Kelley Armstrong: The Poisoner’s Ring

This is the second book in the Rip Through Time novel, I think you could read this book before the first one, but I think get a full grasp of Mallory and the relationships in the book you should read the first book A Rip Through Time.

In the next book in Kelley Armstong's Rip Through Time series, Poison is the weapon of choice:

Modern day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is starting to adjust to her new life as a house maid in Edinburgh. Her employers now know that she is not their original housemaid Catriona and that she is not from their time, making it easier for Mallory to exist in this world and assist Dr. Gray with his medical examinations but their latest case hits close to home. Men from all classes are being murdered, killed by a mysterious poison and the most obvious suspect is the grieving or not so grieving widows, the most recent suspect is Gray's older sister. 

I really enjoyed this one more than the first book which i was a little bit on the fence with, but i found this one was much more entertaining, more focus on a whodunit murder mystery story/plot and less about Mallory trying to get back to her time. The Poisoner's Ring feels very different from the first book and does not have the same type of murders either. I like the idea of poison being used, you don’t see that as often these days, and poisons tend to be associated with certain people in society so there are many suspects right away that Mallory and Gray need to work through. I was able to figure out the murder part of the mystery, but why the individuals were murdered was interesting and i think on point for the time. You can tell that Armstrong has done her research in this era for what had been discovered, what has not and even the schemes of the time. 

I really enjoy the interplay between Victorian era characters as Mallory tries to fit in at times and be herself. I applaud Mallory for not wanting to change or affect history as much as she can and choosing what she tells the police and Gray. Mallory is very aware of her speech and ideas really affect how people see her, and she is not beyond using some of these 

I do wonder where Armstrong is going to take this series. Mallory can only stay in the Victorian era for so long before the story becomes stagnate. Maybe there will be a case where Gray ends up in her time, that would be quite a trip. As there seems to be a possible growing relationship between Gray and Mallory that you want them to be together, but I appreciate that Armstrong is taking the slower route to get there.

This is a case where the second book was better than the first, in my opinion. It is a well thought out, fast paced and interesting mystery with characters and time period that are intriguing, I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Enjoy!!!!

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