Book Review - The Agency: The Body at the Tower

Synopsis
Mary Quinn sets out to uncover the truth behind a suspicious death at St Stephen's Tower, better known as the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. The accident occurred after hours in a highly public part of town and despite the presence of night watchmen. Mary, disguised as Mark Quinn, becomes a builder's assistant to find out the truth about the body at the tower. 


My Review
I was so excited when I heard book 2 in this series was out and got hold of a copy as soon as I could. I Love the cover art too, i can't really describe why, just think it's amazing. Mary Quinn is now 18 years old, but still small for her age she accepts a mission to disguise herself as a 12 year old boy looking for work on a building site. She is there to investigate the death of one of the bricklayers who 'fell' off the top of the clock tower. Trying to fit in on a building site, get the work done and pretend to be a boy all at the same time is hard work but Mary likes a challenge, but  can she get past the reminders of her past and stay strong. When met with old friend James Easton, things change again, but is it for the best. 
I loved this book, i started it yesterday and stayed up till 1 in the morning finishing it. I just couldn't bring myself to put it down. I had to know what happened and knew if i tried to go to sleep before finishing it i wouldn't be able to, so i had to stay up to finish. And it was so worth it. I kept trying to guess who was responsible, and changed my mind every few chapters and kept being surprised, i was truly hooked in. 
Once again the writing and research are very good, the characters are fabulous, and i loved seeing another side to Felicity and Anne (Academy teachers/spies). I'm so glad James Easton is back and hope to see more of him. It's also good to see Mary grow as a character and face up to her fears and her past. The end of the book had me gasping and i cannot wait until the next book. Unfortunately I have to wait until June 2011 which at the moment seems so far away.
Another fabulous book from Y S Lee, she is definitely dominating my top 10 favourite books with these. 

My Rating
I would give this book 10/10. Go grab a copy, right now, I mean it, do it now, you won't regret it!