Minerva Shaw is forced to race into the London night in desperation to find a doctor for her ill daughter Ivy. Though her clothing is soaked through and she worries about how she will pay the doctor, Minerva knows that she cannot stop. When in desperation, she passes out briefly at the door of Sebastian Brown, she has know idea that this faithful meeting is going to change her life forever. Minerva and Sebastian quickly discover that Ivy, along with the other children who have gotten ill, have been the victims of scientific experimentation. As Minerva and Sebastian two race to find the culprit, they find their own hearts racing as well.

Ashes & Alchemy is only 80 pages and therefore is a novella. Unfortunately, this means a very rushed romance. Sebastian and Minerva actually know each other for about 24 hours when they decide that what they feel for each other is love. Sebastian proposes within 48 hours and they are married within three weeks. That much time isn't even long enough to decide that one is in lust, let alone love. They know absolutely nothing about each other and yet Sebastian is quick to share that he is a member of a super secret society, putting not only his life but the lives of his family and friends at risk. Not to worry though, Minerva promises not to tell, honest.

The problem with the brevity of this story is that Pape based it on new characters with a few familiar ones popping by for a cameo, leaving the reader with very little familiarity with the main characters. The mystery is over before it even really begins and they don't really investigate but follow a lucky turn of phrase uttered by a young girl. The so-called mystery is a ruse for the ridiculous love affair.

To Pape's credit, Minerva has a strongly independent streak. When Sebastian tries to encourage her to stay behind when they go after the villain, she is determined to be included. She is a survivor of an attempted rape and even killed her would be rapist. Given his history in the military, Sebastian is authoritarian in nature but he does not get away with that when it comes to Minerva; she is his match and more. At least in the sense of class however, Sebastian does become her savior, because when they first meet, Minerva's flat is a crime scene and she is unemployed as a consequence of staying home to care for her daughter. A life with Sebastian elevates Minerva's class status significantly. In this way, the HAE is constructed to turn her into a fairy tale princess through the wiping away of all of her deprivations.

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Nefarious doings!

London, 1850.
Residents must wear masks to protect themselves from the coal smoke that hangs heavily in the air. A product of the devotion to all things steam.
It is a cold and bitter night. Police Inspector Sebastian Brown is disturbed by a woman collapsing on his door step. Searching for a doctor who lives near to Sebastian, she has crossed London without a mask, 'tantamount to a death sentence,' braving the frost and fog, and the possibility of vampyres or cutthroats.'
Her daughter is deathly ill. Sebastian accompanies the woman, Minerva (Minnie) Shaw, to fetch her daughter, Ivy.
What they find is a murdered friend, a room indicating chaotic search, and a missing sick child.
Murders and a mysterious illness that has the patient sweating a black soot are just the beginning.
The black soot residue appears to be a bacteria capable of taking soot out of the body. In this London those who can, wear masks to prevent sure death. Children are being experimented on in the name of science!
Liam takes an interest and calls in his wife Wink, 'a scientific genius', to use her expertise.
It becomes clear that this, in more ways than one, is a case for the Knights of the Order (of the Round Table) to investigate.
Sebastian has some power. For one, he can tell when people are lying. A useful talent in his profession. He takes Minerva and her daughter Ivy into his home and heart. It seems that Ivy is more than most would guess.
A delightful novella that highlights a secondary character in the series. A worthy addition to Gaslight Chronicles.

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