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A Rip Through Time #1
A Rip Through Time
A modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.
May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory 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 in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was 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 the 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.
May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory 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 in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was 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 the 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.
342 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2022
About the author
Kelley Armstrong
276 books32k followersKelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
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October 5, 2023
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong
(A Rip Through Time #1)
Don't think too hard about this one and just enjoy the (t)rip. In 2019 Edinburgh, 30 year old homicide detective Mallory has been at her dying grandmother's bedside. Taking a break to buy coffee, she hears a a commotion, her cop instincts kick in, and she goes to the rescue and almost dies. When she wakes up it's 1869 and she's in the body of 19 year old housemaid Catriona.
How does someone fix a mess like this when she can't even tell anyone about it? Is it even fixable? Mallory fakes memory loss and muddles her way through the her next days, dumping and cleaning chamber pots and ferreting out that Catriona has a lot to answer for. Just how badly is the real Catriona mucking up Mallory's life since she must be in Mallory's body in 2019?
Mallory realizes how lucky she is to have Dr. Gray as her employer. He runs the family undertaking business and is also a medical examiner on the sly. If this wasn't Victorian Scotland, a homicide detective and a medical examiner could be best buds but Mallory can't give herself away because people in this timeline would think she's literally insane if she tells them she is from the future.
From the title of the book we know this is just the first book in this new series and Mallory is slowly laying the groundwork to be able to keep her housemaid job since she realizes how lucky she is to have a job, a roof over her head, and food to eat. Dr. Gray is very interesting and so is his job and Mallory can be a great help to him if she could reveal her situation. How much can she do in this timeline without causing damage to the future? Is there any going back to her own time and body? One thread is solved but there is so much more mystery to solve in a future book. Mallory has a tendency to run towards danger so just hang on and grit your teeth.
Pub May 31, 2022
Thank you St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
(A Rip Through Time #1)
Don't think too hard about this one and just enjoy the (t)rip. In 2019 Edinburgh, 30 year old homicide detective Mallory has been at her dying grandmother's bedside. Taking a break to buy coffee, she hears a a commotion, her cop instincts kick in, and she goes to the rescue and almost dies. When she wakes up it's 1869 and she's in the body of 19 year old housemaid Catriona.
How does someone fix a mess like this when she can't even tell anyone about it? Is it even fixable? Mallory fakes memory loss and muddles her way through the her next days, dumping and cleaning chamber pots and ferreting out that Catriona has a lot to answer for. Just how badly is the real Catriona mucking up Mallory's life since she must be in Mallory's body in 2019?
Mallory realizes how lucky she is to have Dr. Gray as her employer. He runs the family undertaking business and is also a medical examiner on the sly. If this wasn't Victorian Scotland, a homicide detective and a medical examiner could be best buds but Mallory can't give herself away because people in this timeline would think she's literally insane if she tells them she is from the future.
From the title of the book we know this is just the first book in this new series and Mallory is slowly laying the groundwork to be able to keep her housemaid job since she realizes how lucky she is to have a job, a roof over her head, and food to eat. Dr. Gray is very interesting and so is his job and Mallory can be a great help to him if she could reveal her situation. How much can she do in this timeline without causing damage to the future? Is there any going back to her own time and body? One thread is solved but there is so much more mystery to solve in a future book. Mallory has a tendency to run towards danger so just hang on and grit your teeth.
Pub May 31, 2022
Thank you St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC.
February 11, 2022
Kelley Armstrong combines a murder mystery and time travel in a historical setting in this first book in a new series. It’s May 20, 2019 and Vancouver homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is in Edinburgh, Scotland to be with her dying grandmother. While jogging, she hears and sees a woman being attacked and goes into an alley where she is also attacked. It’s May 20, 1869 and housemaid Catriona Mitchell is discovered in a lane where she has been left for dead. It’s the exact spot where Mallory was attacked 150 years later. Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869 and quickly has to adjust to being a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. The undertaker, Dr. Gray also assists Detective McCreadie. They are investigating the strangulation of a man, similar to Mallory’s attack. She hopes that catching the murderer will lead her back to modern times.
Mallory is a character with plenty of depth. She’s hardworking, kind, relatable, and makes for a strong female protagonist that readers can cheer on. The supporting cast of characters are well-developed and provide insight into individuals in various roles in a Victorian household as well as those they interact with.
Kelley Armstrong has a fluid writing style that quickly brings readers into the well-paced story. They also get insight into the state of police forensics during this early era and a few insights into chemistry, diversity, and how servants are treated as well. Other themes include family, relationships, sanitary (and other) conditions, and much more. There is a hint at a couple of potential romances, but nothing more. The world-building was great and felt accurate for the times. The ending has plenty of action and wraps up many threads, but leaves a few open to be explored in future books in the series.
Overall, this is well-written, engaging, and entertaining with complex characters in a historical setting. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the 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.
Mallory is a character with plenty of depth. She’s hardworking, kind, relatable, and makes for a strong female protagonist that readers can cheer on. The supporting cast of characters are well-developed and provide insight into individuals in various roles in a Victorian household as well as those they interact with.
Kelley Armstrong has a fluid writing style that quickly brings readers into the well-paced story. They also get insight into the state of police forensics during this early era and a few insights into chemistry, diversity, and how servants are treated as well. Other themes include family, relationships, sanitary (and other) conditions, and much more. There is a hint at a couple of potential romances, but nothing more. The world-building was great and felt accurate for the times. The ending has plenty of action and wraps up many threads, but leaves a few open to be explored in future books in the series.
Overall, this is well-written, engaging, and entertaining with complex characters in a historical setting. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the 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.
April 17, 2022
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.
Thanks to NG and SMP for my arc. OUT June 14, 2022
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.
Thanks to NG and SMP for my arc. OUT June 14, 2022
August 10, 2022
☆.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.💃
If there's such thing as a feel-good murder mystery, this is that!
Homicide detective Mallory Atkinson visits her ill grandmother in Edinburgh when she was strangled and loses consciousness. When she wakes up, it's 1869 in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a maid at Dr. Gray's house. There's a killer on the loose but how will Mallory/Catriona solve the mystery without exposing her true identity?
This is such an engaging story and being transported to Victorian-era Scotland is so enchanting! I love the little things that Mallory encounters in an everyday life that becomes problematic for a person from 2019 like waking up before dawn to start her maid duties without an alarm clock. She has to pretend she suffers from memory loss after the accident to justify her strange mannerism and modern vocabulary. She has a rough start since the real Catriona isn't likable or trustworthy and is a thief to boot.
I just enjoyed time traveling, forensic science, detective, and historical fiction combo so much. It's very well executed. The characters are well developed and the majority of the book flows nicely. The audiobook is wonderful too. Needless to say, I can't wait for the sequel!!
If there's such thing as a feel-good murder mystery, this is that!
Homicide detective Mallory Atkinson visits her ill grandmother in Edinburgh when she was strangled and loses consciousness. When she wakes up, it's 1869 in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a maid at Dr. Gray's house. There's a killer on the loose but how will Mallory/Catriona solve the mystery without exposing her true identity?
This is such an engaging story and being transported to Victorian-era Scotland is so enchanting! I love the little things that Mallory encounters in an everyday life that becomes problematic for a person from 2019 like waking up before dawn to start her maid duties without an alarm clock. She has to pretend she suffers from memory loss after the accident to justify her strange mannerism and modern vocabulary. She has a rough start since the real Catriona isn't likable or trustworthy and is a thief to boot.
I just enjoyed time traveling, forensic science, detective, and historical fiction combo so much. It's very well executed. The characters are well developed and the majority of the book flows nicely. The audiobook is wonderful too. Needless to say, I can't wait for the sequel!!
December 6, 2022
Kelley Armstrong has become one of my favorite authors over the years, mainly due to her ability to craft characters that are memorable and stories that are almost plausible, although this one definitely requires a bit of suspending your disbelief to fully enjoy. A Rip Through Time is the first in a new series that is being compared to both Outlander and The Alienist, and I would agree with these comparisons, although this book stands well on its own without the marketing tactics. A time traveling detective who ends up in not only an unfamiliar era, but not her native homeland as well? Sign me up!
The POV is strictly from our main character Mallory (who also uses the name Catriona as she has assumed this young lady's identity), and we meet a colorful cast of characters along the way, including the family that Catriona works for, her previous co-workers and acquaintances that slowly help Mallory piece together who Cat was and why this might have happened to her. I really enjoyed how Mallory is a homicide detective in 2019, but has to help solve these cases not only pretending to have no knowledge of solving murders, but also doing so without the modern technology and scientific advances that victorian Scotland did not have. The ending wraps up the current case at hand, but as you can guess due to this being the first in a series, Mallory's arc of time travel is still being explored.
I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook, and look forward to continuing the series as each book is published. If you enjoy crime fiction with a touch of the fantastical, give this one a shot!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
The POV is strictly from our main character Mallory (who also uses the name Catriona as she has assumed this young lady's identity), and we meet a colorful cast of characters along the way, including the family that Catriona works for, her previous co-workers and acquaintances that slowly help Mallory piece together who Cat was and why this might have happened to her. I really enjoyed how Mallory is a homicide detective in 2019, but has to help solve these cases not only pretending to have no knowledge of solving murders, but also doing so without the modern technology and scientific advances that victorian Scotland did not have. The ending wraps up the current case at hand, but as you can guess due to this being the first in a series, Mallory's arc of time travel is still being explored.
I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook, and look forward to continuing the series as each book is published. If you enjoy crime fiction with a touch of the fantastical, give this one a shot!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
May 16, 2022
May 20, 2019: Mallory, a homicide detective has traveled to Edinburgh to spend time with her dying grandmother. She hears a woman in distress in an alley and goes to investigate, is attacked, and wakes up in the wrong time and in the wrong body.
May 20, 1869: Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid, is enjoying her half day off when she is attacked in an alley way 150 years before Mallory is attacked. Catriona was strangled and left for dead.
Mallory wakes up in Catriola's body and what a shock that is. She is in the wrong time, there are customs and sayings she is not familiar with. She is being called a stranger's name and expected to get back to work. So, you were strangled big deal, there is a chamber pot that needs cleaning. Her employer, Dr. Gray, moonlights as a medical examiner. Women have been killed and he begins to investigate their murders.
Wanting to get back to her own time and having her interest piqued, Mallory begins her own investigation while navigating a world and class system she has only read about.
So good! This was a pleasure from beginning to end. I was drawn into this book from the very beginning. I kept fining opportunities to listen more and more and finished this in two days. I found the story to be gripping, intelligent, and entertaining. While reading this book, I thought of the Christopher Reeve movie Somewhere in Time. Very different storylines but with a character going back in time.
I cannot believe that I have not read a book by Kelly Armstrong before. Seriously, what rock have I been hiding under. I am not typically a fantasy fan but this was more historical fiction meets science fiction and the mash up was done beautifully.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. What a captivating page turner with suspense and intrigue! So happy I took a chance on this book.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
May 20, 1869: Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid, is enjoying her half day off when she is attacked in an alley way 150 years before Mallory is attacked. Catriona was strangled and left for dead.
Mallory wakes up in Catriola's body and what a shock that is. She is in the wrong time, there are customs and sayings she is not familiar with. She is being called a stranger's name and expected to get back to work. So, you were strangled big deal, there is a chamber pot that needs cleaning. Her employer, Dr. Gray, moonlights as a medical examiner. Women have been killed and he begins to investigate their murders.
Wanting to get back to her own time and having her interest piqued, Mallory begins her own investigation while navigating a world and class system she has only read about.
So good! This was a pleasure from beginning to end. I was drawn into this book from the very beginning. I kept fining opportunities to listen more and more and finished this in two days. I found the story to be gripping, intelligent, and entertaining. While reading this book, I thought of the Christopher Reeve movie Somewhere in Time. Very different storylines but with a character going back in time.
I cannot believe that I have not read a book by Kelly Armstrong before. Seriously, what rock have I been hiding under. I am not typically a fantasy fan but this was more historical fiction meets science fiction and the mash up was done beautifully.
I can't wait for the next book in the series. What a captivating page turner with suspense and intrigue! So happy I took a chance on this book.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
July 21, 2024
So, this was an alright read. I wasn't blown away or anything. I think the pacing was a little too slow for me and it had more of a Sherlock Holmes detective kinda vibe maybe? I'm not sure, but I wasn't particularly a huge fan of the FMC.
She came across a little condescending to the other characters in the past Scotland so meh didn't like that too much.
Also- are Canadian's known to be super nice or something? LOL. I'm not saying I ever thought them rude but there's a few references in the book so now I'm curious.
Probably won't be moving forward with this series.
She came across a little condescending to the other characters in the past Scotland so meh didn't like that too much.
Also- are Canadian's known to be super nice or something? LOL. I'm not saying I ever thought them rude but there's a few references in the book so now I'm curious.
Probably won't be moving forward with this series.
September 24, 2023
Though not my intention, I always overlook Kelley Armstrong when it comes time to select my next read. And I’m not sure why, because her back catalog is huge. She must be doing something right.
So last week I made a point to remedy my Kelley Armstrong neglect by squeezing in A Rip Through Time, the first book in her time travel historical mystery series. And as expected, I liked it a lot. Set in 1869 Edinburgh, the story features a modern-day homicide detective named Mallory who travels back in time and finds herself caught up in a Victorian murder investigation.
It's evident that Armstrong has years of experience as a writer. A Rip Through Time is a well-crafted mystery, one made even more entertaining by Mallory’s time travel. But this aspect does require a good amount of setup, resulting in the mystery being slow to unfold as Armstrong allows Mallory to adjust to her new surroundings.
Despite the book’s slower pace, I found it immersive. Mallory’s struggle to settle herself in 1869 Scotland felt realistic and also made way for some humorous moments. There are hints of a future romance that I would like to see play out, too.
Now, if only I can persuade myself to pick up Book #2, The Poisoner's Ring. I’d like to, and I have every intention to. But I’m a fickle series reader and there’s never a guarantee I’ll come back for more.
My sincerest appreciation to Kelley Armstrong, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
So last week I made a point to remedy my Kelley Armstrong neglect by squeezing in A Rip Through Time, the first book in her time travel historical mystery series. And as expected, I liked it a lot. Set in 1869 Edinburgh, the story features a modern-day homicide detective named Mallory who travels back in time and finds herself caught up in a Victorian murder investigation.
It's evident that Armstrong has years of experience as a writer. A Rip Through Time is a well-crafted mystery, one made even more entertaining by Mallory’s time travel. But this aspect does require a good amount of setup, resulting in the mystery being slow to unfold as Armstrong allows Mallory to adjust to her new surroundings.
Despite the book’s slower pace, I found it immersive. Mallory’s struggle to settle herself in 1869 Scotland felt realistic and also made way for some humorous moments. There are hints of a future romance that I would like to see play out, too.
Now, if only I can persuade myself to pick up Book #2, The Poisoner's Ring. I’d like to, and I have every intention to. But I’m a fickle series reader and there’s never a guarantee I’ll come back for more.
My sincerest appreciation to Kelley Armstrong, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.
May 15, 2022
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong
Time travel mystery.
Detective Mallory hears a cry and finds a half transparent women being strangled in the alley. As she attempts to help she finds herself fighting with the attacker and blacks out as he attempts to strangles her. She wakes up 150 years in the past in the body of a young house maid who has also been attacked.
Suspenseful, intriguing and engrossing. The author pulls on heartstrings at the same time as describing roles in society. We feel Mallory’s frustration with the limitations of being trapped in the voluminous skirts while hunting for hidden killer.
The mystery is solid and smart and I’m excited to read the next in the series.
🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Kate Hanford. The performance was engaging and told from the Detective’s POV. Emotions were clear and held the listener captive with anticipation of what would happen next. I listened to this at 1.3 which is my preferred speed for conversational compatibility.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Macmillan audio. I also purchased a copy to keep.
Time travel mystery.
Detective Mallory hears a cry and finds a half transparent women being strangled in the alley. As she attempts to help she finds herself fighting with the attacker and blacks out as he attempts to strangles her. She wakes up 150 years in the past in the body of a young house maid who has also been attacked.
Suspenseful, intriguing and engrossing. The author pulls on heartstrings at the same time as describing roles in society. We feel Mallory’s frustration with the limitations of being trapped in the voluminous skirts while hunting for hidden killer.
The mystery is solid and smart and I’m excited to read the next in the series.
🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Kate Hanford. The performance was engaging and told from the Detective’s POV. Emotions were clear and held the listener captive with anticipation of what would happen next. I listened to this at 1.3 which is my preferred speed for conversational compatibility.
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Macmillan audio. I also purchased a copy to keep.
November 2, 2022
5 stars!
Mallory is a Canadian detective in Scotland caring for her ill grandmother. When she is attacked while on a run one evening, she is transported 150 years earlier, into the body of a 19 year old housemaid. Confused and desperate to get home, she does her best to pretend she belongs there. Until there is a murder and Mallory may be the key person to solve it…
I’ve been a big fan of Kelley Armstrong ever since her Darkest Powers series and luckily she has a huge backlist of books. I got the audio of this one from the library and ended up loving it way more than I expected to. It’s an odd concept and can be difficult to market I think. But reading the actual book I fell into the story and all the wonderful historical facts and fun characters. Having a modern day detective investigate Victorian age murders in that time? It was actually a lot of fun.
I loved all the characters and felt they really brought balance to the story. Mallory a modern girl stuck in an old time, a doctor she works for who is a bit of an outcast based purple on his race, his half sister a widow and a chemist. They were all fantastic and I am excited to read the next book and equally sad it is not published yet.
Mallory is a Canadian detective in Scotland caring for her ill grandmother. When she is attacked while on a run one evening, she is transported 150 years earlier, into the body of a 19 year old housemaid. Confused and desperate to get home, she does her best to pretend she belongs there. Until there is a murder and Mallory may be the key person to solve it…
I’ve been a big fan of Kelley Armstrong ever since her Darkest Powers series and luckily she has a huge backlist of books. I got the audio of this one from the library and ended up loving it way more than I expected to. It’s an odd concept and can be difficult to market I think. But reading the actual book I fell into the story and all the wonderful historical facts and fun characters. Having a modern day detective investigate Victorian age murders in that time? It was actually a lot of fun.
I loved all the characters and felt they really brought balance to the story. Mallory a modern girl stuck in an old time, a doctor she works for who is a bit of an outcast based purple on his race, his half sister a widow and a chemist. They were all fantastic and I am excited to read the next book and equally sad it is not published yet.
June 21, 2024
Witty and entertaining, A RIP THROUGH TIME is the beginning of a new Kelley Armstrong series by the same name.
Mallory Atkinson is a Vancouver detective currently trying to navigate her life and feelings about the imminent death of her Scottish grandmother, Nan.
Mallory decides to clear her head and go for a jog. She is preoccupied and kicking herself because she knows she should be at Nan’s bedside.
A sound causes Mallory to switch into protective mode. What happens next may keep her from getting back to Nan in a timely manner.
Bring on Book 2, Ms Armstrong!
Mallory Atkinson is a Vancouver detective currently trying to navigate her life and feelings about the imminent death of her Scottish grandmother, Nan.
Mallory decides to clear her head and go for a jog. She is preoccupied and kicking herself because she knows she should be at Nan’s bedside.
A sound causes Mallory to switch into protective mode. What happens next may keep her from getting back to Nan in a timely manner.
Bring on Book 2, Ms Armstrong!
July 10, 2022
~ Rating ~ ⭐⭐⭐.5 or ⭐⭐⭐⭐
~ Quick Summary ~
In 2019, Mallory, a detective, gets attacked and loses consciousness only to wake up in 1869 in a housemaid’s body. She investigates a similar string of murders while trying to adjust to her new life.
~ Pick this up if you enjoy/don’t mind the following ~
⌚ Time travel.
🤯 Suspend belief. There isn’t any explanation on the time travel itself.
📜 Historical Fiction with a modern tone and mystery.
🏃♀️ Most of the excitement happens at the last 10% or so (Didn't feel quite like a thriller).
🐢 Uneven pace, can feel a little slow at times.
❤️ No romance. There is only a hint. Worth a mention since this is compared to Outlander.
~ What I Enjoyed ~
I don’t normally read historical fiction but Mallory's modern tone and thoughts helped me ease into 1869 Edinburgh and I was immersed! I loved the world building!
The developing relationship between Mallory and Gray. I can’t wait to see more of them in the series!! I think this will be a slow burn and I loooooove slow burns :D.
I enjoyed Isla, she is someone who will use her status to help people, not afraid to speak her thoughts and she is a chemist! In other words, a strong Victorian female!
~ What I wanted more of ~
I feel there could have been more suspense or drama throughout to really hold my focus and make this book hard to put down. I liked seeing Mallory adjust, her thought process and the mystery but I didn't love them and I can't quite put my finger on why, perhaps its the pace? Even learning about Catriona didn't really pique my interest.
~ What I didn’t enjoy ~
Spoiler:
~ Quick Summary ~
In 2019, Mallory, a detective, gets attacked and loses consciousness only to wake up in 1869 in a housemaid’s body. She investigates a similar string of murders while trying to adjust to her new life.
~ Pick this up if you enjoy/don’t mind the following ~
⌚ Time travel.
🤯 Suspend belief. There isn’t any explanation on the time travel itself.
📜 Historical Fiction with a modern tone and mystery.
🏃♀️ Most of the excitement happens at the last 10% or so (Didn't feel quite like a thriller).
🐢 Uneven pace, can feel a little slow at times.
❤️ No romance. There is only a hint. Worth a mention since this is compared to Outlander.
~ What I Enjoyed ~
I don’t normally read historical fiction but Mallory's modern tone and thoughts helped me ease into 1869 Edinburgh and I was immersed! I loved the world building!
The developing relationship between Mallory and Gray. I can’t wait to see more of them in the series!! I think this will be a slow burn and I loooooove slow burns :D.
I enjoyed Isla, she is someone who will use her status to help people, not afraid to speak her thoughts and she is a chemist! In other words, a strong Victorian female!
~ What I wanted more of ~
I feel there could have been more suspense or drama throughout to really hold my focus and make this book hard to put down. I liked seeing Mallory adjust, her thought process and the mystery but I didn't love them and I can't quite put my finger on why, perhaps its the pace? Even learning about Catriona didn't really pique my interest.
~ What I didn’t enjoy ~
Spoiler:
May 22, 2023
Awhile back I read that Kelley Armstrong meant to dip her toe into the waters of historical time travel with the delightful time travel duology (possible trilogy) A Stitch in Time. It was to be the rehearsal for her unusual time travel series starting with A Rip Through Time .
The first series was a straight up time travel novel with the heroine falling back into time through a tear in the fabric of time. A Rip Through Time is more complicated. Two women are strangled almost to death at the exact time, date and location one hundred and fifty years apart. The complication: they exchange bodies. Or at least the Vancouver homicide detective Mallory Atkinson, hopes the other victim is alive.
Mallory is in Edinburgh, Scotland to be at the side of her beloved, dying grandmother. She goes out for a quick run and is lured into an alleyway where she is attacked and almost killed. To add insult to injury, Mallory is pulled though time.
Mallory awakes in the house of an Edinburgh undertaker/doctor/researcher. Unfortunately, she wakes up in the body of young housemaid Catriona Mitchell. Mallory quickly comes to understand her new situation as we have all grown up with time travel books and movies. Mallory takes a few days to acclimate herself by pleading head injuries and shock in order to take stock of her situation.
Mallory also uses those same excuses to plead the reasons for her tremendous personality changes. Mallory is no longer illiterate, plus she is able to slowly insert herself a position to assist her employer, Dr Duncan Gray. Mallory’s greatest barrier to survival is not being thrown out of the sheltering house as she is either feared, distrusted, disliked, or all three by just about everyone who knows her; and with good reason. Mallory is in a panic wondering what havoc Catriona could be wreaking with her family back in her time. If, in fact she made an even- steven time jump.
I have to admit I haven’t read many time travel books. However, I think A Rip Through Timeis a terrific book. The premise is highly original, and I am extremely impressed with the research going into this recreation of mid-Victorian times in Scotland. Authors can’t wing it anymore since so many readers have Google on speed dial. I always do, not to catch author out, but to find more information about what I’m reading. I’m also impressed Armstrong had to write this without a visit to Edinburgh due to the Pandemic.
Many of the characters are outside the box or changing the shape of the box. Catriona isn’t some sweet young lassie, Dr Grey isn’t a well thought of doctor. Instead as a man of color he collects the stings and insults of a backward police force, except for one detective, a childhood friend.
Dr Grey’s sister isn’t some grieving widow quietly keeping house for her brilliant brother. Instead she is a chemist with a satisfying life but who actively suffers from the countless strictures of Victorian times.
I truly had no clue as to Mallory/Catriona’s killer, so to speak. Armstrong is well able to maintain an intelligent suspense. The action was exciting, fitting the pace of the book. Nothing outlandish, nothing unrealistic.
So here are the questions Armstrong presents us with that keep us constantly engaged; you travel back into time, a time you might know a bit about. What knowledge of the future do you share? Who do you decide to trust? Who do you hurt by not trusting? How do you explain your life? Do you ignore everything you ever read about the butterfly effect? Do you give up trying to get home and make a new life for yourself? These are some of the questions, and the surprising answers makingA Rip Through Time such a terrific read.
Thank you to NetGalley for a review ARC.
The first series was a straight up time travel novel with the heroine falling back into time through a tear in the fabric of time. A Rip Through Time is more complicated. Two women are strangled almost to death at the exact time, date and location one hundred and fifty years apart. The complication: they exchange bodies. Or at least the Vancouver homicide detective Mallory Atkinson, hopes the other victim is alive.
Mallory is in Edinburgh, Scotland to be at the side of her beloved, dying grandmother. She goes out for a quick run and is lured into an alleyway where she is attacked and almost killed. To add insult to injury, Mallory is pulled though time.
Mallory awakes in the house of an Edinburgh undertaker/doctor/researcher. Unfortunately, she wakes up in the body of young housemaid Catriona Mitchell. Mallory quickly comes to understand her new situation as we have all grown up with time travel books and movies. Mallory takes a few days to acclimate herself by pleading head injuries and shock in order to take stock of her situation.
Mallory also uses those same excuses to plead the reasons for her tremendous personality changes. Mallory is no longer illiterate, plus she is able to slowly insert herself a position to assist her employer, Dr Duncan Gray. Mallory’s greatest barrier to survival is not being thrown out of the sheltering house as she is either feared, distrusted, disliked, or all three by just about everyone who knows her; and with good reason. Mallory is in a panic wondering what havoc Catriona could be wreaking with her family back in her time. If, in fact she made an even- steven time jump.
I have to admit I haven’t read many time travel books. However, I think A Rip Through Timeis a terrific book. The premise is highly original, and I am extremely impressed with the research going into this recreation of mid-Victorian times in Scotland. Authors can’t wing it anymore since so many readers have Google on speed dial. I always do, not to catch author out, but to find more information about what I’m reading. I’m also impressed Armstrong had to write this without a visit to Edinburgh due to the Pandemic.
Many of the characters are outside the box or changing the shape of the box. Catriona isn’t some sweet young lassie, Dr Grey isn’t a well thought of doctor. Instead as a man of color he collects the stings and insults of a backward police force, except for one detective, a childhood friend.
Dr Grey’s sister isn’t some grieving widow quietly keeping house for her brilliant brother. Instead she is a chemist with a satisfying life but who actively suffers from the countless strictures of Victorian times.
I truly had no clue as to Mallory/Catriona’s killer, so to speak. Armstrong is well able to maintain an intelligent suspense. The action was exciting, fitting the pace of the book. Nothing outlandish, nothing unrealistic.
So here are the questions Armstrong presents us with that keep us constantly engaged; you travel back into time, a time you might know a bit about. What knowledge of the future do you share? Who do you decide to trust? Who do you hurt by not trusting? How do you explain your life? Do you ignore everything you ever read about the butterfly effect? Do you give up trying to get home and make a new life for yourself? These are some of the questions, and the surprising answers makingA Rip Through Time such a terrific read.
Thank you to NetGalley for a review ARC.
May 16, 2022
As usual, Kelley Armstrong delivers the fun in her stories. I am not a fan of time travel books, but this one delivered with a straightforward line, along with some giggles as our heroine tried to juxtapose the future with the past.
I can certainly see a sequel coming soon!
Many thanks to Kelley Armstrong, and NetGalley for the chance to early read this story.
I can certainly see a sequel coming soon!
Many thanks to Kelley Armstrong, and NetGalley for the chance to early read this story.
July 17, 2022
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong is the first book in the science fiction fantasy series by the same name, A Rip Through Time. This series is a historical time traveling fantasy that also blends in a thrilling mystery making a nice mix of genres.
Mallory Atkinson is a homicide detective who has been visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh on May 20, 2019 when she goes out for a jog. Mallory hears what sounds like a woman crying and the detective in her can’t help but investigate and that is when she is attacked.
Mallory awakens after her attack and finds that while she is in the exact same spot she is not in her own time or even her own body. Mallory has taken over the body of Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid, and is now in 1869 where to fit in she fills in Catriona’s duties working for a doctor. Mallory soon finds that her employer, Dr Gray, is working on a murder case that mirrors her own attack.
A Rip Through Time is not the first book I’ve read from author Kelley Armstrong so I wasn’t too surprised to find myself enjoying this first book of the A Rip Through Time series. If one is looking specifically for time traveling I’d say move alone as this is more heavily the historical mystery side but I really enjoyed the out of place and time lead character trying to fit into that era. The mystery also pulled me in and would have been good on it’s own but being tied to time travel made it doubly intriguing. Not sure what the second book will hold but I’ll be there for it for sure.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Mallory Atkinson is a homicide detective who has been visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh on May 20, 2019 when she goes out for a jog. Mallory hears what sounds like a woman crying and the detective in her can’t help but investigate and that is when she is attacked.
Mallory awakens after her attack and finds that while she is in the exact same spot she is not in her own time or even her own body. Mallory has taken over the body of Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid, and is now in 1869 where to fit in she fills in Catriona’s duties working for a doctor. Mallory soon finds that her employer, Dr Gray, is working on a murder case that mirrors her own attack.
A Rip Through Time is not the first book I’ve read from author Kelley Armstrong so I wasn’t too surprised to find myself enjoying this first book of the A Rip Through Time series. If one is looking specifically for time traveling I’d say move alone as this is more heavily the historical mystery side but I really enjoyed the out of place and time lead character trying to fit into that era. The mystery also pulled me in and would have been good on it’s own but being tied to time travel made it doubly intriguing. Not sure what the second book will hold but I’ll be there for it for sure.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
July 1, 2022
Canadian detective Mallory Atkinson is in Edinburgh visiting her dying grandmother. Going for a jog one morning she hears a woman’s cries coming from an alley and when she goes to investigate, she sees a woman being attacked. However, she is also attacked by someone following her and left unconscious.
Waking up 150 years earlier in Victorian Scotland, Mallory discovers she has taken on the appearance of a housemaid called Catriona who works for Duncan Grey, an undertaker, and his widowed sister Isla. She must quickly adapt to her new role as well as the clothes and customs of the times, using her concussion as an excuse for lost memories. Duncan Gray also assists the police as a medical examiner so Mallory can’t help be interested in the murder case he is currently working on, even though she can’t reveal her real experience to him. She also needs to find a way to get back home to her family and friends.
I enjoyed the sights and sounds of Victorian Scotland which were very atmospheric as well as the life as a servant in a wealthy household. The emerging medical knowledge and early forensic work were also well researched. Duncan’s sister Isla was also an interesting character, an independent, strong-willed woman with her own secret profession. There were a number of other interesting themes in the novel including racism an prejudice (against people of colour, Jewish faith and Irish immigrants), the justice and prison system and journalism (not just fake news but often total fiction).
Waking up 150 years earlier in Victorian Scotland, Mallory discovers she has taken on the appearance of a housemaid called Catriona who works for Duncan Grey, an undertaker, and his widowed sister Isla. She must quickly adapt to her new role as well as the clothes and customs of the times, using her concussion as an excuse for lost memories. Duncan Gray also assists the police as a medical examiner so Mallory can’t help be interested in the murder case he is currently working on, even though she can’t reveal her real experience to him. She also needs to find a way to get back home to her family and friends.
I enjoyed the sights and sounds of Victorian Scotland which were very atmospheric as well as the life as a servant in a wealthy household. The emerging medical knowledge and early forensic work were also well researched. Duncan’s sister Isla was also an interesting character, an independent, strong-willed woman with her own secret profession. There were a number of other interesting themes in the novel including racism an prejudice (against people of colour, Jewish faith and Irish immigrants), the justice and prison system and journalism (not just fake news but often total fiction).
December 25, 2021
Ok…I have a huge problem….I need the next book in this series and this one isn’t going to be published for five more months. I typically enjoy Kelley Armstrong’s books and this was no exception. I’ll admit the added benefit of the main character sharing my name was nice, but honestly I liked the concept and execution all around. Detective Mallory hears a woman scream and runs to help and finds herself being choked and when she wakes up she’s in the body of the woman she tried to help in Victorian Scotland as a housemaid. She struggles to adjust to the unfamiliar time and tries to figure out how she can get home to her own time and body. She finds herself lucky enough to be the housemaid for an undertaker who allows her to assist him in trying to solve murders. I really liked the historical look at crime solving and early forensics. All of the characters were fun and I definitely will be revisiting this world.
August 13, 2023
I had read several reviews and the book really caught my attention, so I decided to give it a try. I rarely read time travel but combined with a detective mystery it was a combination that sounded great. The writing held my attention, so I give it a 4*. I found the plot to move along at a slow pace so that gets a 3* Actually I found the plot to be a bit thin. I may continue with the series but am unsure at this point.
Read
May 17, 2022Whelp, I spoke too soon… taken a nose dive. At 25% I was enjoying it, at 40% I want to hurl it across the room.
I’m frustrated & I’m done. Read into that what you will. Going to explore my backlist and take a much needed break from ARC’s for a while…
I’m frustrated & I’m done. Read into that what you will. Going to explore my backlist and take a much needed break from ARC’s for a while…
July 23, 2023
I was so excited when I heard that Kelley Armstrong was writing a new series and it was about time travel in Victorian Scotland.
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’s attacked. Through the haze of fighting off her attacker she, sees projection of a young woman in a old fashioned dress struck down by an unknown attacker on the wall, Mallory can’t believe what she saw. Shortly after fighting back, the figures vanish,her attacker has his hands wrapped around her throat. She’s off balance and can’t do more than fail. Her last thoughts are of her Nan. The world goes black May 20, 2019
May 20, 1868 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 awakes in Catriona’s body in 1869 she must push aside her shock and adjust to her new reality. Housemaid to a undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon realizes that her boss moonlights as a medical examiner and just so happens that Dr. Grey has just begun an intriguing case of the strangulation of a young man, with similar to the attack on herself. Mallory’s only hope to return to her time period is catching the murderer so she can return to her modern life…….before it’s to late…..
Mallory thinks back to the night in the alley two women being strangled on the same night in the same spot she, believes she’d seen the attack itself through a rip in time she was attacked in the same manner time intertwined, and Mallory fell into Catriona
I loved the characters they were created with such depth and felt that the story being told from the POV of Mallory in the first person, made it that much poignant, especially with her quick witted internal dialogue, and her need to remember her place as a woman in service in her new timeline. I enjoyed reading the debut series A Rip through Time by Kelley Armstrong. I was swept away too Victorian Scotland. Cheering, for Mallory, despise the murderer, and, it felt like I was living in the Grey household along side the characters, and I wasn’t ready to leave them yet.
I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.
Favourite quote from the book
We may keep secrets to protect others, but they will only ever feel we didn’t trust them enough.
Mallory’s favourite quote from the book
I am at the mercy of fate, and I don’t do well with that.
I make my own choices. I control my destiny as much as I am able to hell I don’t even like to let someone else drive. And now the universe has snatched the steering wheel from my hands, and I swear, I hear it laughing at my frustration.
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’s attacked. Through the haze of fighting off her attacker she, sees projection of a young woman in a old fashioned dress struck down by an unknown attacker on the wall, Mallory can’t believe what she saw. Shortly after fighting back, the figures vanish,her attacker has his hands wrapped around her throat. She’s off balance and can’t do more than fail. Her last thoughts are of her Nan. The world goes black May 20, 2019
May 20, 1868 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 awakes in Catriona’s body in 1869 she must push aside her shock and adjust to her new reality. Housemaid to a undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon realizes that her boss moonlights as a medical examiner and just so happens that Dr. Grey has just begun an intriguing case of the strangulation of a young man, with similar to the attack on herself. Mallory’s only hope to return to her time period is catching the murderer so she can return to her modern life…….before it’s to late…..
Mallory thinks back to the night in the alley two women being strangled on the same night in the same spot she, believes she’d seen the attack itself through a rip in time she was attacked in the same manner time intertwined, and Mallory fell into Catriona
I loved the characters they were created with such depth and felt that the story being told from the POV of Mallory in the first person, made it that much poignant, especially with her quick witted internal dialogue, and her need to remember her place as a woman in service in her new timeline. I enjoyed reading the debut series A Rip through Time by Kelley Armstrong. I was swept away too Victorian Scotland. Cheering, for Mallory, despise the murderer, and, it felt like I was living in the Grey household along side the characters, and I wasn’t ready to leave them yet.
I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.
Favourite quote from the book
We may keep secrets to protect others, but they will only ever feel we didn’t trust them enough.
Mallory’s favourite quote from the book
I am at the mercy of fate, and I don’t do well with that.
I make my own choices. I control my destiny as much as I am able to hell I don’t even like to let someone else drive. And now the universe has snatched the steering wheel from my hands, and I swear, I hear it laughing at my frustration.
April 24, 2022
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: May 31, 2022
Canadian author Kelley Armstrong brings a time travel murder mystery for the ages with her new novel, “A Rip Through Time”.
Detective Mallory Atkinson is at her dying grandmother’s bedside in Edinburgh, hoping to be able to be with her beloved Nan when she passes. Taking a break from the hospital sights and smells, Mallory decides to set out on a jog, and when she hears a woman in distress she can’t help but investigate. Mallory sees a young woman in dated clothing, faded and ethereal, but she disappears just as Mallory herself is attacked and left unconscious. The next thing Mallory knows she is in the early 19th century, in the body of the young woman she saw in the alley. Desperate to return home, but also to keep her true identity a secret, Mallory finds herself involved in an unrelated murder investigation. As a present day detective, Mallory has some skills that could help in finding the killer, but is she willing to reveal her secrets to solve the crime?
Obviously, any novel that involves traveling through time gets an immediate association with “Outlander”, but Armstrong’s novel is an entity all on its own. Without the romance and steamy sex scenes, “Time” brings police investigation across the centuries, bringing with it the challenges of being a female detective in a time where women are expected to be “seen and not heard”.
Mallory is a determined detective, proud granddaughter and brave woman. I was impressed with her fortitude, and the fact that her immediate goal was to find a way to return to the bedside of her dying grandmother. She is an impressive character, and I bonded with her right away.
Of course this novel is the first in a series, and the ending hints very obviously that more books are yet to come. I enjoyed the way that the initial crime was solved, while still leaving enough open questions so that the reader was satisfied, and yet left craving more.
I loved Armstrong’s criminal investigation components (even Victorian-era style!) and how both Duncan and Mallory attacked the murders with gusto. A perfect police procedural in a time before police investigations had any science involved (let alone DNA) and it still managed to captivate me from the beginning.
This is definitely a series to watch, and I will keep a close eye out for book number two from Armstrong.
Expected publication date: May 31, 2022
Canadian author Kelley Armstrong brings a time travel murder mystery for the ages with her new novel, “A Rip Through Time”.
Detective Mallory Atkinson is at her dying grandmother’s bedside in Edinburgh, hoping to be able to be with her beloved Nan when she passes. Taking a break from the hospital sights and smells, Mallory decides to set out on a jog, and when she hears a woman in distress she can’t help but investigate. Mallory sees a young woman in dated clothing, faded and ethereal, but she disappears just as Mallory herself is attacked and left unconscious. The next thing Mallory knows she is in the early 19th century, in the body of the young woman she saw in the alley. Desperate to return home, but also to keep her true identity a secret, Mallory finds herself involved in an unrelated murder investigation. As a present day detective, Mallory has some skills that could help in finding the killer, but is she willing to reveal her secrets to solve the crime?
Obviously, any novel that involves traveling through time gets an immediate association with “Outlander”, but Armstrong’s novel is an entity all on its own. Without the romance and steamy sex scenes, “Time” brings police investigation across the centuries, bringing with it the challenges of being a female detective in a time where women are expected to be “seen and not heard”.
Mallory is a determined detective, proud granddaughter and brave woman. I was impressed with her fortitude, and the fact that her immediate goal was to find a way to return to the bedside of her dying grandmother. She is an impressive character, and I bonded with her right away.
Of course this novel is the first in a series, and the ending hints very obviously that more books are yet to come. I enjoyed the way that the initial crime was solved, while still leaving enough open questions so that the reader was satisfied, and yet left craving more.
I loved Armstrong’s criminal investigation components (even Victorian-era style!) and how both Duncan and Mallory attacked the murders with gusto. A perfect police procedural in a time before police investigations had any science involved (let alone DNA) and it still managed to captivate me from the beginning.
This is definitely a series to watch, and I will keep a close eye out for book number two from Armstrong.
June 14, 2022
Ahoy there me mateys! I received an eArc of this historical fantasy through NetGalley in exchange for me honest musings . . .
I love Kelley Armstrong. This be me 18th book by the author. I really wish I could say that I loved this one but alas it must walk the plank! No one is more surprised then me that I found this book to be so difficult to read, enjoy, and finish.
The book follows Mallory, a cop, who is transported from 2019 to 1869 and lands in another person's body. That person happens to be Catriona, a housemaid for a funeral director whose side hobby happens to be the study of forensics. In a series of truly silly circumstances, Catriona (Mallory), ends up helping her employer try to solve the mystery of a serial killer.
Now often in Kelley Armstrong books, ye have to suspend disbelief and realize there are some over-the-top plot points. This book just had too much. Mallory is said to be intelligent but is constantly using modern language and reacting without thought. The time travel element makes no sense and the ending of the book only confuses things further. Too much time is spent in Mallory's wishy-washy noggin. The characters in 1869 accept she is from the future so easily I actually laughed out-loud. And not in a good way. The pacing was uneven and sort of boring at times. Mallory helping with the police investigations was just plain ridiculous for the time period. Seriously I had trouble with the whole plot.
Good things? Umm I liked the character of Isla and wished I could have been reading a historical fiction about her helping her brother with his cases instead. In a time period appropriate-ish way of course.
I wish I could say I wanted to read more of this series but I cannot. Arrrr!
I love Kelley Armstrong. This be me 18th book by the author. I really wish I could say that I loved this one but alas it must walk the plank! No one is more surprised then me that I found this book to be so difficult to read, enjoy, and finish.
The book follows Mallory, a cop, who is transported from 2019 to 1869 and lands in another person's body. That person happens to be Catriona, a housemaid for a funeral director whose side hobby happens to be the study of forensics. In a series of truly silly circumstances, Catriona (Mallory), ends up helping her employer try to solve the mystery of a serial killer.
Now often in Kelley Armstrong books, ye have to suspend disbelief and realize there are some over-the-top plot points. This book just had too much. Mallory is said to be intelligent but is constantly using modern language and reacting without thought. The time travel element makes no sense and the ending of the book only confuses things further. Too much time is spent in Mallory's wishy-washy noggin. The characters in 1869 accept she is from the future so easily I actually laughed out-loud. And not in a good way. The pacing was uneven and sort of boring at times. Mallory helping with the police investigations was just plain ridiculous for the time period. Seriously I had trouble with the whole plot.
Good things? Umm I liked the character of Isla and wished I could have been reading a historical fiction about her helping her brother with his cases instead. In a time period appropriate-ish way of course.
I wish I could say I wanted to read more of this series but I cannot. Arrrr!
May 17, 2022
I had no expectations for A Rip Through Time. The amateurish cover suggested it might have an unpolished, indie feel to it. I am pleased to report that couldn't be farther from the truth. This was a compelling and exciting adventure. I give it five enthusiastic stars.
In a nutshell, a present day Canadian police detective, Mallory Atkinson, is attacked by a man she accidentally spilled coffee on earlier in the day. When she awakens, she finds herself in the body of a housemaid in 1869 Edinburgh working for a Mr. Duncan Gray, an undertaker who fancies himself more of a forensic scientist, even though such a job doesn't quite have a name yet. Incredibly the author skillfully makes this coincidence work.
I couldn't stop reading, and kept finding ways to sneak in a little more, because it was such a fascinating slow burn. The world building for the time period, the character development, and the mystery were all excellently put together into something simply exhilarating.
I'm especially excited to know this is the start of a series. Sign me up for all the rest!
In a nutshell, a present day Canadian police detective, Mallory Atkinson, is attacked by a man she accidentally spilled coffee on earlier in the day. When she awakens, she finds herself in the body of a housemaid in 1869 Edinburgh working for a Mr. Duncan Gray, an undertaker who fancies himself more of a forensic scientist, even though such a job doesn't quite have a name yet. Incredibly the author skillfully makes this coincidence work.
I couldn't stop reading, and kept finding ways to sneak in a little more, because it was such a fascinating slow burn. The world building for the time period, the character development, and the mystery were all excellently put together into something simply exhilarating.
I'm especially excited to know this is the start of a series. Sign me up for all the rest!
January 11, 2022
I have just finished reading A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong.
This is the first book by the Author for me.
It is a series debut from a New York Times Bestselling author. A Rip Through Times series.
A gothic setting taking place in Victorian Scotland. In 1969. A very interesting script that starts of in current time in Edinburgh
I really do enjoy a good gothic book, and this does not disappoint. Very engaging writing, story, and characters.
I do recommend this book and am looking forward to more to come with the series!
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy to read and review.
#NetGalley
This is the first book by the Author for me.
It is a series debut from a New York Times Bestselling author. A Rip Through Times series.
A gothic setting taking place in Victorian Scotland. In 1969. A very interesting script that starts of in current time in Edinburgh
I really do enjoy a good gothic book, and this does not disappoint. Very engaging writing, story, and characters.
I do recommend this book and am looking forward to more to come with the series!
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Kelley Armstrong, and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy to read and review.
#NetGalley
October 30, 2022
3 of 10 stars
April 28, 2024
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
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
May 7, 2023
4.0 Stars
This was such an enjoyable historical thriller. I don't read a lot of historical fiction but I found it fascinating to learn more about historical Scotland. This book definitely gave me mild Outlander vibes. Time travel stories like this always require a degree of suspension of disbelief. However, if you can make the leap, I would highly recommend this one as a fun thriller novel. This is much cuter than I would normally prefer but it was perfect when I was in the mood for lighter romp.
This was such an enjoyable historical thriller. I don't read a lot of historical fiction but I found it fascinating to learn more about historical Scotland. This book definitely gave me mild Outlander vibes. Time travel stories like this always require a degree of suspension of disbelief. However, if you can make the leap, I would highly recommend this one as a fun thriller novel. This is much cuter than I would normally prefer but it was perfect when I was in the mood for lighter romp.
November 17, 2022
This was an addicting book, could not put it down. Time traveling... loved every second of listening.
The next installment comes out in 2023. Can hardly wait!
The next installment comes out in 2023. Can hardly wait!
April 18, 2022
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.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
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.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
July 5, 2022
I really enjoyed this audio!
The premise was unique and really interesting. A detective finds herself transported to Victorian times and tries to solve murders without arousing suspicion or using any of the modern-day forensic tecniques! Sign me up!
I loved this. I haven't read a book with so many interesting problems and I found it completely immersive.
Towards the end, I did feel it drag somewhat. 14 hours is not a quick listen, and I think it lost some of the pace.
That said, this was a fascinating listen and I can't wait for the next installment!
The premise was unique and really interesting. A detective finds herself transported to Victorian times and tries to solve murders without arousing suspicion or using any of the modern-day forensic tecniques! Sign me up!
I loved this. I haven't read a book with so many interesting problems and I found it completely immersive.
Towards the end, I did feel it drag somewhat. 14 hours is not a quick listen, and I think it lost some of the pace.
That said, this was a fascinating listen and I can't wait for the next installment!
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