A great plot for a new series. I loved the characters.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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.

Princess Fuzzypants here: We meet Mallory while she is holding vigil at the hospice in Edinburgh for her dying grandmother. An accident in a coffee shop puts her in unexpected peril from a serial killer. She is a detective back in Vancouver but he is able to overpower her and she thinks she is going to die. What she does not expect is that she wakes up in Victorian Edinburgh in the body of a housemaid. It seems at the same moment 150 years apart Catriona, the housemaid, was being murdered in exactly the same spot and somehow they travel through time and switch bodies.

Mallory is going to have a tough enough time adjusting to being a woman in Victorian times both in her station and in her speech and attitudes. But she has a far worse time as she learns Catriona has not been a very nice girl and has done many nefarious deeds. Thankfully she lands in the household of a brother and sister. He is involved in the nascent field of forensics and she is a kind soul who tries to give Catriona, thus Mallory, many chances to shed her evil ways. The two women become allies once Mallory confesses her story but the sister does not want to tell her brother the truth for fear it would distract him.

He is quite open to listening to Mallory’s observations as they investigate the murder of a young man and the attempted murder- twice- of Catriona. Little does he know until the end of the book that he is working with a professional. The threesome with the aid of a police friend do solve the mystery even though they do not realize while they are doing it that there are mysteries upon mysteries. It seems Mallory is not the only time traveller.

It is a great premise and executed very well into a taut and exciting thriller. I was hooked very early and remained so right until the end. I cannot wait to see where this is going to go. Well done. Five purrs and two paws up.

Time travel, mystery, and well written historical fiction make this story a great read. Mallory, a cop, time travels from 2019 to 1869 Edinburgh after suffering a brutal attack. When she awakes, she finds that she is in the body of a different person, Catriona, a housemaid. Now she has to figure out how she got there, solve a mystery and figure out how to get back to her own time. Recommended.

First in the series.

I'm honestly torn on this one. I like Kelley Armstrong's books, but this one didn't hold my attention like they normally do. Maybe it was the period setting. It was an okay first book, and I'll probably read the next in the series, but historical mysteries really aren't my thing and combine that with the time travel element, and the whole thing is just off for me. It took a while to get through, just because I could only read for a few pages before some new shiny thing caught my attention.

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.

Setting: Edinburgh (Scotland) and Vancouver, Canada

In 2019, Mallory Atkinson is a 30 years of age detective visiting her dying grandmother. She was visiting her grandmother in hospice and she went to get coffee for the nurses and herself at a nearby coffee house. As she held her tray of coffee, she bangs into a man who happened to be standing by too closely. Mallory just spilled a little bit of coffee on him but he was very perturbed by the incident. Later in the day, she felt the need to unwind and stretch her legs and get some exercise. She goes out for a jog. She suddenly hears a cry of a young girl in a dark alley so she goes to investigate. After all, she’s a detective and she can take care of herself. As she drew closer, she sees a flicker of the image of a girl getting strangled. Next thing she doesn’t see the girl but instead, feels the roughness of a rope on her neck and being choked by it. Just as she was losing consciousness she sees the girl again and then passes out. As she wakes up, she is now suddenly in 1869. Not only is she no longer in the 20th Century, but she is also now relegated to a 19-year-old housemaid. Correction, a conniving, thieving, double-crossing housemaid who has a face of an angel but one who would sell her loved one’s soul for some trinkets. She has left many broken hearts and stolen and sold miscellaneous items, double-crossed friends, and outwardly uses her feminine wiles to get things her way. While that normally has nothing to do with Mallory, unfortunately when Mallory ripped through time and body swapped into Catriona Mitchell’s body, that means Cat is in Mallory’s body!

I enjoyed the setting of 1869 where a heroine from the 20th century travels back in time, she is unaccustomed to being relegated as “just a woman” and not being able to use her accustomed cell phone or have equal rights as men. As a housemaid for Dr. Duncan Gray, who is a doctor of science, because of his skin color, he is made to feel the obstacles of being taken as a doctor. His sister, Isla Gray is a brilliant chemist but is often not taken seriously unless by her brother, Duncan, and a family friend, Detective Hugh McCreadie. Even they at times, dismiss her theories.

Trapped in Catriona Mitchell’s body, Mallory has to figure out how to go back to her time period while stealthy assisting Dr. Gray and Detective McCreadie in solving the case of the dead bodies that are turning up. The first body seemed tortured and has a feather, representing he was a stool pigeon. The second body was of a young girl fitting the Jack the Ripper killing only in this case a decade too soon. This killer must have traded bodies with Catriona’s killer and also time traveled back into this time period. Only this murderer wants to be noticed and recognized. So much so, that he is replicating the infamous Jack the Ripper’s murder.

I also loved the friendship and trust that grows between Mallory and Isla. It is two women who know they are more capable than society deems correct and they try to work around the parameters. You start sensing a sisterhood between the two.

The story is interesting as it continues but, to be honest, I figured out who the murderer was by 34% into the book. It truly sets up to be a series and I do look forward to reading the next one.

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

I LOVED this book! Time travel, forensic science, police investigation, personal mystery….this book has it all! When Mallory got attacked in an alley and then found herself in a different time & a different body she had so much figuring out to do. The police investigator in her helped move the story along. The pace was great and I really enjoyed the characters: Isla, Duncan, McCreadie and the other house staff. I enjoyed the references to Canada & being Canadian. I enjoy reading books by Canadian authors and this book was fabulous!
The ending left me wanting more & I’m very invested in knowing if Mallory makes it back in time to see her Nan before she passes. I cannot wait for the second book to come out so I can continue this story.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Publishing for the chance to read this most excellent book!

A Rip Through Time is a new series debut by one of my favorite authors and I absolutely loved it!!

This book was so unique and the characters truly came to life for me. I absolutely loved the time travel twist of a modern-day homicide detective finding herself transported back in time in Victorian Scotland.

Our MC finds herself in the unfamiliar body of a murder victim who died on the same night in the same place 150 years earlier with a killer who most definitely still wants her dead. I loved how Mallory must quickly learn to navigate in an entirely different world as the person she looked like and still try to stop a killer. This was such a great read the world building was fantastic and I can’t wait for the next installment. I absolutely highly recommend this book!

I was provided and e-arc through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

This book has:

Time Travel
Mystery
Thriller Elements
Character-driven
Victorian Era
Canadian FC
Cop FC

I want to start off by saying I never read Mystery/Thrillers, but I gave this book a chance because I've read the author before. I have read Victorian romance novels so I was familiar with the era.

This book was highly character driven. Multiple mysteries that tied into the initial mystery - Who tried to strangle the main character? Learning about Catriona through Mallory's eyes was interesting . It provoked thoughts about what you'd do if you found yourself in the Victorian Era having to relearn everything you thought you knew.

The story lagged about 1/2 to 3/4th the way through - I found myself not wanting to pickup the book as much. Once it picked up, it picked up quickly and ended. It did wrap up the story but obviously left it wide open for the next in the series.

Isla, Duncan and McCreadie were all characters I enjoyed to read about. Duncan sometimes felt a little flat (only because of his logical nature, which is hard sometimes to deepen). Isla was truly the star of the side characters and I loved the friendship that formed between her and Mallory.

Overall a fantastic read if you're into any of the elements mentioned. I look forward to the next installment.

Read if you love:
🗡Time travel
🗡Mystery
🗡Forensics
🗡Victorian Scotland
🗡Character diversity
🗡Twists and turns
🗡Open-ended storylines
🗡Budding romance

“𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆-𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒑 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝑽𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔” 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒑𝒉 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.“

This was such a different, but fun and refreshing read! Forensic science was just starting to be studied during this time period, so it was really interesting traveling to Victorian Scotland with our heroine. It felt like I was reading a historical episode of CSI. First, it was hilarious as Mallory went from modern day detective to Victorian housemaid and she tried to navigate speaking and her new job. Then her eccentric employer Dr. Gray, who is an undertaker by day and a medical examiner by night, added a whole other layer of fun. I enjoyed the entire cast of characters and the emergence of a serial killer which brought Mallory’s investigative background to the fore. There were so many twist and turns as she tried to figure out a way back to present day while also trying to catch a serial killer. This book wasn’t heavy on romance, but I could tell that there a couple potential romances on the horizon. You could say this ended on a cliffhanger because though there is a huge storyline that is closed…well, I’ll just leave it at that!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy. My thoughts are my own.

3.75 stars rounded up.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. A Rip Through Time follows homicide detective Mallory who hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness. The same day, 150 years earlier, housemaid Catriona Mitchell is discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead in the exact same spot as Mallory. Mallory hopes that by catching the murderer she can get back to her modern life before a killer finds her.

I think in all, I was much more compelled by the characters and the world than the mystery, which I was a little bummed by. At times it felt like (despite being a homicide detective) she just accused everyone and the killer was just process of elimination. However, I think I would still pick up the sequel!

A Rip Through Time is an interesting piece of historical fiction. Mallory is stuck in 1869 Edinburgh after she is attacked in 2019. She wakes in the body of Catriona, a housemaid. I felt like I was getting an entertaining history lesson as I learned about life in 1869 Scotland. The setting was almost a character in this interesting story. I was pleased to see this is the first of a series - I look forward to the next book in the series. I would recommend to fans of cozy mysteries and/or historical fiction.

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong is book one of a new series about a homicide detective that starts the day in 2019 and ends up almost dead in 1869. Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh, and she goes for a jog. While on that jog, she hears a scream and goes to investigate. She somehow ends up in the attacked woman's body in 1869, where women are not taken very seriously. She starts to investigate what happened so that she can go back to her modern-day life, but she ends up making some friends along the way. This book was unputdownable, as are all the other books that I've read by Armstrong. I can't wait for the next book in this new series! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Mallory, a police detective from Vancouver, is in Edinburgh, Scotland to be with her dying grandmother. One afternoon she makes a mis-judgement while investigating a noise she hears in a dark alley. As a result, she is nearly strangled by an unknown assailant. When she wakes up she discovers that she has inexplicably been transported to 19th century Edinburgh and has taken the form of a young housemaid in a very untraditional home. As Mallory tries to find her way back to the 21st century she is caught up in a murder investigation that also holds personal relevance.

A Rip Through Time is a clever premise that will take the reader to Victorian Scotland at a time when women were often overlooked and under estimated, people lived in abject poverty, and forensic science was in its infancy. It is a fascinating look at the customs and beliefs of the time. Overall, it’s a good story, although the first few chapters seemed to drag. However, beyond that the story picks up the pace, even though the logic behind the murder investigation sometimes seems a little flawed or incomplete. Even so, I enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s book and will give it
3.5 *s bumped up to 4. Meanwhile, I hope there will be another book to look forward to.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I love Kelly Armstrong’s A Stitch in Time series! Therefore, I was excited to A Rip in Time. Mrs. Armstrong has a talent for blending mystery, fantasy, and mystery into an engrossing novel! I was hooked from the first page and was on the edge of my seat until the end!

Mallory is a very compelling and relatable character. She takes her job seriously and is very passionate about what she does. She has a strong sense of justice. I found Mallory to be a strong, independent, and intelligent heroine. Therefore, Mallory is an admirable heroine, and I rooted for her to find the killer!

Overall, this novel is about justice, family, and choices. I found all the characters to be realistic and complex. The mystery was very compelling and full of many twists! The story is very well-written and made the Victorian era come alive! A Rip Through Time is a fast-paced read that is full of suspense, action, and time-travel with a hint of romance! I recommend this for fans of A Murder in Time, The Scribe of Sienna, and Into the Dim!

Canadian detective Mallory is in Scotland for her grandmother’s imminent death when she interrupts a crime in a dark alley. Injured, she wakes up, not in a hospital but in the home of a wealthy funeral director. But she’s not Mallory, she’s Catriona, and it’s not 2019, it’s 1869.

As Mallory pieces together the world she’s entered, she finds herself attracted to Hugh, her employer. When his widowed sister returns home, Mallory tells her of her plight. The only problem is, somebody else has time traveled as well, and that person is trying to kill her, but Mallory doesn’t know who it is.

This book has an interesting premise, and most of the characters are very likable, but it’s overly long. And this book is the first of a new series, so the story is not fully resolved. #ARipThroughTime #NetGalley

In A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong, Mallory Atkinson is a modern-day Canadian cop, a homicide detective, who is in Edinburg to visit her dying grandmother. She tries to stop a murder and ends up being attacked herself. She wakes up to find herself in the body of a woman, Catriona, who was attacked at the same time, 150 years before.

I’ll start this off by saying that time-travel fiction is my favorite genre, which means I’ve read a lot of it. Consequently, I’m harder on this genre than any other in my reviews. There are many types of time travel books. Some have a scientific, sci-fi bent. Some are more historical. Some are romances that only use time travel briefly. I would classify this one as a historical mystery/thriller with a bit of time travel.

Every time travel story has to have a means or method of time travel. Some use a machine, some use an enchanted or scientific object, and some use a place. This story uses a murder, which I find unique.

Each story also has to establish rules of time travel. Because time travel doesn’t actually exist, the rules are wide open for every author to set. For example, in Jodi Taylor’s Chronicles of St. Mary’s series, you cannot travel back to the same place where you’ve already been and you can’t change history without history slapping back. In this one, I find little to no rules of time travel at all. Time travel happens, and the only consequence seems to be that the main character, a cop, feels awkward as a maid in the Victorian era and sometimes uses language that is not appropriate for the time. She doesn’t seem worried about paradoxes or anything similar. She mentions she’s not concerned with a “butterfly effect.” She has little trouble–not enough trouble–as a Canadian blending into Victorian times in Edinburg. She’s not really concerned with changing history, other than catching a murderer. As a fan of time travel fiction, I feel at this point that the time travel was used basically as “wow” factor to draw the reader into a book that is actually a historical thriller.

The murder mystery is very strong on its own, with intricate twists and turns. The employer/employee relationship between Mallory and Gray is well done, as we progress slowly from Gray learning that Mallory, who he knows as Catriona, can read and write, to Gray and his sister realizing there is much more going on. The book does move too slowly at times.

I feel the Victorian era is well researched. The author’s note in the front outlines the liberties she took with history, as is her right in a fictional work.

Overall, this is a compelling and intriguing historical mystery/thriller that will quickly draw the reader in. The minimal use of time travel is off-putting for me, as is the fact that the book is written in present tense.

I've always been drawn to time travel stories and I love mysteries, so this one seemed like a perfect fit! And I'm happy to report that t I really enjoyed it. The time travel method was unique, and I'm interested to see how it manifests again in the next book(s). There were times in the story that things worked out a little too conveniently (like how everyone so easily accepted Mallory's time travel), but I was ok to suspend disbelief because I was interested in the characters and everything else going on. After I finished reading, I quickly ordered my own copy and look forward to reading the next one in the series!

That was an interesting time-travel mystery that had me wondering what would happen next the entire time. I loved how Mallory acknowledge she had no idea how to be a 19-year old Victorian maid but would figure it out. In that same vein though she crossed the line so many time it’s a wonder she didn’t get caught. The early crime and forensics used during the period is always interesting to learn about as well. I also love Isla, she is just trying to be chemist and a mans world doesn’t allow it. I am semi intrigued with where this could go next cause I have lots of questions for Mallory.