The Body at the Tower.

Jay, Mary

The Body at the Tower

Y. S. Lee

Walker Books 2010

ISBN 9871406315981

Paperback 6.99 [pounds sterling]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Body at the Tower is the second book in a Victorian detective trilogy. The author, Y. S. Lee is Singaporean in origin. She draws on her PhD in Victorian Literature and Culture to provide the background for these novels.

The book cover, in shades of dark blue and black, immediately draws the attention and establishes the genre as a traditional Victorian detective narrative. This is classic adventure story blended with details of social history. The protagonist, Mary Quinn, is an 18-year-old living in an academy for young ladies in London, who has a double life operating as a secret agent. The plot in this story involves her adopting a disguise as Mark Quinn, a builder's labourer. Her investigations into what happened to the body at the Tower take her into contrasting areas of London and confront her with an episode from her past that she is trying to erase.

As she moves between the elegant squares of Bloomsbury and the tenements of Southwark she works on a building site, is introduced to a gin palace, attends a funeral and witnesses a public beating. Like all classic adventure narratives she survives a series of narrow escapes when her disguise is perilously close to being discovered, and each chapter ends on a cliff-hanging note.

Descriptions of street scenes, food, drink and smells all add authentic sounding detail and provide a colourful context for her escapades. Some of the most effective episodes take place in murky, rain-soaked London streets at night, reminiscent of Dickens. Mary's encounters with the working classes and their problems lead her to reflect on the injustices in society but this is not an overtly didactic text.

The split personality of Mary/Mark Quinn could mean that this story has appeal for both genders although personally I suspect that it will be mainly female. The publishers indicate a readership of 12+ but as this is most definitely a children's book, it may have limited appeal to the more sophisticated lower teens who look for a greater degree of realism.