Murder, Magic, and What We Wore

by Kelly Jones

Fans of Patrice Kindl’s Keeping the Castle or Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer’s Sorcery and Cecelia will adore this funny Regency-era mystery about a determined young woman with a magical trick up her sleeve . . .
 
The year is 1818, the city is London, and 16-year-old Annis Whitworth has just learned that her father is dead and all his money is missing. And so, of course, she decides to become a spy.
 
Annis always suspected that her father was himself a spy, and following in his footsteps to unmask his killer makes perfect sense. Alas, it does not make sense to England’s current spymasters—not even when Annis reveals that she has the rare magical ability to sew glamours: garments that can disguise the wearer completely.
 
Well, if the spies are too pigheaded to take on a young woman of quality, then Annis will take them on. And so she crafts a new double life for herself. Miss Annis Whitworth will appear to live a quiet life in a country cottage with her aunt, and Annis-in-disguise as Madame Martine, glamour artist, will open a magical dressmaking shop. That way she can earn a living, maintain her social standing, and, in her spare time, follow the coded clues her father left behind and unmask his killer.
 
It can’t be any harder than navigating the London social season, can it?

“Murder, Magic, and What We Wore blew my bonnet off. Kelly Jones has found a fresh way to share the delights of the magical regency. I truly love this book!” —Caroline Stevermer, coauthor of Sorcery & Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot
 
“A deliciously enchanting adventure full of magic, mystery and delight.” —Stephanie Burgis, author of Kat, Incorrigible

• ISBN10: 0553535218
• ISBN13: 9780553535211
• Publish Date: 19 September 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 23 November 2020
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780553535211

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Pro: I find this time period quite delightful and the setting. It was fun to see Annis transplanted from London to the countryside.

Con: I liked the mystery element, but there was a clue that sort of gave it all away. There were still a few other parts of the mystery that were unknown, and being able to figure out the first part did not detract from my enjoyment.

Pro: The friendship that developed between Annis and Millie was quite special. In fact, there were many strong female friendships in this book, and I loved all the girl-power moments brought to us throughout.

Con: There was this small hint of a romance, but then, nothing. It's not that a story needs romance, but I like it, and it was kind of a tease for me.

Pro: I thought the sewing of glamours was fabulous. Jones used this well in the story, and also included a few other neat magical elements, which showed that this world was a accustomed to this sort of thing.

Overall: A delightful and charming regency romp filled with spies, deception, and a little magic.



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[Beth C.]

Annis Whitworth’s father is dead. Her mother has been gone for years, and her father traveled a lot. It is on one of these trips that he dies under mysterious circumstances. Annis is convinced her father was a spy for England, and so she sets out to carry on, as she sees it, the family business. Unfortunately, with her father’s death, came a serious decline in “circumstances,” and this is when she learns she can sew glamours. Seeing that as an excellent way to convince the spymasters that she should be within their ranks, she also hatches a plan to try and pay off their family debts by opening a small shop in a town far away from London. However, the events her father was involved in quickly catch up to her, and soon begin to spiral out of her control.

The setting is early 19th century England, and Jones...

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