catladyreba's review against another edition
4.0
A pretty enjoyable read, decent sequel. I am not sure I love where they are going with the storyline of James, but I am willing to read the next few books in the series to find out. I also love the bits of history interspersed within the story, as well as the unflinching look at the marginalized Londoners of the 1800s; the poor, the female, and the non-English to name a few. Looks like history hasn't changed all that much.
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
4.0
Historical young adult novel set in the late 1800 London. Fun
appalonia's review against another edition
4.0
Mary Quinn is charged in this novel to dress as a 12-year old boy and begin working as an errand boy on the construction site of St. Stephen's Tower. For Mary, dressing as a poor boy and taking to the streets brings back disturbing memories of her childhood when she was a young thief. The history of the Tower and Big Ben is fascinating and had me hitting Wikipedia for more information. I love learning a bit of history while I'm enjoying a good read.
Mary impressed me more in this novel than she had in the last (although I loved that one as well). She was more careful in this book and not as impulsive. Also her ability to find compassion for a (fellow) thief was touching, as was her eventual honesty with James regarding her past. All in all this spoke of a marked maturity in Mary's character.
The only thing that disappointed me in this book was that they didn't revisit Mary's emotions about her past childhood, which was supposed to be one of the goals of the assignment. Other unresolved issues will probably be addressed in the next book of the series, but that is one thing that needed to be addressed at the end of this book.
Overall though I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to the next in this series.
Mary impressed me more in this novel than she had in the last (although I loved that one as well). She was more careful in this book and not as impulsive. Also her ability to find compassion for a (fellow) thief was touching, as was her eventual honesty with James regarding her past. All in all this spoke of a marked maturity in Mary's character.
The only thing that disappointed me in this book was that they didn't revisit Mary's emotions about her past childhood, which was supposed to be one of the goals of the assignment. Other unresolved issues will probably be addressed in the next book of the series, but that is one thing that needed to be addressed at the end of this book.
Overall though I really enjoyed reading this story and look forward to the next in this series.
majkia's review against another edition
4.0
Genre: Period Mystery
Rating: Very Good
Mary Quinn works for an all woman agency who hires out for detective and spy work in Victorian London.
Mary is a girl from the streets who was trained by the agency. She uses her street smarts to good effect. In this outing, Mary is undercover as a boy hired as a gofer at a building site in London, trying to understand how one of the workers fell to his death from the bell tower where Big Ben is being installed.
Intriguing character development and likable main characters. London, and its poor are their own characters in the series.
Rating: Very Good
Mary Quinn works for an all woman agency who hires out for detective and spy work in Victorian London.
Mary is a girl from the streets who was trained by the agency. She uses her street smarts to good effect. In this outing, Mary is undercover as a boy hired as a gofer at a building site in London, trying to understand how one of the workers fell to his death from the bell tower where Big Ben is being installed.
Intriguing character development and likable main characters. London, and its poor are their own characters in the series.
theskyisthelimit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
melissasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this second book in the Agency series. When I finished, I immediately had to download the third book because I just had to know what happens next. I love the characters of Mary and James. This mystery series is really unique and I love the fiery, quick exchanges between the characters. Those who are sensitive to language should know that there are a few cuss words here and there. Though it is mild considering that this mystery takes place on a building site.