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Things In Jars

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Things In Jars
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Things In Jars

2019 | Fiction & Poetry | Mystery | Science Fiction/Fantasy

London, 1863. Bridie Devine, the finest female detective of her age, is taking on her toughest case yet. Reeling from her last job and with her reputation in tatters, a remarkable puzzle has come her way. Christabel Berwick has been kidnapped. But Christabel is no ordinary child. She is not supposed to exist.

As Bridie fights to recover the stolen child she enters a world of fanatical anatomists, crooked surgeons and mercenary showmen. Anomalies are in fashion, curiosities are the thing, and fortunes are won and lost in the name of entertainment. The public love a spectacle and Christabel may well prove the most remarkable spectacle London has ever seen.

Things in Jars is an enchanting Victorian detective novel that explores what it is to be human in inhumane times.

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Jess Kidd
Published by Canongate Books
Supernatural Historical fiction Victorian London

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ClareR

Added this item on Sep 22, 2019

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Things In Jars Reviews & Ratings (3)
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ClareR (5869 KP) rated

Sep 22, 2019  
Things In Jars
Things In Jars
Jess Kidd | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Victorian England, a female detective and a touch of the supernatural - what’s not to like?
Things in Jars is set in Victorian London. Bridie Devine is a female detective who is called on by Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, a baronet, to find his secret daughter, Christabel, who has been kidnapped. However, he doesn’t want to involve the police (this is where alarm bells start to go off!). Very few people in his household know about the existence of Christabel, and she is shut away, ostensibly to protect them from her. Because Christabel is not an ordinary child: she has supernatural powers that can harm people. Bridie doesn’t believe this, of course. So with the help of Cora, her 7 foot tall housemaid and Ruby, the ghost of a prizefighter, she sets out to rescue the child.

I absolutely loved this book. I was never sure if the mythical, fairytale elements were real, or whether Bridie believed them to be real. The seedy, macabre side to London, the sights and smells of the winding streets and the general atmosphere were so well described, that I could have been standing next to Bridie, watching the moving tattoos across Ruby’s torso! Bridie is an excellent character. She feels compelled to find Christabel, mainly because she is coming to the job with a failure weighing heavy on her shoulders, but also she can remember being alone in the world as a child.

Mrs Bibby is a superb villain - she has her conspirators dancing to her tune. She has a gun (and a limp!) and she’s not afraid to use it! Her macabre ‘fairytales’ really ramped up the atmosphere, and showed how truly awful she was. There was a real menace about her.

Other than what I’ve said here, all I can really say is - go and read this book! I loved it (I’ve said that already, I know!), go and read it - you won’t be sorry!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
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Emma (229 KP) rated

Apr 8, 2021  
Things In Jars
Things In Jars
Jess Kidd | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is my latest book club read. I read the blurb and on first thoughts, loved the idea of this book. It sounded exactly my cup of tea. Then after a few chapters, the writing style was bugging me, i wasnt sure if this book was for after all. I found it so hard to connect with the characters because of how distanced I felt due to the style of writing...
Then about a quarter of the way through something clicked and I could not put this book down. I absolutely loved it every opportunity I got I found myself reading it
I love the characters of Bridie and Ruby and the relationship that develops between them. Every character that is introduced seems to have some importance in the story. And the story itself with all its twists and turns is a masterpiece.
I definitely want to read more by Jess Kidd, shes one of the best authors I've read for a long time. #jesskidd #thingsinjars #victoriannovel #anatonomy #detective #bridiedevine