My Review (5 stars out of 5)
London, 1863. Female detective Bridie Devine is recruited to track down a stolen child. However, the child’s father seems unwilling to disclose all but the vaguest of details relating to the girl and Bridie finds herself thrust into the realm of freaks and medical misfits. Aided by her seven-foot-tall maid and dead former boxer, Ruby, can Bridie find the strange child and bring the culprits to justice before the bad guys sell their captured curiosity to the highest bidder?
Things in Jars is the first book I’ve read by Jess Kidd, but it certainly won’t be the last. With a cast of characters from the ghostly to the ghoulish, she spawns a Victorian mystery that’s a cross between Susan Hill and Charles Dickens on speed. Kidd’s imagination knows no bounds, creating a world where anything can happen and frequently does, throwing her characters into dangerous and often deadly situations, where the villains always seem to be one step ahead. The author’s use of language is nothing short of delightful and I’d occasionally find myself reading a passage twice just because it’s so brilliantly original!
A deliciously clever and entertaining read.
Colin Garrow 