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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.
New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong is known for her exquisite world building, and this latest series is no exception. The Poisoner's Ring brings the intricacies of Victorian Scotland alive as Mallory again searches for a 19th-century killer as well as a way home.
Mallory Atkinson, a thirty-year-old police detective from Canada, found herself unexplainably transported from modern day Edinburgh Scotland to the city in 1869 and even more inexplicably she found herself in the body of an 18-year-old housemaid with a pretty bad reputation. Eventually her employers, Dr Duncan Gray and his sister Isla, came to accept she was from the future and she is making a place for herself as Gray’s assistant. Dr Gray is an unofficial medical examiner for the local police and Mallory’s knowledge of forensics helps him in solving crimes.
Someone is poisoning men in Edinburgh and the first suspect in each case is the wife. But then Duncan and Isla’s older sister is suspected of poisoning her husband and the race is on to find out who the real culprit is before Annis faces the gallows. While Mallory is making a life for herself in this time she longs to go home to her own time she does find herself attracted to Duncan. And the prospect of Mallory leaving is one that dismays Duncan and Isla as much as they understand her homesickness.
I am really enjoying this series, sort of a Quantum Leap meets Highlander with a touch of CSI thrown in. The world of 19th century Victorian Scotland is portrayed vividly as Mallory accustoms herself to everything from lack of modern conveniences like cell phones to her current inconveniences like corsets. We get glimpses into the realities that women faced in Victorian times being dismissed as not capable of real intelligence as well as the legal and social restrictions on women. I look forward to more mysteries for Mallory and Duncan to solve as well as seeing where the growing feelings they have for each other might lead. Highly recommended ~~ Stephanie L Bannon
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