I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong-a review

I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 1, 2024

A spellbinding new tale of supernatural horror involving a haunted-house, seances, lost loved ones, and a sinister spirit out for blood…

Nicola Laughton never expected to see adulthood, being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Then medical advances let her live into her thirties and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future… together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car, but lived long enough to utter five words to her, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press—the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body.

Since their story went public, Nicola has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure. In the hopes of stopping her downward spiral, friends and family find a reputable medium—a professor of parapsychology. For the séance, they rent the Lake Erie beach house that Anton’s family once owned.

The medium barely has time to begin his work before things start happening. Locked doors mysteriously open. Clouds of insects engulf the house. Nicola hears footsteps and voices and the creak of an old dumbwaiter…in an empty shaft. Throughout it all she’s haunted by nightmares of her past. Because, unbeknownst to the others, this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name.

That’s when she finds the first body….

••••

REVIEW:I’LL BE WAITING by Kelley Armstrong is a contemporary, adult, supernatural thriller focusing on thirty something widow Nicola Laughton.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspectives (Nicola) using present day, and memories from the past, I’LL BE WAITING follows Nicola Laughton in the wake of the death of her husband. Approximately twenty-two years earlier, a group of high school friends went into the woods to perform a seance but in the ensuing aftermath death and destruction would follow. Fast forward to present day, wherein Nicola’s husband Anton would die tragically in an early winter snow storm, and in the months that follow Nicola would be contacted by mediums and psychics claiming they have been in contact with the dead but when a certified parapsychologist is willing to help NIcola contact her dead husband, the resulting fall-out sees more death and destruction for our story line heroine.

I’LL BE WAITING is a story of obsession and madness, secrets and lies, grief and acceptance, betrayal and vengeance. Nicola’s extended family struggle with her need to contact her late husband; a new friend is determined to help Nicola get the closure she needs and wants; and the angry spirits refuse to give up until everyone has paid. The premise is dramatic, dark and thrilling; the characters are determined, destructive and dynamic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong -a review

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong -a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 25, 2024

Daphne McFadden is tired of rejection. After submitting her manuscript to dozens of agents, she’s gotten rejection after rejection, and now it’s time for something drastic. And so, Daphne submits her manuscript again… under a man’s name.

Imagine her surprise when it sells for big money at an auction and soon becomes a publicity darling. Only she needs a man to play her super macho alter ego Zane Remington. Enter Chris Stanton, who absolutely looks the part of a survivalist and has a talent for pressing her piss‑me‑off‑I‑dare‑you buttons while somehow being endearing at the same time. But Chris has a few secrets of his own, including the fact that he’s really an accountant who has no idea how to chop wood or paddle a canoe. When Daphne’s book becomes a bestselling sensation and they’re forced to go on tour together, Daphne finds herself wondering if this city‑boy geek is exactly what she needs to push her to claim her dreams.

•••••

REVIEW:FINDING MR WRITE by Kelley Armstrong is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on author Daphne McFadden and accountant Chris Stanton aka Zane Remington.

Told from omniscient dual third person perspectives (Daphne and Chris) FINDING MR. WRITE follows in the wake of Daphne McFadden’s struggle to get her manuscript aka latest book published. Believing the book would be better accepted from a male author, Daphne McFadden invented author Zane Remington, a pseudonym that would quickly need a face to be placed into public domain. Enter Chris Stanton, an accountant who claims to be a model and actor but a man who is completely unaware of what is about to transpire. As Daphne’s book becomes a number one best seller, a book and media tour requires a public face, and Chris is about to be thrown in head first. All does not go according to plan as guilt begins to blur the edges of success, and betrayal comes at the cost of Daphne’s life back home.

The world building follows Daphne and Chris as they continue their ruse. Daphne as ‘Zane’s assistant, and Chris as Zane Remington, number one best seller but someone is about to uncover the truth, and our couple must come clean or face the fall-out to come.

The relationship between Chris and Daphne begins when Daphne hires Chris to be the face of her new book. Chris claims to be an actor and a model but his own persona is predicated upon a lie. As the couple are forced to work together, their attraction to one another, cannot be denied. The $ex scenes are passionate but mostly implied.

We are introduced to several members of Daphne’s publicity and publishing team, most of whom are completely unaware of what is about to transpire.

FINDING MR. WRITE is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and blackmail, friendships, family, acceptance and love. The premise is charming and captivating; the characters are desperate and dynamic; the romance is subtle.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

Disturbing the Dead (Rip Through Time 3) by Kelley Armstrong

Disturbing the Dead (Rip Through Time 3) by Kelley Armstrong-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Chapters Indigo Paper /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 7, 2024

Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends—and feelings—in this century.

So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn’t that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body.

••••

REVIEW: DISTURBING THE DEAD is the third instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s adult A RIP THROUGH TIME time travel, mystery series focusing on thirty year old, Vancouver, Canada Police Detective Mallory Atkinson, and undertaker/investigator Dr. Duncan Gray. DISTURBING THE DEAD can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading book one A RIP THROUGH TIME for back story and cohesion.

SOME BACKGROUND: In the spring of 2019 while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh Scotland, thirty year old, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada police detective Mallory Atkinson is attacked in an alley only to wake up as a nineteen year old housemaid in the year 1869, a housemaid who was also attacked and left for dead in the same alley where Mallory was found. Not only has our heroine time travelled back one-hundred and fifty years but she is no longer physically the same woman she was just minutes before. Working as a housemaid for Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, realizing life as she knew it was no longer under her control, Mallory must assume the position of nineteen year old Catriona Mitchell, a young woman whose history is questionable and dark. Working alongside Dr. Gray and Detective McCreadie, Mallory uses her abilities as a detective to help.

Told from first person perspective (Mallory) using two timelines, DISTURBING THE DEAD follows in the aftermath of the murder of Sir Alastair Christie. The unveiling of an Egyptian mummy finds the people of Victorian Scotland both curious and disturbed including several women who are trying to establish themselves as students at the local medical college but when Sir Alastair goes missing along with several Egyptian artifacts, and his body is discovered in the most unlikeliest of situations, fellow curiosity seekers Dr. Duncan Gray and Mallory Atkinson, with the help of Detective McCreadie, begin an investigation of their own. When fingers are pointed at several potential suspects, Mallory and Dr. Duncan Gray find themselves surveying secret tunnels and underground markets for answers, only for Mallory to be attacked, once again.

The secondary and supporting characters are numerous and colorful. We are once again introduced to Dr. Gray’s household, as well as his sisters Annis, and Isla, as well as Detective McCreadie. The requisite evil has many faces.

DISTURBING THE DEAD is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, jealousy and greed, time travel and acceptance. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the numerous characters are entertaining and charismatic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
A Rip Through Time
The Poisoner’s Ring

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock 2)by Kelley Armstrong-review

The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock 2) by Kelley Armstrong-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play /Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 20, 2024

Haven’s Rock is a well-hidden town surrounded by forest. And it’s supposed to be, being that it’s a refuge for those who need to disappear. Detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton already feel at home in their new town, which reminds them of where they first met in Rockton. And while they know how to navigate the woods and its various dangers, other residents don’t. Which is why people aren’t allowed to wander off alone.

When Max, the town’s youngest resident—taught to track animals by Eric—fears a bear is stalking a hiking party, alarms are raised. Even stranger, the ten-year-old swears the bear had human eyes. Casey and Eric know the dangers a bear can present, so they’re taking it seriously. But odd occurrences are happening all around them, and when a dead body turns up, they’re not sure what they’re up against.

••••••

REVIEW:THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR is the second instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s contemporary adult HAVEN’S ROCK mystery, thriller series set in the fictional town of Haven’s Rock, Yukon a spin off from the author’s ROCKTON series focusing on Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton.

SOME BACKGROUND: Rockton Yukon did not exist on any map, and the residents all had a questionable past, fake names and false histories. Most were once considered to be white collar crimes but with increasing regularity, hardened criminals have somehow paid their way into Rockton, seeking sanctuary against future prosecution, a safe place for two years before seeking asylum somewhere else. A serial killer destroyed the people and ultimately the town of Rockton Yukon, and with the help of some of their former friends and a big influx of cash, Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton, begin the task of building a new town, known as Haven’s Rock, a town that will expose our couple to more murders and questionable inhabitants.

Told from first person perspective (Casey Duncan) and several omniscient third person perspectives including Max, THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR follows in the wake of the possible abduction of a ten year old boy. Out for a walk in the Yukon wilderness, ten year old Max claims he saw a man-bear, a possible wild man but no one believes his story. Desperate to prove everyone wrong, Max goes into the forest alone, and doesn’t return, leading the people of Haven’s Rock to believe one of their own may have taken the ten year old boy. A search ensues under the direction of Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton but a missing boy is the least of their worries. A dead man from a neighboring mining camp is just the beginning, and now there is a possibility of a killer on the loose.

THE BOY WHO CRIED BEAR is a slow building story of mystery and suspense. Like most of the townsfolk, we no very little about the individuals who have sought refuge in Haven’s Rock, but the possibility of a another killer in their midst means someone else may have lied about the who, how and why. The members of an all-male mining camp are suspect but when lines are drawn, Casey and Eric begin to suspect a much bigger issue at play.

Kelley Armstrong pulls the reader into a story of power and control, madness and obsession, family and friendships. The premise is dramatic and intense. There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, determined, and desperate characters, not all of whom will survive.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

The Poisoner’s Ring (A Rip Through Time 2) by Kelley Armstrong-review

The Poisoner’s Ring (A Rip Through Time 2) by Kelley Armstrong-review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play / Chapters Indigo /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 23, 2023

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.

•••••

REVIEW:THE POISONER’S RING is the second instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s adult A RIP THROUGH TIME time travel, mystery series focusing on thirty year old, Vancouver, Canada Police Detective Mallory Atkinson, and undertaker/investigator Dr. Duncan Gray. THE POISONER’S RING can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading book one for back story and cohesion.

NOTE: If you have not read book one A RIP THROUGH TIME there may be spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: In the spring of 2019 while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh Scotland, thirty year old, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada police detective Mallory Atkinson is attacked in an alley only to wake up as a nineteen year old housemaid in the year 1869, a housemaid who was also attacked and left for dead in the same alley where Mallory was found. Not only has our heroine time travelled back one-hundred and fifty years but she is no longer physically the same woman she was just minutes before. Working as a housemaid for Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, realizing life as she knew it was no longer under her control, Mallory must assume the position of nineteen year old Catriona Mitchell, a young woman whose history is questionable and dark.

Told from first person perspective (Mallory) THE POISONER’S RING follows in the wake of the death and suspected poisoning of a several men including Dr. Duncan Gray’s brother-in-law Lord Leslie. Believing there may be a ‘ring’ of women trying to ‘off’ their husbands, Duncan and Mallory go searching for the truth, using Mallory’s twenty-first century expertise, and nineteenth century clues but all is not as it appears to be as Duncan and Mallory become suspicious when the dead are connected by a common thread.

THE POISONER’S RING is another story of murder, mystery and suspense wherein Detective Mallory Atkinson, under the guise of nineteen year old Catriona Mitchell, is able to do what she does best. Duncan, his sister Isla, and Detective McCreadie are well aware of Mallory’s predicament, having barely questioned the reality of what is, and take the opportunity to learn how to ply their trade with the help of our heroine. The premise is detailed,puzzling and thought-provoking; the characters are dynamic and determined. There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and questionable secondary and supporting characters, some of whom we have met in the introductory story line. Once again, there is no romance between the leading characters- Duncan and Mallory know that Mallory’s life is no longer her own.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one A RIP THROUGH TIME

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong-a review

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong-a review

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 11, 2023

Blythe and her friends—Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya—have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.

The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.

Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the group’s lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they can’t even trust their own memories?

•••

REVIEW:SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING by Kelley Armstrong is a contemporary, young adult, psychological, suspense thriller focusing on the small town of Darlington Hills and a research facility owned by CMT.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Blythe Warren) and several third person omniscient perspectives SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING follows in the aftermath of the so-called suicide of the local high school principal but from the outset everything is spiralling out of control, memories are erased, and the truth is definitely stranger than fiction.

Our heroine, sixteen year old Blythe Warren, is worried that something has happened to her best friend Gabrielle, who prior to the apparent suicide of the high school principal was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Blythe had followed Gabrielle to the principal’s office but her memory of what happened or why is non-existent except for small flash-backs that do not make sense. As Blythe’s memory begins to reveal something more sinister at work, her group of well-connected and close knit friends begins to unravel a secret closely connected to the CMT Research Facility, where all of their parents work.

Blythe, along with her sisters, and friends all attend a private and prestigious STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) school, sponsored by the local CMT Research Facility but all is not well within the student body when Blythe begins to receive messages from an unknown sender, and encoded emails reveal an long term experiment that went horribly wrong.

SOMEONE IS ALWAYS WATCHING is a story of power and control, secrets and lies, murder and mystery, memories and madness, twists and turns where nothing is as it seems, and people are not whom they claim to be. Kelley Armstrong invites the reader into a psychological thriller, an intense story of mystery and suspense wherein it takes a group of sixteen year old high school students to break through the veil of power and control. The thought-provoking premise is dark, gritty tragic and dramatic; the characters are flawed, broken and easily manipulated.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Share

Murder at Haven’s Rock by Kelley Armstrong-a review

Murder at Haven’s Rock by Kelley Armstrong-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Google Play /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 21, 2023

Haven’s Rock, Yukon. Population: 0

Deep in the Yukon wilderness, a town is being built. A place for people to disappear, a fresh start from a life on the run. Haven’s Rock isn’t the first town of this kind, something detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, know first-hand. They met in the original town of Rockton. But greed and deception led the couple to financing a new refuge for those in need. This time around, they get to decide which applicants are approved for residency.

There’s only one rule in Haven’s Rock: stay out of the forest. When two of the town’s construction crew members break it and go missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to track them down. When a body is discovered, well-hidden with evidence of foul play, Casey and Eric must find out what happened to the dead woman, and locate those still missing. The longer Casey and Eric don’t know what happened, the more danger everyone is in.

•••••

REVIEW:MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK is the first instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s contemporary, adult HAVEN’S ROCK murder/mystery suspense series focusing on the fictional village of Haven’s Rock, Yukon-a spin off from the author’s ROCKTON series.

SOME BACKGROUND: Rockton Yukon did not exist on any map, and the residents all have a questionable past, fake names and false histories. Most were once considered to be white collar crimes but with increasing regularity, hardened criminals have somehow paid their way into Rockton, seeking sanctuary against future prosecution, a safe place for two years before seeking asylum somewhere else. A serial killer destroyed the people and ultimately the town of Rockton Yukon, and with the help of some of their former friends and a big influx of cash, Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton, begin the task of building a new town, known as Haven’s Rock, a town that will expose our couple to more murders and questionable inhabitants.

Told from first person perspective (Casey Duncan) MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK follows Detective Casey Duncan and her husband Sheriff Eric Dalton as they embark on a new venture, building and settling into Haven’s Rock but from the outset, everything goes wrong when the architect and engineer go missing; the body of a stranger is found hidden in a pit, and the contractor has a questionable alibi for the night in question. As Casey and Eric begin an investigation into the missing and the dead, everyone becomes suspect including the construction crew, the locals, and a prospector whose story makes sense until it doesn’t. The arrival of Casey’s sister, neurosurgeon April gives Casey pause as to the medical explanations but the who and why will become clearer when Haven’s Rock reveals a colorful secret buried beneath the frozen ground.

MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK has a familiar backdrop, ambiance and quality, similar in style, characters and story as the author’s ROCKTON series but then again, Haven’s Rock is a spin off using many of the original series characters and history. If you were/are a fan of the Rockton Series, you will definitely enjoy the continuation of Casey and Eric’s story.

MURDER AT HAVEN’S ROCK is a story of greed, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, power and control. The dramatic premise is intriguing and intense; the characters are colorful, spirited and charismatic, as well as familiar as several cross over from the original series.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / WebsiteTwitterFacebookAmazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Share

A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong-Review and Giveaway

A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time 1) by Kelley Armstrong-Review and Giveaway

 

 

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 31, 2022

In this series debut from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, a modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.

May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.

May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot.

When Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late.

Outlander meets The Alienist in Kelley Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time, the first book in this utterly compelling series, mixing romance, mystery, and fantasy with thrilling results.

••••••

REVIEW:A RIP THROUGH TIME is the first instalment in Kelley Armstrong’s adult A RIP THROUGH TIME time travel, mystery series focusing on thirty year old, Vancouver, Canada Police Detective Mallory Atkinson, and undertaker/investigator Dr. Duncan Gray.

Told from first person perspective (Mallory) A RIP THROUGH TIME follows Detective Mallory Atkinson on a journey through time. In the spring of 2019 while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh Scotland, thirty year old, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada police detective Mallory Atkinson is attacked in an alley only to wake up as a nineteen year old housemaid in the year 1869, a housemaid who was also attacked and left for dead in the same alley where Mallory was found. Not only has our heroine time travelled back one-hundred and fifty years but she is no longer physically the same woman she was just minutes before. Working as a housemaid for Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, realizing life as she knew it was no longer under her control, Mallory must assume the position of nineteen year old Catriona Mitchell, a young woman whose history is questionable and dark. A serial killer has set his sights on Edinburgh Scotland, and ‘Catriona/Mallory’ has been targeted for sins of the past but more importantly, targeted for sins of the future. As the investigation begins to unfold, Catriona’s knowledge of investigative procedures stirs the interest of Isla and Duncan, an interest such that Mallory is going to have to explain the circumstances surrounding Catriona’s new insights and change in personality.

We are introduced to Dr. Gray’s sister Isla, their housekeeper Mrs. Wallace, stable hand Simon, housemaid Alice, as well as Inspector Hugh McCreadie and Constable Findlay.

A RIP THROUGH TIME is a fascinating story of mystery and suspense with a little bit of paranormal, time travel added to the mix. Having worked most of her adult life in the Vancouver police department, Mallory aka Catriona is the perfect foil for Dr. Gray, an undertaker and amateur investigator, who with the help of our heroine, begins to break down the clues and mystery surrounding a potential serial killer. The premise is intriguing and captivating; the characters are dynamic; the romance is virtually non-existent. My only complaint, is the easy and immediate acceptance, by the main characters, of time-travel and physical possession of some one else’s body but such is the nature of the paranormal/time travel story line.

Copy supplied by the publisher

Reviewed by Sandy

Follow: Goodreads / Website/ Twitter/ Facebook/ Amazon Author Page/

Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make her produce “normal” stories failed.

Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She’s the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers” young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.

Kelley Armstrong’s publisher ST. MARTIN’S PRESS is graciously offering a paper copy of A RIP THROUGH TIME to ONE (1) commenter at The Reading Cafe

1. If you have not previously registered at The Reading Cafe, please register by using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.

NOTE: If you are having difficulty commenting after logging onto the site, please refresh the page (at the top of your computer).

2. If you are using a social log-in, please post your email address with your comment.

3. Follow & Like  KELLEY ARMSTRONG on Facebook.

4. Follow & Like ST. MARTIN’S PRESS on Facebook.

5. LIKE/ Follow The Reading Cafe  on FACEBOOK  for an additional entry.

6. LIKE / Follow THE READING CAFE  on Twitter for an additional entry.

7. Please FOLLOW The Reading Cafe on GOODREADS for an additional entry.

8. Please follow The Reading Cafe on Tumblr

9. Giveaway is open to USA and CANADA only

10. Giveaway runs from May 31-June 4, 2022

Share