For modern-day detective Mallory Atkinson, being trapped in the body of Victorian housemaid means overcoming endless obstacles. Her current challenge is winning over the suspicious young parlormaid, Alice. Mallory’s plan starts with teaching the girl to make Molotov cocktails, which is a perfectly valid science experiment and not at all a desperate ploy to gain Alice’s attention. Before the lesson can begin, though, Alice receives a letter that has her slipping off in the night. Concerned for her safety–and naturally curious–Mallory follows. Mallory finds Alice at what seems like a simple dance hall, watching young men and women flirting and whirling in pretty dresses and dapper suitcoats. But nothing here is what is seems, and what starts as a simple surveillance exercise turns into a full-scale spy mission with Mallory’s boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, at her side. Before the evening is done, those Molotov cocktails are probably going to come in handy.
This novella is another great entry in Armstrong’s A Rip Through Time series. I love how Armstrong is always aware of what her series needs next. This book really filled in some necessary gaps and provided more of a background for both Catriona and Alice.
We get to find out more about Catriona’s past as a thief, but what I was really excited about was learning about Alice. This book gave Mallory a chance to bond and connect with Alice and I loved that.
It was quick-paced and exciting. Mallory, as always, bravely jumps in to help and it gets her into a bit of a sticky situation. Another thing that I always love is the different types of women Mallory encounters. Even in the Victorian era she still finds women who are strong, intelligent, and brave. I love that not all the women Mallory encounters are as helpless as the men around them expect.
This book made me that much more excited to see what becomes of Mallory and Alice’s potential friendship. I can’t wait to see where Mallory’s adventures take her next.
Stellar Kitten Book Reviews 