Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to have this arc copy of this book.


This is the second adventure for both Mallory and Duncan. After the ending of the first book, we find Mallory being ignored by Duncan. Then his eldest sister comes a blurts out she was going to be arrested for her husband’s murder. This starts their new adventure in finding the ring of poisoner’s killing people.

This wasn’t as good as the first one since it was slower than the first. The first was also very centered on Mallory. This one expands the world but not quite in a dynamic way that the first did.

I liked how Mallory and Duncan’s relationship has developed as well. The slow burn is great and frustrating at the same time.

I had guessed the ending long before the book finished, but it didn’t diminish the journey. I needed to see how they got there.

The one oblivious loose string is Jack. I wasn’t thrilled that this new character was sort of just there. They didn’t contribute much to the story and that irked me. Maybe they’ll have a bigger roll in the next book.

All in all, an enjoyable story.

Thank you and NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc.

I really love this series. It's got a lovely very slow burn romance starting, which I adore even though it will absolutely break someone's heart, one way or another. I've loved Kelley Armstrong's stuff since Bitten, but her more recent stuff is just getting better and better.

In our second rip through time, Mallory is still finding her footing but is more adjusted to her new situation than she was on our first outing. Where the first book at times got bogged down in laying out the plot, here we jump into the action fairly quickly. We're chasing people down alleys within 50 pages.

One thing I appreciate about this book is that while romance is hinted at, it's not something we're rushing into. I know that for some people that will be a downside, but if like me you like for your romance to take a backseat to the action, you'll appreciate this.

I read the majority of this in one night. Couldn't put it down. After meeting a new member of the Gray family on this outing, I can't help but wonder who we'll meet next. If you loved the first one, you'll love this even more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for lending me an advance copy so I could write this review!

Another awesome, quick read by Kelley Armstrong. You absolutely can read it as a standalone novel. Loved it.

LOVED this entry in the series. Mallory is still trying to find her way through Victorian London, but at least now her patron and his sister are aware of her circumstances. I can't wait to read more in this series!

I was on the fence about the first book and was hoping this book would kick me off the fence one way or another. It did but not in favor of this book or series. It isn't that it is poorly written or bad storytelling. It is the utter lack of emotion which is just so incredibly lacking. I couldn't finish it; I had high hopes going in and they were quickly dashed.

This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed this one even more than the first! Mallory Mitchell is still stuck in 1869 Edinburgh after inadvertently traveling back in time from 2019. This time she and the crew from the first book are trying to solve a series of poisoning murders. I was kept guessing until the end. I highly recommend this series. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved it! Everything this author writes is extraordinary in all ways. Mallory, a modern day detective, unexpectedly slips back in time to the Victorian era and while trying to find her way back home helps with crime investigations. It's fascinating to watch her roll with the obstacles of that time period and use her current skills for good use. The closer she gets to Gray though, the master of the house she is employed in, is bittersweet because what will happen when she eventually gets back home? I love this series!

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read an advance copy of The poisoner's ring, the 2nd book in the A Rip through time series by Kelley Armstrong. Mallory and Duncan Gray investigates a suspected Poison ring when several men die, including the husband of Duncan's sister, Annis. 'Suspicion falls on both of Duncan's sisters, who both have spent time working with poison. This is a fabulous read, as we see Mallory and Duncan work together, and the respect of Detective Hugh McCreadie starts to give Mallory. I loved the character development of Duncan, the fascination he has for detective work, and the budding relationship he and Mallory have. Mallory begins to change Catriona's character to her own, and while Duncan, Isla and Hugh know who she is, some of the others are still somewhat suspicious of Catriona, and her sudden change of character. I keep wondering how Mallory will be able to go back to the 21st century, and is Catriona in Mallory's body (and the chaos she could be making). I can't wait for the next book. While this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading A rip through time first.

_keeping this short & sweet_

I'm convinced Kelley can legit write anything! She has no limits and I love it!

The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong is the second installment in A Rip Through Time series.

Homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is back in action and ready to uncover the truth.
Edinburgh, 1869 working as an assistant in Victorian Scotland when a serial poisoner starts attacking the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion.

Just as I was expecting this was wonderful.
I was excited to start this book and once I did it was so hard to stop.
The mystery and time era is so fascinating to me.
Armstrong really knows how keep the reader engaged and she hooks you every single time!
Her characters are compelling, the mystery was very unique and the history was so intriguing.
An as always her writing is just brilliant!
Another unputdownable story by one of my all time favorites!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Second installment of this series, it can be read as a standalone, but you miss so much of the world building and how Mallory came to be in Victorian Edinburgh. Loved this one even more because we already have the relationships in place of all the main characters. Murders are taking place by poisonings and our investigators are involved trying to solve them, while the family starts getting drawn into it personally. There are lots of different stories and figuring out how all these deaths relate to each other keep the adventure moving along. It's a great ride and how the relationships keep building keeps us personally invested in them. Well written with a nice flow, as most of Ms Armstrong's work. Advantage of an ARC is we get it quickly, but then have to wait longer for next work to come, thanks to NetGalley for the adventure.

Big thanks to both Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Poisoner's Ring!

Expected publication: May 23rd, 2023

A modern-day homicide detective is working as an undertaker's assistant in Victorian Scotland, when a serial poisoner attacks the men of Edinburgh and leaves their widows under suspicion.

This is the second book in the series and it can be read as a stand-alone, in my opinion. I loved The Poisoner's Ring, although not quite as much as A Rip Through Time. The wonderful characters from the first book (Isla, Duncan, Hugh, and of course Mallory!) are all in this book, as well, and I enjoyed learning more about them. The descriptions of Duncan make him absolutely swoon-worthy. (And, I don't swoon easily, haha!)

I struggled a bit with Mallory suddenly speaking in 21st-century vernacular. For me, it was understandable for that to happen within her inner circle, but it seemed as if she was doing so to one and all. It was a wee bit disappointing, as I had considered it to be HILARIOUS when Mallory tried to figure out how to speak as one would in the 19th century, in the first book.

Don't get me wrong. I still absolutely love this series, and will be tapping my foot impatiently as I wait for #3 to be written!!

This series is so unique. And I’m so torn because I almost don’t want her to travel back.

Ok, with that being said let’s dish.

Complicated…this book was complicated, twisted and made me fall in love with Gray. If I was tumbling the last book I surely fell all the way with this book. This is so much more than just a mystery. Again…complicated.

But the way this author weaves a story is brilliant. I have loved many of her series. This is so much more. Writing Dr. Gray and Isla in that time. Their fairness, their smarts…it was the perfect place for Mallory to land. Her predicament is so wild and they treat her so well. And McCreadie too, how he listens to her.

I can’t wait for the next book. I need more and I can’t imagine how this will all play out. I’m intrigued. I will leave you with this fact…I actually cried at the end.

4.5 stars
A great second installment in the Stitch in Time series. In addition to Mallory, Duncan, Isla and McCreadie, this story introduces Annis, the eldest Gray daughter. Annis is suspected of being part of a poison ring with her husband’s death. The gang follows all the investigative twists and turns through to a rather dramatic conclusion. As ever, we’re left with the questions of how Mallory slipped through time and when/how she’ll be able to get back to the present day.

Thank you so much NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Minotaur.

I've been eagerly awaiting the next in this series and TPR did not disappoint!

Mallory is officially an undertaker's assistant in Victorian England. Working with Dr. Gray, her latest task is finding out who is killing men with poison. She has to prove that Gray's oldest sister is innocent before it is too late.

I love this series. It is original and Armstrong writes her characters so well. Gray and Mallory work so well together. Now I have to wait again for the next one! I wonder if Mallory will ever be able to return to her world and what that would mean for time.

Modern-day police detective Mallory Atkinson is still stuck in Victorian Edinburgh, but her employers, Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister, Isla, a chemist, know who she is. Dr. Gray is a medical examiner, and Mallory works as his assistant. She's felt left out lately, but Gray and Police Detective Hugh McCreadie, need her for their latest investigation. Men have been dying of poison in Edinburgh, and their widows are accused of killing them. There have been several deaths, but the latest one is personal. Gray's oldest sister, Annis, is accused of poisoning her husband, Lord Gordon Leslie. McCreadie is eager for the help of Gray and Mallory, but newspapers and the scandalous broadsheets will have a field day when they learn Lady Leslie's sister is a chemist who might have provided poison. When Mallory recognizes the signs of a poison not readily accessible in Edinburgh in 1869, the group will have a difficult time finding the manipulative villain responsible for four deaths with four people accused of murder.

The second time travel mystery, the sequel to A Rip Through Time, is even better than the first, with fascinating details of Victorian Edinburgh, medicine, and women's roles.

The Poisoner's Ring is a fantastic follow-up to A Rip Through Time with a compelling mystery, fun historical facts, and plenty of action.

Armstrong immediately drops readers into the story, so I did find myself playing a little bit of 'what do I remember' before I caught back up with Mallory's adventures. I will say, however, that I appreciate not having to slog through an entire recap of the previous book and instead getting reminders here and there as the story progressed. I also appreciate that the story could get started right off without Mallory having to tip-toe around and figure out what's going on. The important people know who Mallory is and what situation she's found herself in, and they can just go with it. Obviously this is a perk of this being book #2 in the series, but it starts the story off at a quick pace that rarely lets up and keeps readers on their toes.

Armstrong does a wonderful job of continuing to develop both the personal and professional relationships between Mallory and Gray as well as the relationships between Mallory and several other characters. Each character is interesting in their own way--even those who are only part of the story for a few pages--and having a cast where there's not really anyone that makes me roll my eyes (except those who are supposed to elicit that response) is nice. Of course, in a mystery, it's important to keep an eye on every character, and Armstrong keeps the mystery unfolding by introducing new characters here and there and keeping readers wondering just how important they really are to the story.

The mystery itself is a good one; as a toxicologist, I always love a good poisoning, and I love that Armstrong chose to use a poison that was new to the time period and thus made the mystery both harder and more educational. Mallory, Gray, and the team do a great job of following the clues without leaping to conclusions or making themselves look like fools, and although I suspected the culprit, Armstrong threw in plenty of red herrings to make me second-guess myself.

All in all, The Poisoner's Ring is a great second book to this series, and I can't wait for book 3!

This is the sequel to A Rip Through Time, the first book in the series. I love this series and recommend you read in order to understand how Mallory got in her situation.

In book 2 we see more of Mallory doing detective work alongside with Dr. Gray, her employer. He and the others in his household know she's not the maid Catriona even though she's in her body. Some of them don't understand but they have come to accept her role in helping Dr. Gray.

As Mallory and Gray work together and more closely, we see their relationship evolve, but the social constraints of the time don't allow for more, obviously. First, because Mallory is the maid (in the maid's body) and second, because the maid's body is so much younger than she really is.

The case was very intriguing and suspenseful and the title is a play on the words: a ring of poisoners or/and a ring with poison.

Of course, throughout the question remains of if/when Mallory will be able to return to her own time.

I devoured this book and I can't wait for the next one!

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Kelley Armstrong is such a versatile writer! I loved her Otherworld series so much that I wasn’t sure about this time travel series. But I loved A Rip Through Time and this was even better!
Mallory is such a likable character- she’s a hoot and I loved seeing her relationship with Duncan and Isla grow., as well as the introduction of Annis as we learn more about the family history. The mystery kept me guessing until the end, so I couldn’t put the book!

Love this book and love how Kelly writes i would definitely read anything she writes.. Sexy, hot, and you don't want to put it down. A definite must read. Get your copy today I enjoyed reading.