Review: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

Title: The Body at the Tower
Author: Y.S. Lee
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Young Adult, Historical, Mystery
Publisher/Publication Date: Candlewick Press, August 10, 2010

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Now nearly a full-fledged member of the Agency, the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary Quinn is back for another action-packed adventure. Disguised as a poor apprentice builder and a boy, she must brave the grimy underbelly of Victorian London - as well as childhood fear, hunger, and constant want - to unmask the identity of a murderer. Assigned to monitor a building site on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Mary earns the confidence of the work crew, inching ever nearer her suspect. But if an irresistible desire to help the city's needy doesn't distract her and jeopardize her cover, unexpectedly meeting up with an old friend - or flame - just might...

So, I finally reread The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee. I was surprised by how much I didn’t remember about the book, but that made the reading experience all the more better. More often than not, I found myself getting into the book. The writing was highly engaging, and the plot ended up being really exciting and a complete page-turner as Mary Quinn took on her next case for the Agency.

Clearly, I now remember why I got into this series in the first place.

The Body at the Tower was basically about Mary and her continued employment with the Agency—which was an all-female agency of spies handling cases that are difficult to solve. The time period of the novel was historical, and featured many elements common to the genre. But, because of the setting, the continued existence of an organization like the Agency and its secretive activities was all the more awesome. Mary’s current case is as the title suggests, and her investigation takes her to the construction site where the clock tower is being built.

The plot, as I stated above, was really exciting even though I’ve read the book before. From the characters to the mystery, there were a lot of things I liked about The Body at the Tower. I was hooked again by Lee’s ability to craft a historical spy novel with plausible situations and emotional repercussions that worked well with the setting.

Mary’s backstory was pretty developed in the last book, but in The Body at the Tower, she grew even more. She had faults and emotions—some she understood well, and others she didn’t—and her past really shaped who she was. Mary was a well-rounded character.

Some of my other favorite characters from the last book were back—especially the “old friend” mentioned in the synopsis. I felt like that part of the story played out well, but never took the spotlight away from the mystery aspect of the novel.

Now, I’m really excited to reread the next book in the series, The Traitor in the Tunnel. Plus I’m going to look into getting the last book in the series. I don’t know when exactly I’ll get a copy, but I do want to see how it all ends for Mary and her friends.

Musing Mondays (52) It's All Historical...

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

Random weekly question: What is the best book you read LAST year?

The beginning of last year was significantly better for me, in terms of reading. 2016 has been pretty hit or miss—mostly hits, but the handful of misses happened back-to-back, and almost had me in a reading slump. Luckily, I avoided that.

Anyway, one of the best books I read last year was Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I was pretty late getting to the book, and I saw the movie before I read it. I liked the ending of the book more than I did the film version—mainly because of the obvious changes—but both were great anyway. The animation from the film was done in one of my favorite styles—stop-motion animation—so that was a big plus. All-in-all, Coraline was a great book.

Other Musings...

Today, I'm  sharing some of my favorite historical fiction, alternative history, and historical fantasy novels/series. Basically, books with settings based in some kind of historical time period no matter how altered, strange, or mysterious. Honestly, historical based novels are something I don’t read enough of, considering how much I tend to enjoy the books. However, I have read enough to compile a short list for today’s post.

• The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
• Wonderstruck, The Marvels, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• The Agency Series by Y.S. Lee
• Kat, Incorrigible series by Stephanie Burgis
• The Diviners by Libba Bray
• Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger
• Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

By now, I know which genre’s I immediately reach for, and clearly, I’ve still got some work to do when I pick out books. I still fall into the same pattern of picking fantasy, which is hard to get away from when there are so many books I want to read from that particular genre. It’s a real dilemma sometimes.

Anyway, what are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (60) The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Now nearly a full-fledged member of the Agency, the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary Quinn is back for another action-packed adventure. Disguised as a poor apprentice builder and a boy, she must brave the grimy underbelly of Victorian London - as well as childhood fear, hunger, and constant want - to unmask the identity of a murderer. Assigned to monitor a building site on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Mary earns the confidence of the work crew, inching ever nearer her suspect. But if an irresistible desire to help the city's needy doesn't distract her and jeopardize her cover, unexpectedly meeting up with an old friend - or flame - just might...

"Mary looked at him thoughtfully. She'd initially dismissed the lad as a bit dim: why else would he pick a fight he had no chance of winning? But now she wondered."--The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee



Have you read any mystery novels recently?

Review: Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez

Title: Dead Is a State of Mind
Author: Marlene Perez
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher/Publication Date: HMH Books For Young Readers, April, 9, 2009
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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom- shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! There’s a gorgeous new guy at Nightshade High: Duke Sherrad, a fortune-teller claiming to have descended from Gypsies. Even though she’s psychic herself, Daisy is skeptical of Duke’s powers. But when a teacher who was the subject of one of his predictions ends up dead, she begins to wonder if Duke is the real deal after all. Maybe if Daisy can track down the teacher’s killer, she can find out the truth. The only trouble is, all signs point to the murderer being of the furry persuasion. Is Daisy any match for a werewolf? Maybe she is . . . in more ways than she bargained for!

Dead Is a State of Mind is the second book in the Dead Is series by Marlene Perez. I read the first one a while ago, as part of my goal to reread or read some of the older books that have just been sitting on my shelf collecting dust. So, it only made sense to read the next once, since, you know, it was also collecting dust on my shelf.

Dead Is a State of Mind follows the Giordano sisters, who all have psychic abilities, which inevitably gets them involved in the latest round of trouble in their home town of Nightshade, California.

So, did I like it?

Well, Dead is a State of Mind was a short and fun mystery. Sure, it was a little predictable at some parts, but still a pretty good read. The supernatural aspect is definitely one of my favorite parts about the book and added an interesting spin on a whodunit—utilizing the common characteristics such as amateur sleuths in a small town setting, but adding a paranormal flare to spice it up a bit. Since this is a young adult novel, part of the plot also dealt with the changing relationships between the characters. Yes, it was kind of dramatic, but also nice to see—especially the friendship between the secondary female characters and Daisy. They were supportive of each other, so, two thumbs up for that.

Overall, Dead Is a State of Mind was pretty good, and I would consider picking up another novel by Marlene Perez, if it happens to catch my interest.

Musing Mondays (51) Random Weekly Questions

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat, that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My Musings for the Week...

This week, there won't be any Other Musings since I don't have anything I want to specifically talk about, but I am answering two random weekly questions.

Random weekly question from April 18th: Name your least favorite plot device employed by way too many books that you actually enjoyed, otherwise.

Well, I think most plot devices (or tropes) can be okay when used in the right way to benefit the story rather than hinder it. However, one that annoys me the most is the lack of female friendships between the main character and others around her. Sometimes this works, but at other times no reason is ever given for such open hostility (and at other times the reason seems almost trivial; just my opinion of course). Either way, it is a plot devices that gets on my nerves, but otherwise, I won't dislike a good book because of it.

However, lately, I have read some books where female friendships  played a bigger role, and the main character wasn't just surrounded by guys for no explicable reason. So, that was pretty great, and I look forward to finding more books that display some spectacular and also diverse friendships.

Today's Random Weekly Question: Name any 5 books from your “to be read” pile (even if it’s a “virtual” pile).

Well, this makes it easier on me. Normally, I could go on and on about the books I want to read, but just five on my current TBR is ridiculously easy to choose—because I already have them on my shelf. I don't know when exactly I'll read the books, but it'll definitely be sometime soon...

The first is Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. I've had this book for a long time, and it's part of my goal to revisit some old novels I enjoyed.

The next one is The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee. Like Wintersmith above, The Triator in the Tunnel is part of my goal, and the last book I have by Y.S. Lee. I do want to get the last book in the series to see how it all ends.

Next is The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. I've read several of Black's other novels, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. So, I'm looking forward to finally reading The Darkest Part of the Forest. 

And then there is Need by Carrie Jones. I did read this book a very long time ago. I remember that I liked it but I don't remember much of the details (not even how the book actually ended). So, I look forward to this one again soon.

And, last but not least, In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. I'm pretty excited for this one.

That's about it for today. What are some of the books off your TBR pile?