Monday, January 31, 2011

Review: The Agency: The Body at the Tower - Y.S. Lee

Where I got it: Library
Rating: 4 stars
Cover Rating:  4 stars (Very fitting. The model is perfect.)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 10, 2010
Publisher: Candlewick
Page Count: 337 p.
Sequel to The Agency: A Spy in the House

Mary Quinn is now a full member of The Agency and as such is trusted once again with a very important mission. She has to find out how John Wick was murdered at the building site near the Houses of Parliament. She disguises herself as a boy so that she may find work on the construction site and listen and follow the builders around. When she runs into an old acquaintance however she fears her cover blown. She heard nary a word from him about it though. She doesn't know if he recognizes her or not. She also doesn't know if she herself is in danger at this site. She has lot's to lose and a lot to still find out.

Again Mary throws us into an adventure in Victorian London. This book like the first one was still a tad on the slow-going side. I'm not sure what it is, but there's no sense of racing through the pages, which can definitely be a good thing. Y.S. Lee is certainly qualified to emerge us in a wholly realistic Victorian London world. It is not entirely unlikely that an Agency could have existed. It is quite fascinating to read about all the class and gender differences that Mary has to adapt to with her various disguises. It has to be tricky having to go in and out of different characters and still be yourself somewhere inside. The romance in this one was quite like the first novel. One must realize that this is set in 1859 not present day, so there is not a lot of scandalous and steamy scenes, since Mary is not a woman of the night. It still is delicious the banter between Mary and her love interest though. All the characters were very vivid and some downright frightening. If you liked the first novel I would make sure to check this one out. It will not disappoint. This novel can be read as a standalone, but why start on the second when you can start with the first?

First Line:
"A sobbing man huddles on a narrow ledge, clawing at his eyes to shield them from the horror far below." 

Favorite Line:
"Dawn came early, and with it consciousness."

1 comment:

  1. I haven't heard much about this one but it looks really good. Thanks for the lovely review!

    ReplyDelete

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