No book in 2020 has captured my attention and my imagination like this work of historical fiction. Jess Kidd’s story took me back through time and challenged my reality in a book I simply could not put down.
SYNOPSIS
Bridie Devine, female detective extraordinaire, is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors trading curiosities in this age of discovery.
Winding her way through the labyrinthine, sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing a past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where spectacle is king and nothing is quite what it seems.
Blending darkness and light, history and folklore, Things in Jars is a spellbinding Gothic mystery that collapses the boundary between fact and fairy tale to stunning effect and explores what it means to be human in inhumane times. from Goodreads.
REVIEW
I’m struggling a bit to discuss this book. Every time I try to bring some coherent thought to my opinions I am left babbling over and over again, “It was so good. So, so sooooooooo good.” I have attempted (repeatedly) to shake my head to clear my thoughts but I keep returning to the same refrain. So, forgive me. I’m going to try…
It is London, 1863, and Mrs. Bridget Devine’s occupation is as mysterious as the plaque that hangs near her front door. It reads,
Mrs. Devine
Domestic Investigations
Minor Surgery (Esp. Boils, Warts, Extractions)
Discretion Assured
But, before we even gain a glimpse of Bridie’s home and her housekeeper Cora, the only seven-foot-tall housemaid in London, we have already followed Bridie through the graveyard, stumbled across the ghost of an incredibly attractive boxer, and watched as she investigated a long dead skeleton of a mother and a not quite human baby. All this before page 30.
I mean, honestly. This book!
The mystery presented to Bridie is that of a missing child. An odd missing child whose only friend doesn’t want her found. A little girl who doesn’t talk and doesn’t truly exist, not even in her own home. But Bridie is not one to give up.
Less mysterious but absolutely swoon-worthy is Rudy, the ghost who has attached himself to Bridie. I’m not sure what caused my infatuation with this character. Meh, that’s a lie. I definitely appreciated how protective and simultaneously proud of Bridie he was throughout the story. In addition, his loving teasing that she should remember him had me absolutely gasping to know what their history might have been. The cherry on top of this delightful concoction is his jealousy over her friendship with Inspector Rose. Ah Rudy….
It would be remiss of me to not mention that this Victorian tale is steeped in the vernacular of the age. I finally put a post-it note in the cover of the book so I could write down words I didn’t know instead of breaking the rhythm of the story to look things up. Mind you, not a regular post-it. I needed a lined double-sized one. Jess Kidd was not messing around with her regurgitation of life in London during the Victorian Era, straight down to the strange names for fruit and vegetable sellers in the streets (a costermonger, just so you know). It is a lot but absolutely worth the effort.
Once I caught the pace and the rhythm I shut myself away from the world in the smallest room in my home in order to give this book my full attention. I haven’t been this compelled to finish a book since I was a child reading in my closet at night. I am obsessed with this story. It is just so sooooo good. Darn it, I tried!
Tell me, please!
What’s the last book that you were obsessed with like this?
Originally entitled Good Omens, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Alice Nutter, Witch this book was originally published in 1990. At the time, neither Neil Gaiman nor Terry Pratchett were the major authors that they are today but it is clear from this book that both already had an excellent handle on their craft. In 1985 Neil Gaiman interviewed Terry Pratchett for an article at the beginning of Mr. Pratchett’s career. The two struck up a friendship that has spanned decades and wrote Good Omens together by sending floppy disks back and forth and collaborating over the phone. This was during the time that Gaiman was working on Sandman and I just wish I could get my hands on all those floppy disks….
The audiobook is narrated by Eddie Redmayne in the very same clipped manner he gives to the sweet Newt Scamander he plays on film. However, unlike the shy film version of Newt, the audiobook personality is the knowledgable and excited Newt that we see, briefly, when he is talking about his fantastic beasts. Matched with the gorgeously illustrated Fantastic Beasts I sat like a child and listened to the whole book in one sitting.
Only a middle grade book can successfully disguise itself as a spy thriller wrapped in fantasy and still educate its reader about the value of perspective and the importance of cultural awareness. The hilarious (or tragic!) story of The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin pays homage to the famous travel writers of history while poking fun at the experiences of trying to bring your own ideals to a new land.
The Wicked King, the sequel to Holly Black’s fascinating dark faerie tale, debuted just after the New Year but because of my self-imposed 
Thunderhead begins with Rowan illegally donning black voluminous robes and claiming the identity of Scythe Lucifer. He is meting out his own form of justice by targeting Scythes he deems unworthy. Meanwhile, Citra has formed her own style of gleaning, one that has drawn the attention and ire of her peers.
