Honestly, I was torn between two or three starts. And this is why:

Telling not showing.
This novel in its first chapter managed to make me incredibly angry. I have a lot of pet peeves, but this one thing I find unforgivable. It's either just lazy or a clear mockery of every teenagers' intelligence.

You see the main character, Mary Lang (who uses her mother's maiden name, Quinn, to be accepted in Victorian society), is being recruited into the Agency, a spy group, by the very same women who rescued her from the gallows. Even though they've spent the last, what five years?, together, they still need Mary to recite her life story before she joined Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. Now even that felt a bit forced, but I thought, well okay, they don't know everything about her, and spy stuff is serious business.
But then this happened:

"Well my dear?" Anne turned to Felicity, her voice crisp once more. "How do we assess Mary's professional prospects?"

They then proceed to loudly assemble Mary's every trait, from good to bad. Why? Just why????? If this is a job interview, shouldn't Mary be the one who lists her own strength and weaknesses? And they don't even discuss it, Felicity and Anne just list her traits and leave it with this:

"We understand your philosophy and know your character." Anne looked at Felicity who nodded once, very slightly.

What? What philosophy???? And here is the thing that bugs me the most: I want to be shown, not told. I want her intelligence and whatnot to be present in the way she carries a conversation. I want to see how she handles different situations, because that will tell me the kind of person she is, not being told she's intelligent, that's that.

2 months training.
The beginning felt so hurried. In the prologue we're at the gallows, then in chapter 1 Mary is already dissatisfied with teaching at the Academy and yearns for more. After being accepted we jump to her first mission. 2 months pass between the scenes, which are spent by Mary being trained as a spy. Now I'm not a spy, and I've never met a spy, but I'm sure it would take more than 2 months to make me one. Even if I lived in the streets, it just isn't realistic. And this is evident by how Mary keeps making mistakes. But don't worry, she gets second, third, fourth and so on chances. Because apparently the Agency can't bother to actually send someone competent to do a mission.

The Characters
This being a mystery, it involves a lot of important people. We meet the Thorolds, where Mary poses as a companion to the stereotypical Angelica to get information on Henry Thorold and his assistant, Michael Grey. Also we meet the Eastons, because the oldest son, George, is trying to court Angelica. But it's the second son who shines in this novel, James.

He who teams up with Mary. I must say their banters were a lot of fun. However, the very first time they argue, I felt it was out of place. Mary speaks up while the brothers are visiting Angelica. This is the Victorian area. Mary should have known better.

Spoiler

And the whole he doesn't trust Mary thing felt a bit odd. Why partner up with her if you're only going to whine about her having an affair she clearly told you she isn't? Why isn't it important to you to trust the person you reveal important and potentially dangerous information to? And the whole accusing Mary of being a light-skirt, her getting angry, stopping her from getting out of the carriage is played one too many times. Then as if nothing has happened she just forgets about it, and goes on discussing whatever! Why did Anne and Felicity not include her not holding on to anger as one of Mary's good traits?

Other than James and Mary, the other characters were flat, one dimensional, and stereotypical.

Spoiler

The whole love thing between Michael and Angelica was not a surprise. I knew it as soon as Michael hit on Mary. Also it was clear James would be Mary's love interest the moment they met.

. Even Anne and Felicity, who at this point could be the same person. And sometimes Mary felt like a middle aged women, not a seventeen year old.

Spoiler

I'm also very torn between Angelica's decision to pursue music. She made vows to a man she didn't love, and at the first suggestion she has a passion, she has this magical realization. And we never even see her play that much or comment on the piano. All we are told is that she has talent. She doesn't even show interest before Mary suggests she does it for a living now that her father, and source of money, is in prison. I would have liked the part where she doesn't give up her dreams for a man, if that dream wasn't invented in the last two chapters.

The mystery
Now this, I enjoyed a great deal. I love a mystery. And this one had all the fun stuff. People were never who they appeared at first, there were twists and turns and it wasn't that predictable. The whole help overhearing important conversation, I loved. Yes, when you work as a maid or lady's companion you are going to hear things you are not meant to. And this was used beautifully. And we even get a side mystery, the Mary's heritage. This leaves great space for her to grow and accept who she is, and I really hope the author uses it wisely.

Oh, and Thames?

i wasn't too enthralled by the mystery but other than that this was delightful!!!

Spoiler

mixed race lady who joins a all-female agency where they solve crime and mysteries!!!! so rad!!!! also the fact that she's white-passing and how she uses that to her advantage in order to survive is actively talked about which i thought was super great.

seriously so many tropes i love in one place. i loved mary!!!! i loved how female-centric this novel was!! i also really liked the romance because it was developed in a wonderful organic way without ever feeling (to me anyway) like it was forced or taking over the story. like it was taking over the story

Spoiler

also a big fan of how the author didn't rush into love confessions as so many books i've read seem to these days. there's clearly feelings and attractions there but it's not insta-love and i like that!

i can't wait to read the rest!!

A fun, super fast read. I look forward to seeing the author progress. This book has lots of signs of future greatness. If you're looking for deeply complex, entangled mystery, this isn't your book. However, if you want strong female characters with a slice of mystery. Then you've picked up the right story. Never underestimate a woman.

Decent mystery with a strong female lead. The agency is a little farfetched, but Lee does a nice job of keeping the story moving.

A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Candlewick Press, 2009
335 pages
YA; Historical; Mystery
4/5 stars
First in Agency Trilogy

Source: Library

Summary: Mary Quinn was rescued from the noose five years earlier and educated. Now she is about to embark on an unusual career for a lady, that of spy. She is entering a smuggler's household as his daughter's paid companion in order to gain proof of his misdeeds. That household is rife with secrets and it turns out so is Mary.

Thoughts: I had read many rave reviews of this so I was pleased to see it at my library and I grabbed it, hoping for a strong historical mystery. I would not classify either of those aspects as very strong but I did discover some great banter. Mary and James were so good together and I loved seeing how she could fire back a witty riposte.

The historical aspect was not as strong as I would have liked and I felt the dialogue in particular was not reflective of the time period, being far too modern. Now that's not to say that I would want this novel written in the style of Dickens (one Dickens is plenty!) but I was disappointed in that.

I was also disappointed in the mystery because there were so many subplots that it ended up feeling supremely overstuffed and I was sometimes distracted from the many focus of the novel. I did not solve the mystery, of course, but I didn't really care because I didn't feel invested in it and because I just liked reading about Mary and James.

One of those subplots is Mary's family history. Her mother was Irish and her father was Chinese, creating an unusual look in her. She is able to pass as a white woman with Irish heritage which is good for her or she'd be in for a world of discrimination. I believe her Chinese ancestry is something that will be explored more in later books.

Overall: Smart bantering and a bit of romance elevate this historical mystery.

Cover: It seems to fit in with Victorian but I don't think it's spectacular. I love the fonts on the cover though-every single one!

This is the start of a fun YA series I am reading with one of my daughters.

I have decided that due dates are a good thing. Some books, for what ever reason, don't draw you to them automatically, but once you open the first page you realize what a good thing you might have missed. That's what happened with this book. It was really a delightful and fun book. It also had a fair amount of history as well. So glad I didn't live in England during the "great stink" when they dumped everything into the river. I also loved the banter between Mary and James. Strong female heroines are common in many books that I read. It was interesting to see a society where women were considered a man's property and not given much notice. Of course, that is how Mary is able to be a good spy. That said, she isn't a perfect spy and makes plenty of mistakes as she goes, which at times adds to the humor and charm of the book.

I thought Mary's family heritage was also unique and I look forward to watching her learn to work through her past. I appreciate books that have multi-dimensional characters. I'm excited to read more and it looks like the entire series is out. How often do I start a series to find that I have to wait for the next installment? Constantly.

This was entertaining and interesting for the most part but really only surface level for me.

I enjoyed the “heist” feeling and I’ve gotta find out what’s going on, I wasn’t expecting some twists and the ending! A good mystery for a rainy day.

However.
The writing and overall story building was pretty good, but Mary was kinda… flat. Then some things didn’t really make sense(Mary was a companion that wasn’t hardly in her employer’s company?) and there were a few things that were kinda randomly inserted in. Also, it jumped from her childhood to her getting a job awful fast, I would’ve liked more about her training. The love interest was just kind of… there… they were supposed to work together but really didn’t. I didn’t appreciate the strong negative views of marriage. I also was hoping for some issues to be/at least feel resolved with some things she discovered about her past but that was disappointing when it didn’t hardly get addressed at all in the end(and it did kinda seem a big deal? Like… what?)
There’s some scattered language and innuendos. Violence but not graphic.

I liked it alright but not really interested in the rest of the series(:

Maybe 4.75 stars, for the one character who seemed to play a pivotal role, but never showed up, and was only mentioned. I thought perhaps by the end, but maybe in a sequel?