Marilyn's Mystery Reads

When Mallory Mitchell, a police detective on the present day Edinburgh force, stepped through time a year earlier and landed in 1869 Edinburgh, she could hardly have been been prepared for what her destiny held.

She arrived in the home of Dr. Duncan Gray, where she began her Victorian life as a housemaid and then progressed to his assistant.  Now she has decided that this is her home and her future life.

Mallory and Duncan are called to the home of Lord and Lady Adler late one night to find a séance in progress.  Although neither Mallory nor Duncan is a believer in ghosts or spirits, the Adlers are friends of Duncan and his sister Isla and deserve to be heard.  When they arrive at the mansion, they are told that the spirit of a young housemaid, Nellie, spoke to a medium at the table a few minutes earlier.  “I have been murdered.  Tell Dr. Duncan Gray that he must find my killer.”

Mallory asks Lady Adler to relay what happened.  It appears that Nellie disappeared in the middle of the night three evenings previously, leaving nothing behind in the attic room she shared with the other housemaids.  There would be nothing suspicious about her disappearance except for the “fact” that her spirit appeared to Madame Paix, the medium, at the séance and said she had been murdered.

Despite Duncan’s obvious reluctance to pursue the case, Lady Adler is most insistent that he do so.  Mallory steps into the conversation and suggests that she begin gathering all relevant information, and Lady Adler agrees.  With that settled, Mallory and Duncan return to his home.

The Rip in Time series gives the reader a fascinating look into what life was like 150 years ago.  We are certainly familiar with the fashions of the time, its crinolines and bonnets for women and silk and wool top hats for men, but here we see the mores, the educational practices, and the society that allows children in the lower classes to be sent out to work as young as eight in such jobs as chimney sweeps, textile workers, or housemaids.

Mallory Mitchell is a delightful heroine–smart, personable, and adaptable to her life in Victorian Scotland.  She is surrounded by other equally interesting people–Duncan, his sister Isla, and Isla’s soon-to-be husband, Detective Hugh McCreadie.  Each contributes an important part to every novel.

Kelley Armstrong has written over 50 novels in various genres.  You can read more about her at this site.

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