Book Review: The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

The Agency 2: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication date: August 2010
ISBN: 9780763649685
Source: Library

When a body is found near a tower at a construction site, the Agency takes a hand in finding out what happened.  Mary goes deep undercover as Mark, an errand boy on the site.  She will find out just how difficult it is to hide who she is and what she is from the observant people at the site and at her makeshift housing.  Will she be able to find out what happened and still manage to maintain her disguise?

Things I Liked:
I still love Mary.  She's smart and spunky, but also still a woman, even if she is in disguise.  The relationship between her and James is really interesting - dynamic and changing and yet with so much potential.  I'm dying to read what happens next.  Really, the mystery kept me intrigued as well.  I wasn't entirely sure what was going on and who was doing what, but the suspense was good.  I'm quickly becoming a mystery fan because of this series.  Favorite quotes: 

But the most difficult part of Mark's life was not labor or filth or hunger.  What Mary found grueling was the sense that Mark would never get ahead, never gain a rest, never be at ease.  His meager wages bought him just enough food and sleep to survive.  There was no possibility of saving money and thus no hope for any sort of change or rest. p 132

It was an enormous, accidental tenement - a pair of houses that seemed to have fallen into each other and thus been prevented from collapsing.  One door was boarded over, and none of the ground-floor windows was intact. p 278

Things I Didn't Like:
Some of the ending was a little confusing - after all that build-up, I was hoping for a bit more explanation of people's motivations and involvement.  But, I wasn't disappointed in the overall story.

Read-alikes:
The Agency 1: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Reeve

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few here and there

mrg-factor: X
mostly just "scandalous" talk

v-factor: ->
a few people get beaten and there is a body (of course)

Overall rating: **** 

What series changes your mind about a genre?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

Book Review: The Agency 1: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee

The Agency 1: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication date: March 2010
ISBN: 9780763640675
Source: Library

 

Mary, a reformed thief who was saved from the gallows at age 12, has been brought up in a ladies' school.  Little does she know the school also stands as a front for a detective agency, banking on the fact that women are in general ignored and unnoticed.  Mary's first assignment leads her to the house of a suspected smuggler, where she is to safely gather information.  But, she's anxious to do more, and decides to take more risks.  When she is plunged into a deadly web of mystery and danger, she isn't sure who she should trust, even if her heart tells her otherwise.

Things I Liked:
I love a good mystery with a Victorian feel.  The setting and the time period in this book simply glowed!  Not to mention, I really like Mary, a tough heroine who made the transition from street thief to educated woman beautifully.  While the mystery itself is not as amazing as I could have desired, I found myself entranced with Mary, her romantic interest (who may or may not be trustworthy), and the lovely details and unfolding of the story.  Definitely looking forward to more in the series.  Some delights from the book:

The house itself was a tall slice of Georgian wedding cake.  Being so close to the Thames - it was right across the street from the embankment - its whitewashed facade was an uneven gray, frescoed with lumps of bird guano and soot. p 30

Sunlight glowed round the edges of the curtains.  Mary lifted one eyelid. Why did she feel so...?  Even before she could frame the question, the events of yesterday came back. They didn't rush or ebb so much as cudgel her brain." p 241

Things I Didn't Like:
As I noted above, the mystery was not that amazing.  But, I really loved pretty much everything else, so it didn't bother me much.

Read-alikes:
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a few here and there

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
some minor incidents

Overall rating: ****

So, I'm fairly new to the mystery-historical fiction combo, but I'd love more suggestions!

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage