In this “miraculous and thrilling” (Diane Setterfield, #1 New York Times bestselling author) mystery for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Book of Speculation, Victorian London comes to life as an intrepid female sleuth wades through a murky world of collectors and criminals to recover a remarkable child. Bridie Devine–flame-haired, pipe-smoking detective extraordinaire–is confronted with the … extraordinaire–is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors in this age of discovery.
Winding her way through the sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing secrets about her past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot-tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where nothing is quite what it seems.
Blending darkness and light, Things in Jars is a stunning, “richly woven tapestry of fantasy, folklore, and history” (Booklist, starred review) that explores what it means to be human in inhumane times.
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I received a free electronic copy of this excellent novel from Netgalley, Jess Kidd and Atria Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my Personal opinion of Things in Jars.
I adored Himself, the debut historical novel by Jess Kidd, and Things in Jars is also very compelling. We visit two periods of time in the seaport in Victorian London, England – the 1860s, and then back to the 1840s, repeat. Things in Jars is peopled with a varied and inviting cast. Our storyteller is Bridie Devine, female detective extraordinaire who is most often accompanied by the shade of Ruby Doyle, a tattooed, deceased professional boxer and a man of the sea, and occasionally with Cora Butter, and often in possession of Things in Jars, curios and unnatural things perfectly preserved. In Jars. Bridie worked with her grandmother at dissecting and preserving when very young and was sold to John Eames for a guinea when she was 8 or 10 years old. Now an adult, she is very careful with her freedom.
Life in old England was anything but merry in the substructure of life that Bridie was enmeshed in, but she has friends – good friends. The odd occasional raven, some medical professionals, misfits and miscreants, those wielding dark magic, and curiosities both young and old. Her focus in Things in Jars is finding the kidnapped secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, Christabel Berwick. I often lost sight of the endgame, however. Open to any page of this novel and read it aloud. It brings us very special, very colorful, very physical action on each and every page. It is a book to share with friends and family. Jess Kidd is of a different mindset than the rest of us, a very special journey into the cockles of your mind… Alive, alive oh…
When I read the blurb for Things in Jars, I knew that I needed to read the book. A mystery set in Victorian England that had a paranormal/fantasy bent to it. Another thing going for this book is that I had read Himself by the author and loved it. So, yes, I was excited to read the book. I am glad that I did because Things in Jars were fantastic!!
Things in Jars had a great storyline. Bridie Devine is a female detective who takes on a case that she thinks will be easy. A 6-year-old girl has been kidnapped, and her father is frantic to get her back. But, as Bridie starts to investigate this story, she notices that things aren’t adding up. Then Bridie’s past collides with her present in a way that could derail her investigation. What is so special about that girl? Why are so many people after her? And what will happen when Bridie is forced to face her past?
The plotline for Things in Jars was lightning fast. That surprised me because when a book goes from past to present, there is always some lag. But not in this case. The author was able to keep up the pace of the plotline and seamlessly go from past to present. There are also no dropped characters or storylines. It made reading this book absolutely a joy!!
I am not a massive fan of when books got back and forth in time. But in this case, the author made it work. As Bridie investigated Christabel’s kidnapping, the author showed what it was like for Bridie growing up. It wasn’t pretty. There were parts of her childhood that made me want to hug her. The time spent in the Eames household, and what Gideon put her through was awful. But, it showed where she got her medical skills and how it shaped her into the woman she was in the present day.
The storyline with Christabel’s kidnapping was interesting. I liked it because I had to figure out if Christabel being a freak of nature was true or not. For a time, I did think that Christabel was an innocent child. But, then there was a crucial scene that involved snails and feet that changed my mind.
I liked that the author took the Irish myth of the Merrow and ran with it. I wasn’t familiar with that myth and spent some time reading about it after I finished the book. I loved it!!
I also loved how the author tied Bridie’s past and present together. There were a couple of people from her past that showed up, not including Ruby Doyle. I was surprised at how they were tied in.
I loved the paranormal angle of the book. I did feel that Ruby’s storyline was dragged on, and I did think, for a time, that his connection to Bridie was forgotten. But, it wasn’t, and the reveal was heartbreaking. I’ll admit, I cried.
The end of Things in Jars was nothing short of amazing. The author did a fantastic job of wrapping everything up. My heart broke a few times when reading the ending. I was wondering if there was going to be another book, but I don’t think so. If I’m wrong, that’s great. But the vibe I got was no.
If Charles Dickens and Neil Gaiman and Conan Doyle had devised a Victorian Era Gothic mystery with a female detective partial to ‘medicinal’ tobacco who is hired to find a kidnapped girl who is perhaps not quite human, aided by a dead man and former circus freak, it would not be outdone by Jess Kidd’s Things in Jars.
The coal smoke and fog of London, complete with its olfactory smorgasbord of industry and market, the filthy Thames and its dung-filled streets, the miasma blamed for cholera and other deadly diseases is vividly described.
The novel is Victorian in writing style, with Dickensian descriptions and sensational penny dreadful worthy murderous villains. It is populated with Resurrectionists, mudlarks, people with false identities, and avid collectors of curiosities–things in jars.
Sir Edmund has an extensive collection of aquatic life–aberrations–things in jars, including the Winter Mermaid, the Irish merrow specimen that went missing long ago. The fishy merrow could take on female human form, beautiful but dangerous killers. Sir Edmund’s reclusive, ‘singular daughter’ has disappeared, along with her nurse and the doctor. Sir Edmund won’t share details, but he is desperate to find Christabel.
Here is time held in suspension. Yesterday picked. Eternity in a jar. ~from Things in Jars by Jess Kidd
Sir Edmund has called detective Bridie Devine to find the missing girl.
Bridie’s early childhood was spent with a resurrectionist–once a man of science before ruined by drink and gambling–who taught her how to determine how long a body had been dead. Then a gentleman doctor took her from the streets to groom as his assistant. Now, she helps the police, “working out how people died.” She failed to find her last kidnapped child case, and perhaps that failure was why she was chosen for this case.
Bridie is a wonderful character. Like Sherlock Holmes, she dons disguises, she is identified by her choice of hat, and smokes a pipe. She is also quite modern, railing against societal restraints on women, the ‘market price’ of their value. Middle age is creeping up–is it too late for a lover? Ruby Doyle’s ghost has been following her, claiming they had a history; there is an affection between them. Who was he?
Kidd captures a time when Darwin’s theory is breaking news and science and pseudoscience is all the rage. I love the novels and era that inspired this novel, and I love this novel, too.
I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
Thank you Atria and NetGalley for an advanced copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Things In Jars
By: Jess Kidd
*REVIEW*
Bridie is a female sleuth working a case, but what makes this story so interesting is the Victorian London setting. Something about this particular time period always conjures up images of macabre, dark, grotesque and harrowing people, places and things in my mind. Things In Jars is definitely unique and fantastically bizarre. I found it slow going, especially in the beginning, but an interesting read regardless. This story is darkly entertaining and compelling in a creepy way. Bridie is a great female character-intelligent and courageous. Overall, I suggest reading this because it’s different, if for no other reason.
Jess Kidd brings her signature style to Things in Jars. Her lyrical prose is delightfully descriptive. She perfectly blends folklore, ghosts and history into her story of a quirky Irish investigator in Victorian London.
Ms. Kidd’s writing drew me in from the start. I was absolutely enchanted by her characters. The weird and wry Bridie Devine, her Amazonian housekeeper, Cora, and Rudy, the ghost who follows her home and devotedly helps her through her latest investigation. They are a motley crew of misfits with big hearts and brave souls.
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for a mermaid tale, but my enchantment with Ms. Kidd’s latest novel goes beyond that. The grim depiction of the underbelly of London is reminiscent of Dickens. Her scene setting and characterizations are perfect. Things in Jars is told in dual time periods; in the 1860s, readers follow Bridie’s fantastical investigation of a missing child with singular traits, and in the 1840s we learn of young orphaned Bridget and what motivates her in present day.
Chief amongst the antagonists are Gideon Eames and the elusive Mrs. Bibby. These characters are diabolical; they create a feeling of dread throughout the story. Ms. Kidd brilliantly weaves their stories into that of Bridie’s, leaving her readers with a delicious, gothic tale. Things in Jars is a dark, atmospheric mystery filled with eccentric and mythical characters.
Jess Kidd introduces readers to a fascinating new fictional heroine, Bridie Devine, her primary character in her latest offering Things in Jars. This novel, by the author of Himself and Mr. Flood’s Last Resort, is a chimera of historical mystery and fantasy, with a pinch of romance added as well. Bridie Devine is a figure regarded with suspicious respect in Victorian England in her role as a female detective with an odd choice of interests and expertise. Her natural intellect and powers of deduction have become enhanced by an independent spirit and steely hardiness developed as a byproduct of her untraditional Irish background. When Bridie is brought in to help recover the kidnapped child of a Baronet, she wonders why she was selected for the assignment in lieu of the traditional authorities. It becomes clear, however, that the nature of this case involves some unsavory and fantastical elements that require a unique approach. A mystery regarding Bridie’s own past is interwoven with a main storyline that encompasses ghosts, mermaids, Resurrection Men, exploited circus “freaks,” and genetic oddities that attract the interest of unethical medical experimenters. There is a lot going on in this novel, and the stylized language and brief forays into the second person perspective exacerbate a sense of disorientation. Kidd does a fairly good job of keeping the narrative on track, however, with a steady pace and chapter/section breaks that help prevent the reader from getting too lost along the way. Although Things in Jars concludes in a satisfying way, the author leaves open the possibility of a sequel or series featuring Bridie Devine- a character that is compelling enough pique a reader’s interest in revisiting her world.
Thanks to the author, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
THINGS IN JARS by Jess Kidd is a gothic story set in Victorian London in the 1860s with a few flashback chapters in the 1830s and 1830s. Birdie Devine is a female detective that takes on domestic investigations and does minor surgeries. She has two cases, one given to her by Inspector Valentine Rose of Scotland Yard, and a second one when she is hired by Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick to find his kidnapped daughter.
Kidd des a great job of writing in such a way that you not only hear what’s happening, but you can see it vividly, and even experience the unfortunate smells of the time. The story is somewhat gruesome and shocking at times and there is a paranormal aspect to it as well. It is gritty and dark at times and, at other times, it takes on a lighter tone.
The characters are compelling, fascinating, and felt three-dimensional with clear motivations. There was enough at stake to keep me engaged throughout the story. The world-building was absolutely fantastic and gave a clear sense of time and place.
Overall, this was an entertaining book that I would recommend to those that enjoy stories set in Victorian London and like a little paranormal and a bit of romance in their stories.
Thanks to Atria Books and Jess Kidd for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
Things in Jars by Jess Kidd is part mystery/detective part historical fiction novel that has a dash of fantasy with a mystical/other worldly tone that makes this a very interesting and immersive read.
This is one of those gritty, dark Victorian murder/mystery novels that has a fascinating and powerful female protagonist at its center. The author does a fabulous job drawing the reader in to the past, but yet opening a window to another world. The result is nothing but extraordinary and all-consuming that will leave one wanting more.
I also enjoyed meeting many of the eccentric cast of characters. This book is slightly out of my normal genres, and I am glad I took this chance.
5/5 stars
This is a very descriptive book that seems to have a lot going on. It’s full of interesting characters. I did think it was a little wordy at times. It was different. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy