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

OH MY GOSH!!! THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!!!

Mary Quinn was rescued from the gallows at the age of twelve, and now resides at the Academy, a school for young ladies. After five years, Mary is recruited to The Agency, a covert group of women who use their supposed shallowness to discover necessary information. In essence, they are spies. Mary's first assignment is to work as a lady's companion while discovering the truth about fraud and thievery in the home of a rich shipping tycoon. Through the course of her investigations, Mary accidentally winds up in a closet with young James Easton, a businessman who is also on the trail of the shipping tycoon (Henry Thorold). They form a shaky partnership which continues throughout the book.

This book, an enthralling mystery set in the throes of victorian London, kept me occupied for hours. It is not a romance in whole, but there are some romantic elements. I would suggest this book for teenage readers, solely because of the victorian vocabulary and historical references. There is no swearing, but there are references of prostitution, drunkenness, and some mild abuse. A young boy is described after he is brutally murdered.

I cannot wait to get to the library and check out the next book in this series!! I sincerely hope that you will go to your library and check out this first installment as soon as you can!!

Cheers!!

Annabelle J.

Months later.....


Okay, so it's been roughly four months since I posted the first book in The Agency series, and I want to give you an update on the rest of the series.

IT. IS. AWESOME. Seriously, I can't think of another good, tasteful mystery series for teens and young adults. There is a rather steamy (by my standards) scene at the end of the third book, but the relationship between Mary and James, the evolution of the Agency, OH MY GOSH. And James! I do believe that I have my latest book crush! He is amazing! The storylines are very good, as well, and the mysteries have weight and keep you reading. I stayed up until one AM to finish the third book.

In order, the books are A Spy In the House, The Body In the Tower, The Traitor In the Tunnel (the steamy, suspenseful chapter in this amazing storyline), and Rivals In the City. I highly recommend reading them in order, and as soon as possible. I'm not going to give you overviews or anything, because I don't want to spoil the books, but I will say that I suggest this series for fourteen and up. Mainly because of the romance bits. Also, READ THESE BOOKS!! FIVE HUGE STARS!!


Annabelle J.