The Thief Taker - Janet Gleeson
by Zia ~ November 5th, 2006. Filed under: Books.
Agnes Meadowes, a genteel woman who has been forced to take employment due to reduced circumstances, works as a cook to the Blanchards, a family renowned for its silversmithing. The business is not doing as well as they would like, and when a huge winecoolor commissioned by a lord goes missing, Agnes is thrust into the position of recovering it.
What a page turner. I was struggling through Kathryn Davis’ The Thin Place (which was beautifully written, and which I will probably come back to when not quite so overworked) when I picked this up instead. Five hours later (and 2 o’clock in the morning), I closed the book with a deep heave of contentment. It was a great mystery, of that there is no doubt, but it also conveys class in 18th century England incredibly well. Think of The Remains of the Day meets Girl with a Pearl Earring meets Agatha Christie. (Not, come to think of it, that I’ve actually read anything by Agatha Christie. But that’s neither here nor there. I had to get a mystery in there somehow or another.)
November 28th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Just got this along with “Arthur & George” and “The Naming” for my sister’s birthday. She enjoyed the other ‘highly recommended’ choice from here, so I’m going for a four-peat. Maybe you should do a holiday gift guide?
–Bill
November 28th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
Well, I am very flattered. It’s kind of funny, because I was going to stop doing the amazon links because I hadn’t made a thing. And then I checked, and actually made 75 cents! It’s kind of like google ads. Every time I think I’m going to take them off, I make a dollar. At this rate, I should get my first check in about 8 more years.
By the way, Meg is so pretty and you two make a lovely couple.