Book Review: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

The Agency 3: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee
Publisher: Candlewick
Publication date: February 2012
Pages: 384
Source: e-book from NetGalley
For: Review
Series: The Agency, Book 3

Mary has settled for a quiet and comfortable job at Buckingham Palace, investigating some rumors of petty thefts. As a maid there, she is inconspicuous and the job is pretty small. But, when a much bigger scandal threatens to upend the royal family, she finds there is more going on in the palace than she could possibly imagine.

Things I Liked:
I still love this series.  There's something so fascinating about a Victorian mystery starring a woman who works for a secret agency employing only women agents.  Mary continues to entertain with her headstrong, dangerous ways and cleverness.  I just love watching the way she interacts with people in the time period, because she's different from what you'd expect of a woman, especially one who is half Chinese, in that era.  The historical details are very well done, compelling and believable and they bring you 100% into the story.  Oh, and James - wow I loved their interactions!  Some really good romance there.  It was interesting, it was compelling, it's just smart historical fiction with a unique heroine.  I'd like more Mary adventures, especially with the way the Agency is going now.

Things I Didn't Like:
The mystery and story itself didn't seem to hold together as well as the other books did.  There were a few too many different story lines going on and I kind of lost interest at times.  Still, I think this is a series worth reading and following.  I'm especially interested to see where Mary goes next, what with that surprising ending.

Read-alikes:
Read the first two Agency books by Y.S. Lee
Still reminds me of The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: none 
that I recall

mrg-factor: X 
heavy kissing, but no further

v-factor: none

Overall rating: ****

What's your favorite historical fiction time period?

 

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage