ARC Review: The Poisoner's Ring by Kelley Armstrong

The Poisoner's Ring
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: A Rip Through Time (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 23, 2023)

Description 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.

My Thoughts: The second in the Rip Through Time series has Mallory and Dr. Gray working on a case of wives poisoning their husbands. It comes much closer to home when Dr. Gray's older sister Annis is also accused of poisoning her husband. 

Annis had left her family behind when she married into the aristocracy. She was angered that her father decided to leave his funeral business to one of his sons rather than her who had an interest in business. Now, she needs the help of her brother who has been working as a consulting detective and her sister Isla who is a chemist, but you wouldn't know it because of her attitude.

This story is set in a richly imagined Victorian culture with all the required fashions and attitudes. The worldbuilding is very well done. I enjoyed watching Mallory, as a 21st Century police officer, try to adjust to a new time period and the knowledge and attitudes of Victorian policing. It helps that a select few know that she is a person out of her own time.

Fans of time travel and mysteries will enjoy this story. 

Favorite Quote:

"If Annis wanted someone to think she isn't capable of murder," I say, "she'd be better off with a cop who hasn't spent a full minute in her actual presence."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.