AN ORDINARY SORT OF EVIL is the gripping and engaging fifth book in Kelley Armstrong’s Rip Through Time series. Mallory Mitchell (Atkinson) is the first-person narrator, which helps us understand her thoughts as she recognizes the necessity of behaving like a 19th-century housemaid-turned-assistant, even though she's really a 21st-century homicide detective.

It starts with a missing housemaid, Nellie, who disappears from the home of one of Dr. Duncan Gray's patrons. Lake Adler hosts a séance, where the ghost of Nellie informs the group that she is dead and they should contact Duncan to solve her murder. Because of the late hour, Duncan rushes to the Adler home thinking that someone in the family has died. Mallory, of course, is included in the investigation as she is the real detective of the two. 

Mallory's story began around a year before, when she was visiting her dying grandmother in Edinburgh. During a midnight jog, she saw someone in period dress being strangled. At that same moment, she was attacked. When Mallory woke up, she was in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a 19-year-old housemaid, who worked for Duncan. The year was not 2019 when Mallory went out for her run, but rather 1869.

"I don't know of another time-travel murder mystery series. If there is, I can't imagine anyone doing it better than Kelley Armstrong has with this creative, enjoyable and at times touching series."

The first books in the series deal with Mallory getting used to life in the past and her evolving relationship with Duncan and his sister, Isla, who lives with him. There are murders in each novel that the intrepid duo solve, along with the able assistance of Isla and Duncan’s best friend, Detective Hugh McCreadie. And while reading the books in order is a way to get all the background on the characters and how their relationships have grown, Armstrong kindly provides a little cheat sheet at the start. It is really helpful for people beginning the series late or even those of us who read the previous entry a year ago.

There are many pieces to this mystery, and just past the halfway point, Mallory admits to Duncan that she is having trouble tying everything together. To be honest, so are we. But there are several suspects who we are convinced are possible murderers. Lady Adler's lady's maid, Sully, is a nasty, jealous person who did not like Nellie. But did she have the opportunity? There is Freddie, the medium's brother, who assists her during the séances and seems too eager, too involved in the “business” and too shady. But is he a killer?

Another complication is that Nellie's best friend recently died by suicide in their small town, and Nellie's death is similar to her friend's passing. Was Nellie joining her friend in death? Did Nellie end her own life? But before they can even find out about all of this, they must discover where Nellie is from. It's not like modern times where we have to show identification and provide references. Even Nellie's employers don't know her origins or who her family is.

Little by little, more clues surface. One of the joys of reading this series is the juxtaposition of Mallory's 21st-century detective skills with what police practices were over a century ago. We see how Mallory has learned to deal with the prejudice of that era, when women were thought of as lacking in intelligence and rational abilities. Another pleasure is watching how Mallory's relationship with Duncan evolves. While he is living an upper-middle-class life and inherited his father's undertaking business, he is an illegitimate son. Duncan's father had a relationship with a woman and brought him home for his wife to raise. And she did so, providing Duncan with a wonderful life. But because of the color of his skin, it's obvious to all that his parentage is not that of his siblings.

The title is important: an ordinary sort of evil, which, according to Armstrong, is “the kind people do every day, and never think twice. It's just how you get ahead in life. If you're a man, it might be how you get sex.” It's about lies, as well as promises that one has no intention of keeping. It's about class inequality and how those in positions of power, with more money and prestige, can get away with things no matter the harm to others. And that's a universal truth, which still rings true to this day.

The historical information about policing, the treatment of women, and life in Edinburgh is fascinating, and there are clever twists in AN ORDINARY SORT OF EVIL. In fact, this is the book in which the relationship between Mallory and Duncan takes a huge leap, both romantically and professionally. All these changes and questions about the future will make the next installment eagerly anticipated. I don't know of another time-travel murder mystery series. If there is, I can't imagine anyone doing it better than Kelley Armstrong has with this creative, enjoyable and at times touching series.