The Traitor and the Tunnel
Agency (Mary Quinn Mysteries) Series
Queen Victoria has a little problem: there's a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales.
But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father.
Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary's one-time paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary's most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn't be higher—and there is everything to lose.
About the Agency (Mary Quinn Mysteries) Series
Books in series order
- 1.A Spy in the House(2009)
- 2.The Body at the Tower(2010)
- 3.The Traitor and the Tunnel(2012)
- 4.Rivals in the City(2014)
Reading age: 12+ years
This series should be read in order.
Steeped in Victorian atmosphere and intrigue, this enthralling mystery series trails a feisty heroine as she takes on a precarious secret assignment.
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.
Readers who crave cleverly crafted historical thrillers such as Phillip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series or The Keepers Trilogy by Lian Tanner will find themselves engrossed in The Agency.