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bellatora's review against another edition
4.0
Despite the name, this book is not about a thief taker. Nor is the thief taker a love interest (which was my other guess going into this book). He is in fact a rapey rapist who the actual protagonist, the cook Agnes Meadowes, outwits.
Agnes Meadowes is the cook for a family of wealthy silversmiths. In the course of 24-hours, Agnes finds out that her son's caretaker has gotten sick and can no longer take care of him (bad because at that time servants couldn't have their children live with them), a flighty, flirty maidservant goes missing, and an expensive silver piece is stolen and the apprentice standing guard is murdered. A bad day for Agnes. For some reason she's tasked by the family with finding the silver thief (because...something about how they need someone within the household to question the other servants? It's a fairly thin excuse, but go with it). Agnes is supposed to just go to the local thief taker and pay him and he will "find" the silver (although everyone knows that in reality he likely stole the silver just so he could be paid to recover it, in standard thief-taker practice). Which makes Agnes' employers making her their designated detective even more confusing.
Agnes, however, goes off-task, as she is determined to find the missing servant girl. Agnes feels a responsibility for her underling. Also, she feels a bond with the servant girl, because she once caught her having sex in the pantry. This I never understood. If I caught someone having sex, I would not develop a soft spot for her. But Agnes does (maybe she's jealous that the servant girl enjoys a lusty sex life, whereas Agnes has only experience abuse at the hands of her dead husband?). Agnes thinks that the missing servant girl and the missing silver may be connected. So she runs around questioning people, and outwitting the creepy thief taker and falling in love with the silversmith apprentice who aids her and continually jeopardizing her job by brazenly questioning everyone. Agnes is tenacious, but not terribly subtle.
I'm not sure how well the mystery holds together - it feels like there was too much going on and then all the pieces suddenly jumped into place. But Gleeson is good at historical fiction - she can slip into the period and bring it to life. It doesn't feel like it's just 21st century people in corsets and britches, like some "historical" fiction.
Agnes Meadowes is the cook for a family of wealthy silversmiths. In the course of 24-hours, Agnes finds out that her son's caretaker has gotten sick and can no longer take care of him (bad because at that time servants couldn't have their children live with them), a flighty, flirty maidservant goes missing, and an expensive silver piece is stolen and the apprentice standing guard is murdered. A bad day for Agnes. For some reason she's tasked by the family with finding the silver thief (because...something about how they need someone within the household to question the other servants? It's a fairly thin excuse, but go with it). Agnes is supposed to just go to the local thief taker and pay him and he will "find" the silver (although everyone knows that in reality he likely stole the silver just so he could be paid to recover it, in standard thief-taker practice). Which makes Agnes' employers making her their designated detective even more confusing.
Agnes, however, goes off-task, as she is determined to find the missing servant girl. Agnes feels a responsibility for her underling. Also, she feels a bond with the servant girl, because she once caught her having sex in the pantry. This I never understood. If I caught someone having sex, I would not develop a soft spot for her. But Agnes does (maybe she's jealous that the servant girl enjoys a lusty sex life, whereas Agnes has only experience abuse at the hands of her dead husband?). Agnes thinks that the missing servant girl and the missing silver may be connected. So she runs around questioning people, and outwitting the creepy thief taker and falling in love with the silversmith apprentice who aids her and continually jeopardizing her job by brazenly questioning everyone. Agnes is tenacious, but not terribly subtle.
I'm not sure how well the mystery holds together - it feels like there was too much going on and then all the pieces suddenly jumped into place. But Gleeson is good at historical fiction - she can slip into the period and bring it to life. It doesn't feel like it's just 21st century people in corsets and britches, like some "historical" fiction.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even finish it. Had to skim from the opening chapters to the end...not even the least bit curious about what happened in between...I didn't particularly care for The Grenaillo Box by Gleeson either--despite reading rave reviews elsewhere.
alanna6's review against another edition
2.0
Felt super meh about this book. The whole premise is that there’s a theft and a murder in the Middle Ages and the people who own the shop ask their female cook (who works in the household and not in the shop), Agnes, to solve it because they think the thief was one of the staff. If you can get past that premise by accepting some suspension of disbelief for fiction’s sake, then you’re surprised by the violence against women and all the sexism that was probably very true to the times. If the world was really so sexist and violence against women so rampant, why the heck would the trust their female cook to solve a mystery?
I had a hard time getting into the story and by the time you figure out who the bad person is you don’t really care. Debated about giving this one or two stars but we will start with two and maybe I’ll come back and change it.
I had a hard time getting into the story and by the time you figure out who the bad person is you don’t really care. Debated about giving this one or two stars but we will start with two and maybe I’ll come back and change it.
ironsandwine's review against another edition
3.0
A satisfying whodunnit with the right mix of peril and romance for an easy going palate cleanser. The details of food and cooking in 1700s London gave it a rich atmosphere which was very cosy and welcoming.
bellbo's review against another edition
2.0
I loved the protagonist, but historically an employed house cook would not have acted the way she did at times. If this was a series I would read the second one just because of Agnes.
jennshelfishlife's review against another edition
3.0
Best parts of the book: the setting of 18th century London, learning about silversmithing & the interesting meals of the merchant class in 18th century London.
Least favourites: not many likable characters, too repetitive with facts about the mystery, & Agnes as the heroine was a bit unbelievable.
Least favourites: not many likable characters, too repetitive with facts about the mystery, & Agnes as the heroine was a bit unbelievable.
bellbo's review
2.0
I loved the protagonist, but historically an employed house cook would not have acted the way she did at times. If this was a series I would read the second one just because of Agnes.
sarah42783's review
3.0
An excellent book! This historical murder mystery mixes crime, cooking and social history. It made me think of the world of Gosford Park, only darker, in a Sherlock Holmes sort of way. Very well-written, this book is a real page-turner that kept me guessing until the very end!
margaretpinard's review
5.0
Marvelous! Great story, vivid setting, and characters both endearing and realistically nasty. I particularly loved the process of the protagonist thinking through the mystery while she jellied her knuckle of mutton and strung her cardoons- but then I'm a foodie and interested in historical food details. Well done!
julieputty's review
4.0
The ending falls to pieces a bit, but this is a strong mystery with a solid main character and well-developed setting.
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