The Agency series is my pick for the overlooked young adult series of the last three years. ‘Mary Quinn, orphan. Educated at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. Trained as an undercover agent.’ The agency books are rich in detail of the everyday existence of the working classes of Victorian London. The cases Mary takes on are complex and a dashing young engineer doesn’t help. Following on from A Spy in the House and The Body at The Tower, Mary Quinn is now on her third assignment and we find her at the centre of Victorian England: Buckingham Palace. This series has it all – mystery, adventure, an intrepid strong heroine and a dash of romance, in an exceptionally researched historical setting. It’s time to go back and discover the world of Mary Quinn and the Agency.

Marie Matteson is from Readings Port Melbourne