Kelley Armstrong’s “A Rip Through Time” is one of my favorite series. In this Christmas novella “Schemes and Scandals” it's Mallory's first Christmas in 1860s Victorian Scotland after deciding to make this her permanent home. She is surprised that Christmas is not a big celebration. Hogmanay, the last day of the year, is celebrated instead. As part of the holiday’s festivities, Dr. Gray gifts both Mallory and his sister, Isla, tickets to a live reading by noted period author Charles Dickens. Not only does she get to meet Charles Dickens, but she also gets to solve a mystery that involves stolen letters and the blackmail of Gray's former lover.

This novella is a winner. I appreciated the insight into Duncan’s background along with some of the other characters. As always, the author’s historical detail is on point, the characters are engaging and likable and I can't wait for more. This is such an entertaining book, and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

My thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for a copy of the digital ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Another riveting plot that Mallory works on, this time for Duncan's ex-lover, Lady Inglis.

A lot of mystery, Charles Dickens, slow burn romance, hogmanay traditions described, all this makes this novella a fast-paced and interesting read.

We get to see Mallory slowly and steadily being accepted in Scotland and for her to learn the customs of the new century and put it into practice.

#netgalley #kelleyarmstrong #SchemesScandals

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I adore Kelley Armstrong so I was thrilled to get to read this new installment early. I actually think this series may be my favorite of her series which is crazy because I love the Rockton books and spinoff series very much. Any time spent with Mallory and Grey in Victorian England is amazing! And in this little mystery, they meet a man of historical importance and I loved every second of it. The mystery itself wasn't completley thrilling which isn't the fault of the shorter format because she has given us some other incredible stories in these little installments. I guessed what was happening early and I hate when that happens. However, I still got to spend time with my fave characters around the holidays. We also got a hint or two about where the series could possible take us next. I ate this one up. I definitely wouldn't start with this book as it would be disappointing to you. Grab the first in the series and go from there.

Our twenty-first century detective, Mallory, having made the decision to stay in 1869 Scotland is ready for her first Christmas in the Victorian era. However it seems Scotland is not big on Christmas but instead celebrates Hogmanay with much of the same trappings. Gray gives Mallory a pre-Hogmanay gift, a chance to accompany him, his widowed sister Isla and their friend Detective McCreadie to a reading by Charles Dickens. As if that was not exciting enough they run into a former lover of Gray’s who asks them for help as she is being blackmailed.
This novella takes place after the events of book three which saw Mallory make the firm decision to remain in the past with Gray. The case Mallory and Gray investigate for once does not include a murder but we do see tidbits of Victorian life that may surprise some, such as the existence of written pornography aimed at the genteel Victorian woman and the seemingly common habit of upper class widows to take lovers. Since it is a novella we don’t really learn much about any of the regular character’s past and the culprit was only semi-obvious in retrospect though, with her knowledge of Dickens’ impending death, we do see how Mallory has to tread carefully about things she knows but can’t really reveal. Overall it is a wonderful glimpse into the lives of Gray, Mallory, et al. I look forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

"Schemes & Scandals" is another excellent installment in Armstrong's "Rip Through Time" series.
It's not exactly the Christmas season in Victorian Scotland but Mallory Michell appreciates Hogmanay almost as much as a good mystery. When Dr. Duncan Gray's former lover needs assistance, Mallory and Duncan are called upon to take the case.
While the novella lacks the suspense (and murder) of the full length novels. It makes up for it with more light hearted character examination. We learn further depth from Duncan's past relationships, more about the enigmatic Jack's past, and a tad bit more of Mallory's past. Even without the celebrity cameo, I would give this one 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

It's Mallory Atkinson's first Christmas after traveling back through time. Mallory and Gray help an old lover of Gray's with blackmail. I enjoyed the novella and love reading about life in Victorian Scotland.

Schemes & Scandals is a new novella in the “A Rip Through Time” series, just in time for Christmas. Or, if you’re in Victorian Scotland, Hogmanay!

As a gift, Dr. Duncan Gray has procured tickets for Mallory and his friends to see one of her favorite authors do a live reading – Charles Dickens. While there, they have a run in with one of Gray’s old flames, widow Lady Inglis. She asks for their help; someone has stolen intimate letters she wrote and is blackmailing her. Mallory intends to help, despite the awkwardness of the situation, but Gray appears to be hiding something as well, and it’s hampering her ability to solve the case.

I just love everything Kelley Armstrong writes, so it’s no shocker that I enjoyed the novella. It’s a fast paced and fun read. This series is wonderful overall, with the fish-out-of-water scenario of a modern day detective being thrown back into the past, in a time when women aren’t given much respect, much less allowed to work as detectives. It’s pleasant watching Gray follow her lead and learn from her, as he acknowledges that he may be the medical expert but she has all the experience solving crime.

Whatever eventual romance may blossom between these two is still on slow burn, and not given much direct mention here, other than the awkwardness of working with Gray’s ex-lover. I still have high hopes in the romance department though, and Armstrong has never failed to deliver.

If you like a bit of mystery, a bit of time travel, a bit of romance, then I recommend this series as a whole, and this novella fits in perfectly.

Thank you NetGalley and Subterranean Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review! Schemes & Scandals is available October 31!

Thank you to NetGalley & Subterranean Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Schemes & Scandals is a novella in Kelley Armstrong's A Rip Through Time series. It takes place very soon after the end of the third book Disturbing the Dead and before the fourth book (which is not out yet). I recommend that you read the previous books if you want to enjoy this story fully. That being said, I do think the story/plot is self-contained enough that new readers could probably get a taste for the series here and enjoy it. To be clear, I'm speaking as someone who has read and reread this series several times, and therefore I might've overlooked something that could confuse new readers. But overall, I think the main plot is clear enough to follow and you're given enough that you'll catch on to other details like who everyone is and what their situations are quickly enough. Just be prepared for major spoilers. The characters and their relationships have all grown to reach the point we find them at here, and obviously this novella does refer to events from the novels.

Schemes & Scandals was a top mystery novella for me! I adore coming back to this 1869 Edinburgh that Armstrong has crafted and every book in this series has been a delight to read! Clearly this novella was no exception! The mystery revolves around blackmail and finally deals with a plot I'd been eager to see more of after it's introduction in book one (and several mentions throughout the series). It wasn't a major plot, so a novella was the perfect format to explore it. Speaking of perfect, Schemes & Scandals was also the perfect length to be a thorough mystery, without ever dragging. It's an easy and enjoyable read!

The characters in A Rip Through Time never disappoint either! I really liked the Mallory and Duncan interactions in this one. The dynamic between them is so phenomenal! They're both such enjoyable characters individually, and I loved what we got from them as they try to solve this blackmail case. There was some really well-done tension between them. Also the subplot with Charles Dickens was also, I found, an amazing touch for their character and relationship growth! I can't wait to see what's in store for them. ( I'm also still so invested in Isla & McCreadie, and I soaked up tidbits of their growing relationship in this novella like a sponge. This slow burn alone could have me hooked on this series forever).

What's great about this novella is while it's not necessary to read it to understand the main series, I can already tell how much reading this one will have enhanced my experience with the next book. I think it's serving an excellent role in the larger series by exploring a plot readers like myself were curious about, while also progressing different character relationships. I don't think anything would really be missing from my understanding without this novella, but I do think that reading it will have added something!

I'm sure it's obvious, but I cannot get enough of this series. A Rip Through Time is an amazing blend of historical fiction, mystery, and sci-fi/fantasy. Schemes & Scandals is a brilliant installment in this world, and will leave you so excited for the next one!

This series is my new obsession. I don't know how I will be able to wait until next year for more stories.

After being attacked in an alley while investigating the screams of a young woman, Det. Mallory Atkinson has body-swapped with a young Victorian housemaid named Catriona Mitchell.

In Schemes & Scandals, Mallory is sad to learn the Victorians in Scotland do not celebrate Christmas.  But they do have large celebrations for Hogmanay (New Year's Eve).   As a gift, Dr Duncan Gray presents his sister and Mallory with tickets to a Charles Dickens reading.  And just like I would, Mallory arrives at the reading with a copy of her favorite Dickens story for him to sign.  Apparently, Victorians don't generally have book signing (That's a dealbreaker. I am never going into the past.)  but then Duncan is approached by an old acquaintance, Lady Inglis, who is a family friend of Charles Dickens.  She will introduce Mallory to the famous writer if she can get Duncan's help on a personal matter, and his assistant's, of course.

Lady Inglis is being blackmailed.  She wrote some very scandalous letters to one of her lovers and those letters have been stolen.  While Lady Inglis is a widow and so is her lover, it would still cause quite a scandal if the blackmailer does as promised and publishes the letters.

When Mallory first arrived in Catriona's body and realized Catriona's less than ethical behavior, she  also found a hidey-hole where she kept some pilfered items.  One of those items, was a scandalously descriptive letter from Lady Inglis to Duncan trying to entice him back to her.  Mallory doesn't know why Catriona kept it except as her own possible item of blackmail.  Mallory eventually tells Duncan about the found missive and, very embarrassed, he tells her to burn it.

Knowing that Mallory is aware of his history with Lady Inglis makes the whole situation very uncomfortable to Duncan, especially when Mallory indicates that she plans to help Lady Inglis, as she shouldn't be shamed for living her life and harming no one, and obviously as a police detective, Mallory is fine pursuing the matter without Gray's assistance, since there is no dead body involved.   This creates an uncomfortable tension between Gray and Mallory as her more forgiving 21st century morals clash with his more uptight Victorian prudishness.

We are still in a slow burn on romance between Duncan and Mallory (as well as Isla and Det McCreadie) but there is no doubt of the interest on both sides.

I think this is my favorite cover of the series.  I like seeing her as both Mallory and Catriona and highlighting the difference in looks and dress, etc. of the two characters that are both Mallory.  Sadly, the novellas are not available in audiobook, which makes a difference here as the narrator does a great job narrating Mallory with either a Canadian accent, if she is comfortably hanging with Duncan or Isla, or a Scottish one, if she is assuming her Catriona role, and we sometimes catch when Mallory forgets to add her accent.

This novella releases in October and while I was delighted to be given an ARC, I am also very depressed that after spending a week with Duncan, Mallory, Isla and Hugh, I won't be able to join them again until next Spring when the next full length novel should be released.  That is, unless Kelley Armstrong would like to take my advice and stop with all those other stories and just keep writing more of the A Rip Through Time series.   Maybe she will...please.

Kelley Armstrong has written a holiday novella which follows closely after the events of her recent novel, Disturbing the Dead. It seems that celebrating Christmas is not done by the Scottish of the Victorian era but they do celebrate New Year's Eve, or what they call Hogmanay, with an exchange of gifts and a feast.

The case in this story is one of blackmail. Duncan Gray's former lover, Lady Inglis, is being blackmailed over stolen explicit letters she has written to her current lover, Lord Charles Simpson. Gray allows Mallory to take the lead in the case, at least when it comes to dealing with Lady Inglis herself. Who knew about the letters and had access to them?

In this story, I was pleased to see Mallory making a conscious effort to stick to the manners and mores of Victorian-era Scotland. There are so many places where a woman cannot go at all, gentlemen's clubs for instance, and others where she must be accompanied by a man, like on the streets after dark. It must be so hard to exist in 1869 with the sensibilities of the modern era and not make unwitting mistakes.

What I loved most about this novella is a meeting with Charles Dickens. He is on his farewell tour and comes to perform in Edinburgh in November, 1869. Gray is able to get them tickets and afterwards, Lady Inglis finds a way to get them backstage to meet Dickens and perhaps get a book signed. Mallory is saddened to realize he only has a few more months to live and will never complete the book he tells them he is currently writing, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this novella via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

My Thoughts

Over the course of this series thus far twenty-first-century detective Mallory Atkinson has found herself slowly coming to grips with being trapped inside another woman’s body and all that it means for someone living in the Victorian era.

19th century Scotland has restrictions that Mallory is not only bound by but so are the people whose household she has found herself a part of.

As the series has progressed over the first three books and their accompanying novellas, we have been privy to not only Mallory’s background but that of her now employers Dr. Duncan Gray and his widowed sister Isla.

The mystery element regarding who was blackmailing Duncan’s ex-lover fared well as the main focus with secondary elements that fleshed out the story quite well.

A bit more light hearted story taking place during the holidays at the end of 1869 which marks a year for Mallory to have resided with Dr. Duncan Gray and his sister Isla.

A year that has had its ups and downs while Mallory adjusts to her circumstances.

Thank you to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for a copy provided for an honest review.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

This review is my opinion and my opinion only. This book is part of the “A Rip Through Time” series. This story is about Mallory, a detective from our time, who accidentally fell in time to 1869. She is still adjusting to the differences, but decided to continue what she does best. Is being a detective, but with the constrictions of the time. Duncan believes Mallory and is helping her. This story Mallory has been hired to find out who is blackmailing Lady Patricia Inglis. Lady Patricia is Duncan’s former lover that turned sour. We get to see the dynamic of their relationship.
I don’t want to say much more about the story line because I want you to READ THIS SERIES!
I love the style of writing of Kelley Armstrong, She is great at world and character building. She gets you invested in the characters.
I highly recommend this series! For me this is re-read series! It’s that phenomenal!

This was a short read on Mallory's first time during the Christmas season when she with her parent's blessing, decided to live in the 19th century. It was a quick read, but very good.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Schemes and Scandals by Kelley Armstrong in exchange for an honest review. I loved this short story in the Rip in Time series. We got to learn a bit more about Duncan's history, meet a famous author and solve a mystery. This was a fun book and I can't wait for more.

I received a copy of this eBook from netGalley for a honest review.

I loved this series so much and this "Christmas" novella is wonderful. So many questions were answered in the last book and now we can just watch Mallory in her new life. She gets to meet Charles Dickens and solve a mystery involving one of Gray's former lovers. I can't wait for the next in this series.

Just an absolute delight! I could read a 100 stories from this series and not get tired. There is always another mystery to be solved. And getting to check in with the characters we’ve grown to love along the way is just a plus!
This is one of my favorite series so getting these novellas is a real treat. A quick, often lower stakes, mystery to tide us readers over while we wait for the next book to come along.
The winter Holiday setting was also so wonderfully cozy. It was lovely getting to see Mallory begin to commit herself to making a life in Scotland. I can’t wait to see that expanded even more in future books.
All around it is a great addition to the series and I would recommend to all who’ve read this far. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read it a bit early.

Love this series! And really love these novellas that allow the reader a more intimate view into the lives from Gray, Lila, Mallory and the Detective. It was fun to see how Armstrong depicted Dickens' reading performance. It was interesting to learn a bit more about Gray's life prior to Mallory's arrival. Just a wonderful, fun, fast read! Looking forward to more!

When your favourite author comes out with a new novella to her latest series you know that I had to get my hands on it right away. This book takes place in the Rip through time series which I loved. This novella sees Mallorie up to her detective work yet again. When she sets off to start her first Christmas set in the past she is overjoyed this is going to be exactly what she wants. However things can't go to easy on her yet for when she discovers that Doctor Grey's ex is being blackmailed her and Duncan take on the case to set things right. This was a quick read that takes place over the holidays for an extra flair and the best part about this one was even though it takes place in the Rip through time universe with the previous characters it is easily read as a stand alone novel so you don't need a lot of backstory to get the plot. This was a short read but that is to be expected with a novella however it was great to jump back into that universe and I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it. This mystery was amazing and really had my hooked fast as reader however it was also just light enough where it didn't need a full novel to portray it. This was the perfect addition to a world I never wanted to see the end of. With the added backstory to our favourite characters in this series this novella was everything this series needed. Great read, well written characters and I loved how each book had very different plots although followed the same structure. This gives the reader lots of variety all within the same style. I can't wait until this book is released. The little taste this book gives of a world we all know and love was just enough to make me crave more and I can't wait to see what else Kelley Armstrong has in store for our favourite time travellers.

Schemes & Scandals is a Rip through Time Novella set just after Disturbing the Dead. This Novella picks up shortly after they rap up that investigation and Mallory now accepting that her place is there with Duncan and Isla excitedly awaits her very first Christmas. To her dismay Christmas is not yet fully celebrated it was once against the law and although it is no longer a crime it hasn’t fully been embraced as a holiday in this era and is not yet truly celebrated.

However, much to Mallory’s delight Hogmanay is and she has many fond memories of celebrating Hogmanay with her Nan. I must say swinging a fireball overhead sounds like great fun. I am a bit intrigued by this and plan to fully to look it up for I must have the knowledge.

This is also another aspect of this series I truly love. I do not necessarily read it for the historical content. However, I absolutely love how naturally it is woven into the storyline. I love that most of what is included as facts are things I either did not know or have forgotten from my history days and this is a wonderful way to see it from the perspective of a modern girl living it from the aspect of understanding that it happened but not fully embracing what it was like to experience it. And it makes the historical facts fun, fresh, and intriguing in a way you can’t just find in a historical account.

And Charles Dickens just wow so completely cool. I have fan girl envy for Mallory and I love that she as able to experience that moment.

I also love seeing Dr. Gray most uncomfortably might I add having to explain his entanglement with Lady Inglis. As the case progresses dare I say as much as she doesn’t want to admit it Mallory is jealous…. Awe now if only we can get Mallory and Duncan to finally admit their feelings for each other. All good things in time I am sure. I absolutely love the natural progression of their relationship and it makes their story so much more believable and interesting.

On this topic I am also very pleased to see Isla coming out of her shell as her mourning period is officially ending. I most certainly hope to see her and our handsome and decent (might I even say perfect for her) relationship with detective McCreadie slowly but surely becoming a regular part of life. Although neither seem to consider it to be the case they are on a regular basis doing very much date like outings with Duncan and Mallory. I love seeing the four of them together doing what most people would in our time call a double date all for the sake of investigations of course.

Ugh how I can’t wait to see how all this comes to fruition. All four deserve happiness and they have it so close at hand.

So all in all if you love the series this is an absolutely delightful adventure.

I am so happy to re-visit this series with some of my favorite characters. I am so excited for more! Get the series it’s an excellent read and completely binge worthy.

I feel this story is best read after delving into the series. The characters and relationship dynamics is best enjoyed knowing the whole picture. So get it and binge it. You won’t be disappointed. I absolutely loved this and I highly recommend it!

Schemes and Scandals, A Rip Through Time book 3.5, by Kelley Armstrong

This is series is so much fun. I love science and I love a good mystery. Mallory is at it again putting her modern day detective skills to use in the Victorian eara. No bodies this time. It's a straight up mystery that takes place over the holidays and revolves around one of Gray's strained relations. Great novella. I loved getting to know Gray even more than we already had.

#bookreview #2024 #netgalley #victoriancrime #dickens