Leanne Olson

by Kelley Armstrong

book 2 in the Rip Through Time series

releasing May 23, 2023 from Minotaur Books

The Poisoner’s Ring is a wonderfully fun, cozy historical mystery with a splash of time travel.  I think I enjoyed this one even more than the first book in this series, A Rip Through Time.

Mallory is a modern-day homicide detective from Canada who falls back in time to Victorian era Scotland, where she lands in the body of a maid.  Her employers, a doctor/undertaker named Grey and his sister Isla, a chemist, know Mallory’s secret, and the three of them solve mysteries together. 

The Poisoner’s Ring involves Mallory, Grey, and Isla investigating a possible poison ring, where women are accused of poisoning their husbands.  When Grey and Isla’s sister Annis’s husband is murdered, they have a personal connection to the case.

This book is just so much fun.  Mallory’s a witty, compassionate character and her fascination with police work in the Victorian age (and her modern commentary on it) is such a pleasure to get lost in.  The supporting characters are all memorable and interesting (I love Annis!) and the female characters in particular are all strong in different ways.

The poisoning mystery had me guessing throughout, and the atmosphere completely immersed me in Victorian-era Edinburgh.  This was such a great read on a cold, rainy evening.

Armstrong is one of my favourite writers and this is possibly my favourite series since her Otherworld books.  I love the mix of strong characters, humour, suspense, and historical trivia. There’s also some social commentary woven in around gender and race in the historical and modern societies.

This book can stand alone (there’s enough explanation at the beginning that a new reader won’t be lost), but since book one is so fun, I do recommend starting there.

🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books / St. Martin’s Press for my review copy of this book.