If I could have one superpower it would be to time travel! It should therefore be no surprise that I LOVE time travel books! When I saw that a new time travel murder mystery novel was coming out, I was absolutely on board for a review! I have read a couple of other time travel murder mysteries and loved them so much so naturally I am always looking for another to satisfy my desire to time travel!
And why does it always seem like every time travel book is set in Scotland? I don’t have the answer nor do I care, because I love how well Scotland works for time travel books. I mean Outlander, need I say more?! When I saw this book was being labeled as a cross between Outlander and The Alienist, I couldn’t WAIT to get my hands on it! I loved both of those books and couldn’t wait to read something in a similar vein that was also different.
To be fair though, not all time travel murder mysteries are created equal and just because a time travel murder mystery set in Scotland calls to my heart, I didn’t want to overly build it up in my mind only to be disappointed. That has happened. to me before so I didn’t want to experience a let down, however I simply couldn’t help but build it up in my mind before I even started it!
Summary
In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, 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.
Outlander meets The Alienist in Kelley Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time, the first book in this utterly compelling series, mixing romance, mystery, and fantasy with thrilling results. (Summary from Goodreads)
Review
I need not have worried about building this one up in my mind too much because it was absolutely fantastic! I loved that this book had a lot of interesting elements for me as a reader to enjoy and digest. There was history, romance, mystery, and of course time travel. I found that I was constantly engaged in various aspects of the story and each was more and more compelling! I loved how authentic the history and setting felt. I loved reading about Scotland in the late 1800s, I felt like each character historically fit well in the novel and even the modern Homicide detective, Mallory fit seamlessly into the historical narrative.
What I felt was the absolute best part of this book though was how Mallory adjusted to living in a different era. She was certainly out of place but she did a good job assimilating and it was fun trying to figure out what was happening with her. I mean she wakes up in the body of 19 year old housemaid Catriona in the 1800s, but what’s happened to Catriona? What’s going on in the modern story? I loved that part of the story and just loved how well developed Mallory was as a character. It’s what shined for me!
The mystery itself was well written and interesting, not to mention it kept me guessing until the end. Mystery fans will certainly enjoy this book. I don’t want to give too much away but just know it’s a well done mystery! It’s clear that this is going to turn into a series but I loved that the first book wrapped up as much as it was able to which leaves readers looking forward to what’s inevitably coming. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series! I loved this book from beginning to end and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves historical fiction, fantasy, romance, and murder! So good!
Book Info and Rating
Format: 352 pages, hardcover
Published: May 31st 2022 by Minotaur Books
ISBN: 9781250820006
Free review copy provided by publisher, Minotaur Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: historical fiction, mystery
The Lit Bitch 