Skip to main content

Traveling to Teens Tour: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Genre: Historical/Mystery

Release Date: 8/10/2010

Books in Series: A Spy in the House, The Body at the Tower

Add to Goodreads

Visit Traveling to Teens

About the Book: Mary Quinn, detective for The Agency, is back! A body has been found at St. Stephen's Tower-was it an accident or foul play? In order to find out the truth, Mary goes undercover as twelve-year-old working boy Mark Quinn. Disguised as Mark, she hopes to get closer to the men at the worksite and find out what happened. But Mary's disguise as a boy might not be working as well as she thought, she's not sure who she can trust, and James is back-and just might prove to be a big distraction.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I was a huge fan of the first book in this series, A Spy in the House, and when I love a book that much, the sequels make me nervous. But I didn't need to worry because The Body at the Tower proves that Y.S. Lee is a master storyteller who rules the historical mystery.

The banter I loved from the first book between Mary and James was back-and with things heating up between them, I kept the pages turning and I think James may be a new book crush! I still adore The Agency and I want to know more about them. I'd be OK with The Agency spin-off novels about Anne and Felicity, the women who rule the female detective operation!:)

Because this job requires Mary to disguise herself in boy's clothing, we get a peek into Mary's past. I thought her hesitancy about taking the job were believable and I liked getting to more about her life before The Agency found her. We also get to see Mary's struggle with her heritage and culture, which I think gives these books an extra twist and makes them stand out. Even though Mary says she's going to hide her past and her heritage, I think there's more to learn there, so I'm hoping we find out more about her father in the next book.

I did have a harder time getting into the mystery in this book than I did the first one, but I think that was due to the fact that the mystery took place on a building site, which is something I'm not familiar with. So there were a few times that I felt a little lost in the setting because I was having to learn about Victorian building sites and equipment on top of figuring out Mary's mystery.

Even if you're not a fan of historical fiction, these books will pull you in. I love that author Y.S. Lee adds historical details and facts without making me realize it-she's so sneaky about that stuff and I love it! I've already recommended A Spy in the House to many of my teen readers and I can't wait to do the same with The Body at the Tower. Another great read and I can't wait for more of Mary (and hopefully James!)

Book Talk Ideas: Need a mystery solved? Call The Agency, a group of female detectives in Victorian England who will go undercover and solve the case. When a body is found at St. Stephens Tower, Mary Quinn is undercover as a young boy to figure out if it was murder.

Pair it With: I love historical fiction when paired with a mystery! Check out The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes Series) by Nancy Springer The Diamond of Drury Lane (Cat Royal Adventures) by Julia Golding, The Season by Sarah MacLean, and The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Series) by Philip Pullman

Comments

  1. I'm so glad you liked this! I can't wait to read it, and I've been hoping that it's as good as the first.

    ReplyDelete
  2. so glad to hear this one is a good one. i loved book 1 and can't wait to see what happens next.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from other readers! Share your thoughts and chime in!

Popular posts from this blog

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Contact Me

  I love to hear from fellow readers and librarians! Send me an email to say hello! You can reach me at greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com

Post Downton Abbey Reading List

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles):                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A couple Julian Fellowes reads:                And a few re-reads:                    Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?