A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee, 2010 Candlewick PressMary Lang is a half-caste Chinese-Irish girl living in Victorian England. From a childhood of crime she is rescued from the gallows by the women of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls. Nearly five years of schooling have created a confident young woman capable of handling nearly anything.
Bored by the typical life planned out for her, Mary asks Miss Treleaven and Mrs. Frame for something with a little more variety--and gets more than she expected. Anne Treleaven and Felicity Frame are the leaders of the Agency, a secret investigative unit which is composed entirely of women. The Agency functions on the premise that women of the time are overlooked or discounted.
Mary's first assignment takes her into the home of a prominent merchant, Henry Thorold, as his daughter's paid companion. The merchant is suspected of smuggling and insurance fraud. While searching for documentation of his perfidy Mary meets James Easton in the wardrobe of the home office.
James's older brother George is infatuated with Angelica, the daughter of the house, and James has begun his own investigation into Henry Thorold. When the two join forces Mary is reluctant to trust this young man and his fascinating view of the world. As they suffer through London's worst heat wave in years, James and Mary search for evidence to support or disprove their theories, and fight the strange feelings they begin to feel for each other.
Blooming romance threads through the mounting intrigue possibly turning an unwilling friendship into an unexpected relationship. The blend builds on the tension of their investigation. Written for middle school-aged students, The Agency is a full-fledged mystery and readers of all ages can find something to capture their attention
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