The Agency: The Body at the Tower – A little Victorian indulgence

If everyone has a literary indulgence – a genre, author, or type of book that we are drawn to over and over again, I believe mine might be the Victorian mystery. Of course, I'm always good for some fantasy, ogres, witches, time travel, and adventure, but the Victorian era has been a weakness for as long as I can remember. Maybe there's something intriguing about the concept of hiding weapons or other clever devices in mounds and mounds of fruffy skirts?

The Body at the Tower, the second book in the Agency series by Y.S. Lee, was just the right kind of Victorian indulgence I needed a few weeks ago. The first book in the series, A Spy in the House, was a lovely treat that I listened to last summer. The series revolves around Mary Quinn, a woman in her late teens, now approaching 20, who lived on the London streets after her mother died and her father disappeared. Half white and half Chinese, the much younger Mary lived as a thief and often dressed as a boy in order to survive. She was smart, resourceful, and quick.... and sentenced to hang after she got caught breaking into a house.

After she was sentenced, she was spirited away before reaching the jail by a woman claiming to be a warden. In truth, this woman was one of the mistresses of an unusual school for girls. There, Mary received an excellent education and learned to be a lady. Then one day she was invited to work for the school, which she discovered was really a front for an agency of women spies. After her first job was an enormous success, she trained in other fields not necessarily associated with being a lady – martial arts, cryptology, and all the skills she would need to be a proper spy.

In this second book Mary is given a task that will test her physically, mentally, and emotionally as she goes undercover as a young boy on the site where they are building the new parliament and the tower that will eventually house Big Ben. A man has died in the tower, and there are rumours that the worksite is cursed or haunted. Mary's slight frame and experience pretending to be a boy make the job a bit easier, but the conditions make her confront her past and the wretched conditions she came from.

As expected, a little light romance ensues when James Easton, a young engineer who crossed paths with Mary in her first assignment, is contracted to provide an independent assessment of the worker's death and the problems on the site. Mary, or Mark as she is called in her disguise, is assigned to assist him.

Y.S. Lee brings Victorian England to light with original detail and description that comes from her education in Victorian studies. She captures the period perfectly and avoids the stereotypes we often see in favour of period details that few of us have encountered before.

This was a great book and a great listen. The style of the book is one that lends itself well to the audio format, making it easy and enjoyable to sit through. Reader Justine Eyre does an excellent job with this series. She refrains from emotional extremes, lacing her voice instead with a restrained urgency, which perfectly mirrors Mary's desire for control over her situation and the world around her.

I listened to The Body at the Tower on MP3 disc as it wasn't available from Library to Go. You can listen to a sample at Brilliance Audio here. The third book, The Traitor in the Tunnel, is due to be released this spring.

The Details:

The Agency: The Body at the Tower, (7 hrs, 39 min), Brilliance Audio, (2010)

The Kane Chronicles

Today's special is the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. Already slightly busy with the Percy Jackson series, and its sequel – The Lost Hero, plus organizing and writing part of the 39 Clues series, Riordan somehow found time to work on yet another successful and excellent juvenile series - the Kane Chronicles.

With the first two books done and the third, and supposedly final book due in the Spring of 2012, Riordan must not have much time for hobbies like flyfishing or golf. The series is supposed to be a trilogy, but I'll believe that when I don't see a fourth book. Riordan's characters seem to go on forever – part of what makes me very happy!

Where the Percy Jackson series embraced the world of the Greek Gods, the Kane Chronicles does the same for Egypt. Carter and Sadie Kane, a brother and sister who are complete opposites, share the telling of the story with each taking charge of the microphone for different chapters. Carter, raised by their father, is black, American, and ultra responsible. He grew up in hotel rooms as their father, an archaeologist, home schooled him and moved them between dig sites and lectures – always living out of a suitcase and never staying in one place for very long. Sadie, the younger of the two, was raised by their maternal grandparents, is white, English, and a bit of a rebel. Their mother died in an accident when Carter and Sadie were little, and after a bitter custody dispute (at least that's what they were told), the two were split up and only see each other at Christmas.

Of course, what they don't realize, is that they are really "blood of the pharaohs" and they come from a long line of Egyptian magicians. Actually, they come from two long lines of Egyptian magicians – which means double the trouble and the real reason they were kept apart as children – too many explosions! After their father is abducted to the underworld during an explosion at the British Museum, the two set out on a quest to rescue him. Plenty of monsters, more explosions, magic, Egyptian mythology, and the uncovering of their ancient Egyptian lineage ensue. Great fun!

The narration is a bit unusual as Kathrine Kellgren voices Sadie and Kevin R. Free voices Carter. The two switch off covering different chapters in the story. The premise is that the story is actually a recording they are going to hide at a later date for future young magicians who are discovering their powers. These students will be drawn to the location of the recording, which will then explain what's going on.

Love the series, love Rick Riordan, love these two readers. Enough said!

I downloaded both books from Library to Go. You can listen to samples there, or at the Brilliance Audio links below.

Listen Up!

The Red Pyramid, 15 hours, Brilliance Audio, (2010)

The Throne of Fire, 13 hours, Brilliance Audio, (2011)
The third book comes out in the Spring of 2012

The Agency: A Spy in the House

And now for something almost completely different. No magic, trolls, or mythical beings...  and Canadian content!

I recently listed to The Agency: A Spy in the House, the first book in a four part series by Canadian author, Y.S.Lee. Lee has a PHd in Victorian Literature and Culture – why didn't  I think of that???? Her knowledge shows in this excellent Victorian spy novel for Young Adults. The writing is filled with Victorian details that we rarely see, and sheds some light on the plight of Chinese workers in England at the time. Her writing is very descriptive and you can almost smell the stench and feel the grit and heat of an oppressive summer in London at that time.

To sum up the story, orphan Mary Quinn has lived on her own and as a thief from an early age until she is sentenced for her crimes at the age of 12. At that time she is taken in by a woman posing as a prison warden who takes her to live at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. There she gains an excellent education, is schooled in manners, and then becomes a spy. The school, it turns out, is a front for the Agency, a super secret squad of female investigators. At 17, Mary finds herself with a new opportunity!

In this first book Mary goes undercover as a lady’s companion to infiltrate a rich merchant’s home. She encounters many mysteries, and even uncovers some about her own past, while trying to learn about the merchant's missing ships and the insurance claims made on them. Then, of course, she meets James, a young man a few years older than Mary, who is also trying to learn more about the family for his own reasons. A gentle romance ensues, but Mary is not one to lose her independence to a man. You just know they'll meet again in future books but I doubt it will turn into a bodice-ripping affair.

Canadian actress Justine Eyre is an excellent reader for this, and (assuming) the future books as well. Her voice embodies Mary's recklessness and sense of urgency. She even does a pretty good job narrating James and the other men in the story.

The second book, The Body at the Tower, is out now and I'm waiting for the CDs to arrive at my library. The third, the Traitor and the Tunnel, isn't due out in Canada and the US until 2012. 

I was not able to download this book through Library to Go. I had to listen to the CDs from the library instead. Still very much worth it, although I find the CDs annoying after being spoiled by downloaded files on my MP3 player! You can download a sample at Brilliance Audio.

Listen Up!

The Agency: A Spy in the House, (7 hrs, 30 mins), Brilliance Audio, (2011)