Disturbing the Dead

In Disturbing the Dead, Kelley Armstrong combines a murder mystery and a time travel aspect in a historical setting in this third book in the Rip Through Time series. Modern day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is becoming more comfortable living in Victorian Scotland.

She’s inhabiting the body of a housemaid who was attacked in the same Edinburgh alley as Mallory, but 150 years ago. Mallory is enjoying her job as assistant to undertaker and medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray and assisting him and Detective Hugh McCreadie in a variety of cases.

Mallory and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing, Gray and Mallary are asked to step in and do the unwrapping. All doesn’t go well.

Mallory is a character with plenty of depth. She’s hardworking, kind, relatable, loves puzzles, and is an idealist. She’s good at seeing clues and connections in people’s speech, mannerisms, and expressions. While she makes for a strong female protagonist that readers can cheer on, she flouts convention and is sarcastic as well as being an independent thinker unafraid to speak her mind, which isn’t normal for women in Victorian times. Gray is passionate about his work, enthusiastic, confident, occasionally relaxed and teasing. He’s a pioneer in the field of forensics, has an eye for detail, and has a scientific curiosity. Isla, one of Gray’s sisters, is a chemist who is brilliant, strong-willed, and kindhearted. McCreadie is clever, good-natured, and a bit of an adventure hound. The remaining supporting cast of characters are well-developed and provide insight into individuals in various roles in a Victorian household as well as those they interact with.

Kelley Armstrong has a fluid writing style that quickly brings readers into the well-paced story. They also get insight into the state of police forensics during this early era and a few insights into how investigations and searches occur in 1869 in Scotland. Other themes include family, relationships, friendship, racism, gender identity, poverty, helping others, how servants were treated, and attitudes toward, expectations of, and limitations on women.

The addition of two subplots adds another dimension to the story. There are some twists in the storyline with a large surprise about two-thirds of the way through. The ending has plenty of action and wraps things up nicely. There is a hint at a couple of potential romances, but nothing more. The world-building is wonderful and feels accurate for the times. Humor is sprinkled throughout the tale.

Overall, this is a moving, well-written, suspenseful, and entertaining novel with great characterization as well as some pivotal stressful and emotional moments. Understanding how Mallory gets to this time in history is explained in depth in book one so I recommend starting with it. The author’s writing style is engaging and draws readers into the story quickly. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Kelley Armstrong provided a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently expected to be May 07, 2024.