Spy in the House by Y.S Lee

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Publication Date: 6th April 2009
Publisher: Candlewick
ISBN:  0763640670
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Adventure
Source: Bookshelf
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Lootability: ****

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

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C Wrede

#32 of 200

Original Language: English
Publisher: Orb Books; (June 8, 2010)
Country: United States
Publication Date: June 8, 2010
ISBN: 0765326329
Page Count: 448

When a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into a traveling magician’s wagon, Kim doesn’t hesitate. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London, Kim isn’t above a bit of breaking-and-entering. A hard life and lean times have schooled her in one lesson: steal from them before they steal from you. But when the magician catches her in the act, Kim thinks she’s done for. Until he suggests she become his apprentice; then the real trouble begins. Kim soon finds herself entangled with murderers, thieves, and cloak-and-dagger politics, all while trying to learn how to become both a proper lady and a magician in her own right. Magic and intrigue go hand in hand in Mairelon the Magician and The Magician’s Ward , two fast-paced novels filled with mystery and romance, set against the intricate backdrop of Regency England.

Patricia Wrede’s much loved characters Kim and Mairelon have been refurbished for paperback in a Matter of Magic. Originally published as two seperate novels, Mairelon the Magician (1992) and Magician’s Ward (1997), the adventures of Mairelon and Kim were brought together in an omnibus edition in A Matter of Magic (2010). It was published as Magic and Malice in hardcover.