I’m a big fan of Kelley Armstrong’s Rip Through Time series. I like the story of Mallory Atkinson, a 21st century police detective stuck in the body of a housemaid in Edinburgh in 1869. But, I really like the way Armstrong incorporates the historic laws, medicine, and roles of women into her stories. Disturbing the Dead is the third in the series, and my favorite. It’s also the only one that made me cry.

Lady Annis Leslie, Dr. Duncan Gray’s oldest sister, invites a small group to a mummy unwrapping party at the home of archaeologist Sir Alastair Christie. She invites Gray, their younger sister, Isla, who is a chemist, Detective Hugh McCreadie, Duncan’s best friend, and Gray’s assistant, Mallory Atkinson. All of them are a little appalled that the body will be disturbed, but they also hope their presence will add a little dignity to the process.

It’s certainly not a dignified party, although society turns out. There’s a protester out front, Florence King, a member of the Edinburgh Seven, seven young women who were admitted to medical school despite objections by some. And, the party crowd is loud and only there to be seen and to see the mummy. However, when it’s time to unwrap the mummy, Sir Alastair is nowhere to be found. Instead, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. While they are assisted by Christie’s son, who lectures about mummification, they’re shocked to unwrap a body, a fresh body, not a mummy.

Together with McCreadie, Gray and Mallory try to recover the mummy and identify a killer. While someone suggests steps to take in their investigation, clues indicate that the mummy might not be the only artifact missing. And, there’s someone who seems to be dogging their footsteps, writing of the adventures of Dr. Gray and his beautiful assistant for broadsheets.

Disturbing the Dead is an excellent mystery set at a time when Egypt and mummies were popular with society and the public. However, Armstrong adds another element, giving readers a look at the life Mallory left behind when she was strangled in 21st century Edinburgh, only to return in the body of a housemaid. Armstrong provides a resolution that brought me to tears. If you’ve been following this series since the beginning, there’s some satisfaction in this book.

History, medicine, the roles of women, mystery. It’s all combined in a page turner, Disturbing the Dead.

Kelley Armstrong’s website is https://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/.

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong. Minotaur, 2024. ISBN 9781250321282 (hardcover), 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me an ARC, with no promise of a review.