Short Book Review: Character-Driven Time Travel Romance

Death at a Highland Wedding (A Rip Through Time Novel)by Kelley Armstrong (St Martins)

Death at a Highland Wedding is the fourthinstallment in  Kelley Armstrong's “Rip Through Time” time-travel novelsthat feature modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson, who has slipped150 years into the past to Victorian Scotland. By now, three books later, she'sdeveloped meaningful relationships with the people around her and is using hertraining as an assistant to undertaker Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective HughMcCreadie. That’s all the backstory a reader needs, since Armstrong skillfullyweaves in the relevant material as the plot unfolds. The important thing isthat Duncan and Hugh, along with Hugh’s independent-minded sister, Isla, know Mallory’strue identity and trust her investigatory skills.

Now the four are off to a beautiful highland hunting lodgefor the wedding of Hugh’s younger sister. All is not well, however. The new gamekeeperhas been laying traps that threaten not only local wildlife but the poor folkaccustomed to traveling freely over the estate. Soon, Mallory and her friendsare caught up in a series of increasingly bizarre mysteries that culminate inthe murder of one of the guests, for which the inexperienced young constablearrests the groom.

The combination of time travel and murder mystery would furnishan entertaining read, but Armstrong goes further. Her sensitivity to relationships,the vulnerability of women in the 1870s, especially those without rank ormoney, and Mallory’s compassion and quick insight all make for a deeper story.It’s not necessary to have read the preceding volumes to enjoy Death at aHighland Wedding, although you’ll likely want to gobble up as many of theadventures of Mallory and her friends as you can find.