#Review - The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong #Historical #SyFy

Series: Rip Through Time Novels (#2)
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: May 23, 2023
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Science Fiction / Time Travel / Historical

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.

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell—even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body—and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows… the latest of which is Gray’s oldest sister.

Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that. But she must tread carefully. Every move the household makes is being watched, and who knows where the investigation will lead.

New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong is known for her exquisite world building, and this latest series is no exception. The Poisoner's Ring brings the intricacies of Victorian Scotland alive as Mallory again searches for a 19th-century killer as well as a way home.

The Poisoner's Ring, by author Kelley Armstrong, is the second installment in the authors Rip Through Time Series. The story takes place in the year 1869, which is the Victorian Era. This book picks up a month after the events of the last novel. Mallory Atkinson is a homicide detective from Vancouver, Canada, who was visiting her grandmother in Scotland before being attacked and sent back in time to Edinburgh, Scotland. She found herself in the body of a 19-year old Scottish girl named Catriona Mitchell, who wasn't a very nice person. 

She is adjusting to her new life in Scotland as an undertaker's assistant to Dr. Duncan Gray, and his sister Isla Ballantyne, who has come to accept that she is Mallory, not Catriona. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows. In one case, the murdered man is Gray’s oldest sister Annisi. Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that.

Along with Detective Hugh McCreadie, Mallory, and Gray, investigate a possible poison ring has been created. A ring of women who murder their loved ones with a deadly poison not readily known in this era. The most interesting aspect of this series is watching Mallory trying to make her way through a world she was not born into, and not give away too much information that might change the future. 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. 

Her relationship with Duncan has gone from mistrust, to something closer to a solid friendship. Mallory knows that Duncan has a hard enough time not being white in a society that looks down on people who are different. Add to the fact that readers get a deeper understanding of the family Duncan and Isla were born into, and it's a wonder how anyone is capable of doing what they do. One of the questions I have in reading this series, is whether or not Mallory will find a way back home, and if she does, what kind of world will see find once she gets back. Or, will the author decide that Mallory should stay in the Victorian Era Scotland with Duncan and his family? 

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