WOW.

I loved, loved, loved this book. Of course, I'd already loved the first book in the series - after I read A SPY IN THE HOUSE, I wrote my first-ever piece of author fanmail - but THE BODY AT THE TOWER is just a whole new level of awesome.

It has the same richly-evoked Victorian setting as the first book (with a really interesting cross-section of different social classes), the same lovely writing, and it continues to develop some really fascinating identity issues, as Mary Quinn deals with the fall-out from keeping one half of her parentage secret.

But from the very first page (which has one of the coolest opening paragraphs I've ever read), BODY... sucked me in with an even faster, more compelling pace than the first book, an even more engrossing storyline, a mystery that kept me guessing up to the end, and some really fabulous romantic developments. I absolutely loved the alternately hilarious, sizzling and heartwrenching moments between Mary and her love interest as they coped with the unavoidable conflicts that sprang from their very different backgrounds, in a rigidly class-based society.

I adore this series of books and can't wait for Book 3 to come out. THE BODY AT THE TOWER could easily stand alone - you certainly don't have to read A SPY IN THE HOUSE before you read this - but on the other hand, I'm already planning to go back and re-read SPY... now for the sheer pleasure of hanging out with these characters as much as possible. :)