Published Date: April 26, 2011
Publishing Co.: Harper Voyager
Pages: 402
Goodreads Synopsis.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
A proper steampunk caper.
Agent Eliza D. Braun is pushing her boss to the limits. She’s an extraordinarily good agent for Queen and country but her methods tend to involve a good deal of dynamite and a scattering of dead bodies. Despite several warnings, her missions continue to end in explosions and newspaper features that bring to forefront the secret agency of the crown that she works for, The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. Luckily, few people even know of it’s existence, hence secret agency, but in order to keep it that way she might just get an assignment that does not let her blow things up or play with guns.
Like, getting shut away in the basement of the agency with the Archivist, who’s idea of a good time is organizing and cataloging case files.
Wellington Books is a gentleman of fine breeding, but he prefers the quiet and seclusion of his basement department filled with unique devices found on peculiar missions and overflowing paperwork. These things make sense to him. Guns, dynamite and death defying missions do not. His new partner is going to test his limits and then some. Her restless nature makes her a poor candidate for sitting in the darkness for hours on end.
But being tucked away, filtering through unsolved cases of the Ministry, leads to new information about Eliza’s last partner’s solo mission which ended with her partner locked away in the insane asylum. Agent Books can’t resist a good mystery and soon they are undercover inside another secret society investigating people intent on taking down the crown. One agent with extensive field experience, another with barely any experience but exceptional cunning. Will it be enough to get them out alive?
I had fun. Simple as that. Sure, in some parts my mind wandered a bit but it brought me back when the action picked up again. Books was a good anchor to Braun’s excessiveness, but I love a feisty lady.
Normally, I pay no attention to chapter names but these ones caught my eye every single saucy time;
“InWhich Our Plucky Pepperpot Eliza D. Braun Must Pay The Piper for Her Feats of Derring-Do!”
“Wherein Wellington Books Acts a Perfect Gentleman, but Is Not Above a Little Skullduggery Too”
AND, there is an Agent Bruce Campbell – mad props for that, intentional or not.
cupcakesandmachetes 
I’m intrigued, this book is new to me. Sounds like a blast!
It was really fun if you’re not looking for a super deep read. It was just simple fun.
Haha I love that there is an Agent Bruce Campbell. ❤ This sounds like quite the fun read. 🙂
It was. Of course my only issue with Agent Bruce Campbell is that he is not as cool as real Bruce Campbell.
Groovy