is a time travel novel that follows a modern detective back in time when she swaps bodies with a serial killer's victim and ends up in Victorian Scotland. As our heroine struggles to understand her new role in life, she finds herself in the middle of an investigation that hints at her attacker.

An interesting first book to what is obviously going to be a series. I enjoy police procedures and they are woven seamlessly into the storyline. Told in the first person, it's a little slow at times, I found the character development weak and Armstrong never convinced me of that no one really questioned that a young housemaid can suddenly read, write, and help investigate murders. Regardless of my issues, I will definitly read book two to see if it settles.

Mallory , a Vancouver homicide detective, is in Edinburg visiting her sick grandmother. On a coffee run she goes to the aid of a young woman being attacked in an alley. When she comes to she is in the body of Catriona, a housemaid in 1869. employed by Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla. Feigning amnesia Catriona endeavors to make it through until she discovers a way to return. Dr. Gray is an undertaker who also assists the police as well. This was not my usual read but once I loosed my grip on reality and just went with the flow I found it enjoyable. One of the elements that I found interesting was the depiction of the early development of forensic science in crime solving. Dr. Duncan was a man ahead of his time and receptive to Mallory's subtle input of her 2019 knowledge. The reader also receives insight into the conditions and daily life of 1800s Scotland. The primary characters were complex and engaging and the plot moved fluidly into resolution. I have read some of Armstrong's other works and she always delivers a good read for me. Alas Mallory hasn't made it home yet but this was a solid foundation for an ongoing series. A murder mystery blended with time travel fantasy paired well in this first series entry.

This is an unusual book for me to read. The genre that is. It's a mystery and a bit of a thriller which is my favorite but also a touch of fantasy and a lot of time travel which I usually pass on. I'm very happy that I did not pass on this one. It is excellent. A first for me by Kelley Armstrong and I definitely look forward to more in this new series.

This book starts out with a woman being attacked in an alley. What she doesn't know is that another woman is being attacked in the exact same alley at the exact same time 150 years in the past. Mallory is a cop in 2019 who came to Edinburgh to see her grandmother who is dying. While out for a jog to clear her head she is attacked and strangled. When she awakes she is in a whole different life, in a whole different era. She's somehow traveled back 150 years where she is a maid in a home that is also a funeral pallor. And she is a much younger woman called Catroina who is not quite totally trust worthy. This story is basically told from Mallory's POV and what all she goes through while going back in time.

This book held my interest in a way that made me very happy. I was so afraid I was not going to like it but I did. It's truly very good. It takes you through time and into a whole other lifetime and makes you feel right at home. It shows how women, especially maids, were treated. I mean her attack was not that important. She was only maid after all. And she's a woman so who takes her serious? It's not like she can tell anyone who she really is and where she's really from. Who would believe her? You will get to know the people she is working for and like them very much. Even though at times they are a bit brusque at times and don't trust Catroina. For good reason though. It's quite an adjustment for Mallory but she catches on fairly quickly.

There will be another book and I look forward to it. I was not in the least put off with this one being a little bit of a cliffhanger. It just made me want the next one that much more. I want to know what happens once Mallory's story is told. I want to know what happens next. There are a few characters in this story and I liked them all. I enjoyed them wondering what exactly was going on with Catriona. How she just seemed to change after her attack. I really enjoyed this story very much and was a bit surprised by that. In a good way though.

Thank you #NetGalley, #KelleyArmstrong, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

4/5 stars and I recommend it. Especially if you enjoy time travel. But even if you don't. It's really very good.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and the first digital ARC that I've received that I had to go out and buy a physical copy after reading it! Kelley Armstrong always delivers and this is a great beginning for a new series.

St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for May 31, 2022.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
The first in a new series that sets up future books with introduction of characters and the basic premise. Time travel, murder, mystery and a hint at the possibility of romance. A great start.

Thank you @NetGalley and Kelley Armstrong for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

WHAT I LIKED:
First off, Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorites and always will be. So this book I was incredibly thrilled to be given the chance to read in advance. The time travel story isn't exactly new or original, but the fact that she ended up time travelling into the body of a woman who was murdered in the past at the same location at the same time that she happened to be walking through there makes you think and wonder if each point of time is actually just a different universe on a different vibration to the one you are currently on. So once she realized what had happened, she had to become the other woman. She had to speak and act like this woman. It is only when the lady of the house comes back and realizes that something is off that things slowly start to unravel.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
I thought this book tended to focus more on her trying to fix this other girls mistakes than on trying to get home to her time. While I understand that everyone in that time believes that she is in fact this other woman, so she has to play the part, it just seemed to get the story off track. Also, what happened to the woman whose body she took over? A second story on the other woman in the futuristic time would complement this book immensely.

OVERALL / REOMMENDATIONS:
This was a great book to get lost in a different time period to. You never realize how much we have evolved until you are put in the position to live in the past. In the past you can no longer rely on alarms, or phones, or electricity, or even plumbing... Having to write in a way that excludes those items would have been difficult. I am recommending this book to all fans of #Fiction #fantasy #timetravel and #Mystery

Wow, this turned out to be such an interesting and exciting story. Told in the first person, including the narrator's remarks to self, which concisely conveyed quite a lot in few words. Detective Mallory Atkinson, age 30, is in Edinburgh, Scotland where she has come from Vancouver, CA, to visit her grandmother in hospice. Out for a stress-relieving jog, Mallory is attacked in an alley, seemingly while witnessing a similar crime. As she loses consciousness, she is ripped from her present day back to 1869. The rather shocking feature is she has switched places with a young housemaid of 19, in the household of a local funeral director, Dr. Duncan Gray, who moonlights helping a police detective friend by performing unauthorized autopsies on murder victims. She realizes she is the young woman in the alley assault she witnessed. How Mallory sees her predicament and how she handles it, and what happens with her and the people she meets is really quite fascinating. The characters are fully realized, and the revelations of Mallory as she comes to know them and life in that time and trying to find a way home do a lot to immerse one in this page turner. I was quite riveted. I do not want to reveal any plot points because part of what I loved about this story, was the unexpected way it progressed. In the end, part of the mystery is resolved and we have a great setup for at least a second book if not more. Highly recommend!

What a ride! While I was already a fan Of Kelley Armstrong's work, I was not prepared for how hard this story grabbed me by the collar and kept me reading until I finished the book!

I will do my best not to spoil anything by summarising the plot or the premise. What I can tell you is that the mystery is fascinating, the characters are compelling, and the danger feels real.

I am excited to see where the next book will take us. My only disappointment comes from having to wait to find out. Take this time-traveling/murder mystery trip with Kelley Armstrong; you'll be glad you did.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Author Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin's Press for a copy to read and review*

With a glut of time travel books ending up in book lists recommended to me, I did not expect to enjoy this read nearly half as much as I actually did. In truth? This is likely one of my new favorite Kelley Armstrong books. It's the perfect blend of mystery, suspense, and a touch of fantastical, with romance taking the back seat.

To start with, the characters were largely well-developed and first impressions didn't necessarily hold true, much to my delight. You might even say that mistaken first impressions were a theme throughout the book. And while I love strong female characters, in this book it is tampered by reality. Strong female characters are hampered by society and roles they have to fill to fit into the Victorian world.

While there is some gore throughout the book, the focus is less on bloody scenes and more on action-packed investigations and experiments to determine the real killer or killers, as well as finding out who Catriona really is. If you wonder why I am only just mentioning Catriona by name in the third paragraph, it's because there were so many points of interest in this book that I did not have to focus on the characters alone!

If you were a fan of the Casey Duncan series, you will definitely want to give this new series a shot. If you like mysteries in historical settings, I would say the same!

Oh my god this book was awesome and I can’t wait for the next instalment!!!!!

It is always awesome to read a Canadian author and Kelley is one of my faves!!! This was a great read but admittedly reminded me of a previous book I read called “A Murder in time”, though this is more like “ a murder through time”.....in that we’ve got one strong Female digging through the evidence and one victim trying to find any evidence she can get her hands on

Mallory, a detective from Vancouver, is in Edinburg visiting her dying grandmother. While out on a jog to clear her mind she hears what seems to be someone being attacked. When she heads down the alley way to check things out, she sees what looks like a projection of a woman being strangled. Mallory is confused and trying to decipher what is playing out in front of her when she is attacked and left unconscious.

When Mallory comes to she knows something is off. She’s dressed in old raggy Victorian clothes and is in what must be the attacker’s lair. She soon gets in front of a mirror and realizes she has woken up in the body of the woman she saw being attacked. Only it’s not 2019 anymore it is 1869 and she is the housemaid of the town’s forensic doctor, Duncan Gray. Will she be able to put aside her shock and blend in long enough to solve this mystery and find her way back home?

A Rip Through Time is the first in a new time travel/mystery series by Kelley Armstrong. This was a great start to a series and I need the sequel immediately! This was such a good mystery story and didn’t have a heavy romance plot. Although, Duncan and Mallory?!?! I think they would be perfect! Maybe it will be a slow burn romance as a series progresses. It was really cool to see Mallory adapt to life as a house made in Victorian Scotland. I really don’t know what else to say about the story other than I loved it and want more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to an early copy of this book. . As always, all opinions are my own.

A Rip Through Time is a fascinating time travel book, going back to Victorian England.

Mallory, a police detective in Edinburgh, goes out for a run and hears strange noises coming from an alley. She can't tell if it is playful shrieking or someone in distress. She investigates, and someone (a stranger she had run into earlier that day), attacks and strangles her.

When she wakes up, she realizes she is in someone else's body: Catriona, who had been strangled in the same location 150 years prior. Mallery/Catriona is a housemaid who works for an eccentric undertaker who is interested in the very new field of forensics (although he wouldn't know to call it that), and his sister, who is a chemist. She struggles to assimilate to a time in history she's not familiar with, as well as inhabiting the body of a young lady who was no better than she ought to be.

Mallery must solve the mystery of who murdered Catriona, in hopes that will propel her back to her own time so she can take care of her dying grandmother. But who can she trust with her real identity?

This book does have a successful conclusion, but sets up a sequel as well. I look forward to reading the next Rip in Time book! Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of a great book.

Canadian homicide detective Mallory Atkinson visits Edinburgh to be at the bedside of her dying grandmother. While taking a break and going for coffee, she hears screams and enters an alley and is brutally attacked and left for dead. Mallory blacks out only to wake up in Edinburgh in the year 1869 in the body of Catriona, a nineteenth century housemaid. She is now a servant to a local undertaker who fancies himself a forensic scientist of sorts - a medical examiner. Mallory fakes amnesia to buy time to figure out who to trust and what route to take to get back to future time. Problem is someone is still trying to murder her. How can she solve the case without revealing skills a housemaid wouldn't possess and without shocking everyone by behaving outrageously for a Victorian lady.

I've always enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's romance suspense with a paranormal edge. A Rip Through Time deviates from the author's norm quite a bit, but it's an excellent start to a new series. Armstrong brilliantly weaves enough historical information into the story to keep it authentic without bogging down the story line. I found the forensic aspects quite fascinating especially when comparing it to today's wealth of knowledge in the field. The characters are well developed and believable within the situation they find themselves in and the mystery works to drive the pace at a steady rate. Readers will find themselves quickly drawn into this time travel mystery as Mallory works to solve a local murder mystery that may tie in with the attempt on her own life. If she can catch the murderer, she may find the answer to returning to her former life. Armstrong also sets the stage for the next book in this new series. They're several hints of things to come. Highly recommended to fans of mystery and fantasy.

What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in Victorian times? This is what happens to present day Detective Mallory Atkinson. The book is an interesting Agatha Christie who done it. How does Mallory solve crimes but not give away that she is a time traveler? How does she get home?
The book is ripe for a sequel and I hope their is one.

This was my first time reading a book by this author and unfortunately I did not care for it. I don't know why, there was nothing wrong with the writing and time travel always has an appeal for some people. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood for this type of book.

Author Kelley Armstrong serves up an excellent time travel mystery as her lead protagonist 20th century detective, Mallory Atkinson is sent back in time to 1869 and into the body of housemaid Catriona Thomson.
The how and why make for a thrilling tale that is filled with twists and turns as Mallory tries to adapt to her new situation while at the same time becoming embroiled in the hunt for a murderer.
Great characters and excellent writing serve to keep the reader guessing at every stage of this who done it with its imaginative and immersive narrative.

A time travel story with Armstrongs typical mix of mystery, romance, and fun. Historical Scotland feels like such an interesting, indulgent setting, where readers can live out their time travel fantasies. A fun read and a new series. Looking forward to others

Not a fan of time travel novels, but a fan of Kelley Armstrong, I decided to suspend belief and took a chance on modern-day Homicide Detective Mallory Atkinson of Vancouver, Canada, jumping back 150 years and taking over the body of housemaid Catriona Mitchell in 1869 Edinburgh, Scotland.

It took me a little longer than usual to get into the rhythm of this book. I first had to figure out how to pronounce Catriona (Katrina) since Google gave two options, neither of which seemed right, and it was frustrating. Then I had to accept that if no one else in 1869 had an issue with Catriona and her strange use of words, investigative knowledge, and farfetched story, I would let it go.

In this series, you will find Armstrong’s humor. How do you not laugh at a person trying desperately to fit in but making wrong decisions and using modern phrases?

By the end, I couldn’t tell if I enjoyed Mallory/Catriona or Isla (eye-la) more. Their companionship and shared humor made this a book hard to put down.

I am currently listening tot he audio of this and I am loooooving it! Very Sherlockian feel, set in Victorian Scotland. Modern day police detective gets flipped back in time, in the body of a chambermaid. Is the chambermaid in the body of the police detective too? Not sure! But “Kat” has a dark past, so to solve the crime and stay out of jail, the 21st century sensibilities are tested. Kelley Armstrong writes the best female characters, I love all of her books!