Module 9: The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee (SLIS 5420 review)

Summary: At only 12 years old, Mary Quinn is about to be hanged as thief. She is rescued and take to Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. At the school she is given the opportunity to stay and the school and train to be a spy for the Agency, a secret, all-female team of detectives. Five years later, Mary is trained and sent out her first mission: to pose as a companion to a young woman named Angelica Thorold and look for evidence that her father, Henry, is using his trade company to smuggle valuable goods into the country. At first her efforts hinder rather than help the investigation, but ultimately she helps uncover truth. She also learns a little bit about her own past and experiences her first romance.

Citation: Lee, Y. S. (2010). The Agency: A spy in the house. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press.

Impression: Yee does a fantastic job evoking the Victorian setting. Her descriptions of the fog, the stifling heat of a London summer, and the smell of the Thames River are vivid. She has also created some memorable characters, especially the feisty Mary and the petulant Angelica. Mary is a very determined young woman. She takes initiatives to try and move the investigation along, even though it doesn’t always work out in her favor. However, she does learn from her mistakes.

I particularly enjoyed the banter between Mary and James Easton, a young an who has his own reasons for investigating the Thorolds. Also, the blossoming relationship between Mary and James will satisfy those readers who like a little romance in their historical mystery, but it won’t turn off anyone just looking for a straight historical mystery.

Review:
Kirkus:
During the early summer of 1858, a funky miasma hovered over London--the streets, the river, the air, everything stank. Something, too, was rotten in the house of Thorold, or many things, actually. Seventeen-year-old Mary Quinn, rescued from the streets by a benevolent society-cure-detective agency, has been dispatched in the guise of a governess to determine just how shady Mr. Thorold's business dealings are. What follows is a hearty mystery with a heaping side of love interest. Debut author Y.S. Lee keeps the story wound tight, lacing it with gingery humor. "I described an earlier version of The Agency, when it was still an adult novel before becoming one for young adults, as 'Anne Perry with a sense of humor,' " she says. "in rewriting the book, I worked hard to sustain the darkness and complexity of Victorian London." Sparkling repartee fuels the story, but it's not so snappy as to undercut Mary's vulnerability--she's a saucy, smart heroine it will be a pleasure to meet again. (Ages 12 & up)

(April 2010). [Review of the book The Agency: Book 1: A Spy in the House, by Y. Lee]. Kirkus Reviews, 78(7), 11. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/

Use in library: Libraries could use this book as part of a display or booktalk featuring books with a Victorian setting or historical mysteries.

Want to see my book trailer for The Agency: A Spy in the House? Click here.