If you know me at all, you know that Kelley Armstrong is my favourite author—and that the A Rip Through Time series has had my whole heart since book one. I came off reading the most recent novella, Kirkyards & Kindness, practically immediately before diving into An Ordinary Sort of Evil, which meant I was fully immersed in this world from page one. And I flew through this one. No long gaps between reading and reviewing this time—just me, Victorian Edinburgh and a lot of feelings.

Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Mitchell has grown accustomed to life in Victorian Scotland after travelling 150 years into the past into the body of a housemaid. She’s built a new life for herself. Even though she works as an assistant to forensic-science pioneer Dr. Duncan Gray and Detective Hugh McCreadie, she considers them true friends. And with Gray in particular, perhaps, someday, something more.

Late one night, Gray and Mallory are summoned urgently to the home of Lady Adler, a patron of Gray’s undertaking business, and they assume there’s been a death in the household. But instead, they arrive in the midst of a seance with a ghost demanding Gray’s presence. The ghost is Lady Adler’s former maid, who had gone missing but now requests that Gray investigate her murder. Although Gray and Mallory are skeptical, they agree to look into the matter, whether she’s dead or alive. But unsure if there’s been a murder or not, unable to call out the medium as a fraud, and concerned for the fate of the young maid, Gray and Mallory are once again drawn into a mystery much more puzzling–and more dangerous–than it first seems

If you’re just joining me for this series, I’d recommend starting with my reviews of A Rip Through Time, The Poisoner’s Ring, Disturbing the Dead and Death At A Highland Wedding to get a sense of how I feel about this world—because I’ve said a lot over the years and I’m not going to repeat myself here. What I will say is that An Ordinary Sort of Evil is book five, and I’d comfortably call it one of the best in the series.

What I liked

The slow burn payoff: If you’ve been reading along, you already know what I’m talking about—and if you read my Death At A Highland Wedding review, you know I was getting a little impatient. Five books. Several novellas. A letter we never got to read. A slow burn of truly heroic patience on the part of everyone involved—characters and readers alike. And Armstrong delivers. The moment we’ve all been waiting for is handled with exactly the right touch—understated, a little awkward, completely true to who these two people are. It wasn’t over the top or unbelievable. It was just perfect.

The group dynamic: One of the things I love most about a long-running series done well is watching relationships deepen over time—and this book is a testament to that. There’s a scene early on involving Mallory, Duncan and McCreadie that made me grin from ear to ear. The teasing, the shorthand, the comfort of people who genuinely know each other—it only works because Armstrong has been quietly building it since book one. Isla too, when she’s in the mix. These four feel like a real found family at this point, and I love them.

The séance element: I’ll be honest—when séances entered the picture, I was a little nervous. Which, I realize, is a funny thing to say about a series that is literally about a time-travelling detective. But somehow Armstrong has always made the time travel feel plausible within its own logic, and I didn’t want séances to push it somewhere that felt tonally different. Happily, Armstrong handles it with exactly the same care—playing to both skeptics and believers without fully committing to either side, and keeping it grounded enough that it fits right into the world she’s built.

The historical Easter eggs: There are a couple of nods to real history woven into this book—one of which gave me actual chills, and I don’t want to say anything more than that. If you know, you know. The best kind of reward for paying attention.

What didn’t work for me

The Catriona thread: Having come straight from Kirkyards & Kindness, which put Catriona’s history and relationships front and centre, I found myself thinking about something that has nagged at me across the whole series—the fact that Mallory inhabits Catriona’s body and life without seeming to struggle with it as much as you might expect. It’s not a major criticism, more of a lingering question. Kirkyards & Kindness brought it into sharper focus for me, and I found it carried into this book too. Five books and several novellas in, I still find myself wondering if there’s more to explore there.

One historical cameo: I don’t want to give anything away because it’s genuinely surprising—but there’s a real historical figure who makes an appearance that felt a little too Bridgerton for my taste. Fun in concept, but it tipped slightly outside the grounded tone I’ve come to love about this series. A minor quibble in an otherwise excellent book.

The detective agency question mark: Again, no spoilers—but there are developments toward the end of the book that set up an interesting new direction for the series. I understand the logic of it, and I love what it means for the characters’ dynamic. I’m just not entirely convinced the historical reality of Victorian society would allow for it quite so neatly. I’m willing to be proven wrong, because I trust Armstrong completely at this point—but I’m going in with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Final thoughts

An Ordinary Sort of Evil is Kelley Armstrong at her best—sharp, funny, historically rich, and emotionally satisfying in all the ways this series has been building toward. If you’ve been holding off on starting A Rip Through Time, I genuinely don’t know what you’re waiting for. And if you’re already a fan, this one will not disappoint. The payoff alone is worth every slow-burn page of the past four books.

5 STARS

“It’s an ordinary sort of evil. The kind people do every day, and never think twice. It’s just how you get ahead in life.” —Kelley Armstrong, Disturbing the Dead

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.