In Kelley Armstrong’s second book of the “Rip Through Time” series, we see that Mallory Atkinson is still adjusting to being thrust back in time to 1869. In the current time, she had been a homicide detective in Canada, but somehow went back in time while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh. Luckily, she ended up in the body of a maid who worked for an unusual family, the head of which is interested in crimes and who runs a funeral business. His sister is a chemist with whom Mallory has become friends.

Both Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla know that their maid, Catriona, who was untrustworthy and devious, has been replaced by Mallory, who now assists Duncan Gray in his investigations as a medical examiner. His good friend is a detective. As we saw in the first book in the series, “A Rip Through TIme,” Gray and Mallory work well together. Mallory is able to use her detective skills to help with evidence and to interview people.

What I love about time travel novels is seeing the many disparities between the current time and the past, and Armstrong delights us with what they did not know back then. We learn that thallium, a heavy metal, was discovered by 1869, but not much was known about it. While Isla can test for the presence of arsenic and heavy metal, there are no specific tests to determine exactly what specific poison might have killed someone.

And in this novel, there are four people who are poisoned. Armstrong provides us with several likely suspects, and as the three search for more information, we see many parts of Edinburgh. Be warned that reading these novels might make you hanker to visit Scotland and see the sights with your own eyes. Because poison was considered a woman’s weapon, Isla is one of the suspects due to her interest in chemistry. Ironically back then, they found it hard to believe that a woman was really a chemist while perfectly willing to believe her guilty of delivering fatal doses of poison.

And that’s another part of this novel that is fascinating—the treatment of women. We do learn that in Scotland, a woman could own property in her own name, but in England, once a woman married, she and all her property belonged to her husband. We see how even the most intelligent woman, with perspicacious ideas, is belittled. Mallory has learned to use this unfortunate reality to her advantage at times, but it rankles. Without making it awkward, Armstrong also includes a diverse set of characters, and we see how in times past, homosexual behavior was a huge secret—to be hidden at all costs. It’s nothing we didn’t already know, but in the novel we see it more clearly through the author’s fine writing as well as through the actions, both overt and covert, of her characters.

The final uncovering of the person at the heart of the poisoning is a twist that neither we nor the characters in the novel might have expected. And this is where Armstrong shows her knowledge of human psychology. When confronting the killer, the “good guys” have such a difficult time believing that the killer is capable of violence that they underestimate that person.

Between the setting, the strong and likable characters, and Armstrong’s ability to create a solid mystery, this series is one that will continue to delight. Starting with the first novel is probably recommended as while each could stand alone, some characters, like Simon, the coachman, have a backstory that is not completely shared in this second novel, which might confuse a new reader to the series.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.