Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday (46)

The Agency, Book 1: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee


Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan (and thief) Mary Quinn is surprised to be offered a singular education, instruction in fine manners — and an unusual vocation. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls is a cover for an all-female investigative unit called The Agency, and at seventeen, Mary is about to put her training to the test. Assuming the guise of a lady’s companion, she must infiltrate a rich merchant’s home in hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. But the household is full of dangerous deceptions, and there is no one to trust — or is there? Packed with action and suspense, banter and romance, and evoking the gritty backstreets of Victorian London, this breezy mystery debuts a daring young detective who lives by her wits while uncovering secrets — including those of her own past. [summary from Goodreads]

I've been wanting to read this since it was released in the UK last April. At long last, it has a US cover though, and isn't it GORGEOUS? It reminds me so much of "children's classics" such as The Little Princess, Little Women, etc. I don't read much historical fiction, but this one definitely has a very action-adventure-y feel, a la Sherlock Holmes (incidentally, who else saw this movie recently in theatres and wanted more of the same feel in stories?), and I really want to read it!

But man, I'm torn as to whether I like the US or UK covers more. I was lukewarm towards the UK cover (below, left), but then I saw the UK cover for the sequel, The Body at the Tower (August 2010):

 

Gorgeous colors, aren't they?

A Spy in the House will be published in hardcover by Candlewick on March 9, 2010.

14 comments:

  1. I have not heard of this yet you say it was first published in the UK. I think it sounds fab!

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  2. The US cover is gorgeous. Gives it that historical feel ..

    Looks like a good book..

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  3. this look so good, and its suprising i've not heard of this one before considering its a UK release....may have to look into this

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  4. This is my first time actually hearing about this series and now I really want to read it.

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  5. I've been waiting for this to come the US! Awesome. But I think I like the UK cover better...

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  6. I enjoyed this one - I think you'll like it. And I love the US cover!

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  7. You find the coolest books ever to highlight. My TBR is +1!

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  8. Hi Steph, I'm so glad you like the new cover; I'm totally in love with it. My UK publisher is redesigning the cover for Body - it's not the one with the money/envelope, but this one: http://yslee.com/2009/12/giddy-excitement-with-catastrophe-for-dessert/. Thanks for the mention!

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  9. Wow I've now seen 2 WOW posts. I really do want to read this book. I definitely love the U.S. cover better for the first book (it does remind me of old classics from childhood. Little Princess *happy sigh*) and I really like the new cover for the 2nd book.
    I saw Sherlock Holmes and was totally wishing I could see similar things in books! The mystery wasn't as great to me (I would have prefered a murder/robbery etc. rather than magic) but I loved Sherlock and Watson and now i need to read the books :)

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  10. LOL! As a matter of fact, I just saw Sherlock Holmes Tuesday with a friend and totally agree with you. This sounds like an excellent book and so glad it is a series. I loved Nacny Drew and the Mandie books when I was little. Now there is finally a good mystery series that is both historical and realistic. No werewolves, vampires, or zombies yipee! lol.

    Also, must say I love the US covers better. They look so...well....mysterious. lol. but I do kinda like the UK covers as well. So glad you posted this. I'm going to have to check into this book.

    ~Briana

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  11. I hadn't heard of this one yet, but it sounds AWESOME! That's the third week in a row you've added to my TBR. And that's saying something, because I'm pretty on top of what's coming out ususally :)

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  12. This is a really great book. There aren't very many like it around at the moment. I love the UK covers so much more than the US, though.

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Hello! I'm so excited to read what you have to say. Due to high amounts of spam, I'm forced to disabled anonymous comments for the time being. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes, and I hope you can understand and still appreciate the content here!

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