Review of "Cocktails & Chloroform: A Rip Through Time Novella" by Kelley Armstrong

In the series 'A Rip Through Time', 31-year-old Edinburgh police detective Mallory Atkinson has been transported from 2019 back to the year 1869.

In 1869, Mallory finds herself inhabiting the body of a pretty 19-year-old housemaid named Catriona Mitchell, who has blond hair and blue eyes.



Catriona is employed in an upper-middle-class household whose occupants include: Isla Ballantyne, a chemist who works as a herbalist;



Isla's half-brother Dr. Duncan Gray - an Indian-British physician who works as an unofficial coroner;



housekeeper/cook Mrs. Wallace;



and fellow housemaid Alice.



All the maids in the Ballantyne/Gray household have minor criminal backgrounds (such as pickpockets or thieves) because Isla Ballantyne is a do-gooder who likes to give young ladies a lift up.

Mallory (in the body of Catriona) finds herself in a difficult position because besides being a pickpocket, Catriona was 'on the sociopath spectrum.' Catriona was a mean unpleasant girl who was disliked and mistrusted by Mrs. Wallace and Alice.



To change the perception of Catriona, Mallory says she experienced a blow on the head and now sees the error of her old ways. Still, Mallory/Catriona's fellow employees are skeptical and suspicious.....and they try to keep their distance.

In this novella, which is book #2.5 in the series, Mallory/Catriona has already confided her situation to Isla and Dr. Gray, so they don't think of her as a maid. In fact, Mallory helps Isla with science experiments and is an assistant to Dr. Gray. In fact, Mallory/Catriona sometimes helps Dr. Gray and his friend Detective Hugh McCreadie with police work.



As the story opens, Mallory/Catriona and Isla are planning to make and experiment with Molotov cocktails, which are new devices in 1869.



One evening, when Isla is away on an errand, a letter arrives for the maid Alice. Mallory/Catriona notices that the letter's contents disturb Alice, and then she hears Alice sneak out a window and take off. Mallory/Catriona decides to surreptitiously follow her fellow maid, and happens to meet Dr. Gray along the way.....who joins in the pursuit.



Alice heads for the 'Old Town' part of the city, and ends up in a building called Abernathy Hall, where a young people's dance seems to be happening. Mallory/Catriona and Dr. Gray sneak in to watch the dance, and realize things are not quite what they seem.



This leads to a dangerous pursuit and adventure where Mallory/Catriona really shows her smarts, courage and mettle.

This is a fun fast-moving story with engaging characters and an interesting peek at 19th century Edinburgh. The tale seems a little skimpy though, and I would have liked it fleshed out more.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kelley Armstrong, and Subterranean Press Press for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars