Available now from Atria Books

Part historical mystery, part paranormal thriller, Things in Jars by Jess Kid is a magical and breathtaking journey through the dark corners of Victorian London. Following Bridie Devine as she works the disturbing case of a missing child, the story unfolds in flashbacks of Bridie’s troubled childhood and the unusual life of the missing daughter of a wealthy and eccentric man.

Told the girl has lived in secret in her nursery, cared for by a limited number of servants, Bridie is convinced that the girl is extraordinary and not the biological child of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick. With the help of her lady’s maid, a ghost, and her apothecary, Bridie investigates the child’s nurse and fellow servants but the sudden and violent deaths of local residents provide ties to a broadening array of suspects.

This book is wonderfully dark and magical. The first chapter nearly threw me off but I quickly got into the rhythm of Jess Kidd’s storytelling and fell in love with the character of Bridie. She’s incredibly intelligent and independent and chooses to live her life on her own terms. Her lady’s maid Cora is described as being seven foot tall and very protective of Bridie. The two of them work closely together and sometimes seem as though they read each other’s minds. With the help of Prudhoe’s Bronchial Balsam Blend in her pipe, Bridie is able to see ghosts and becomes haunted by Ruby Doyle, a famous boxer. Following along on her investigations, Ruby provides insight and uses his ghostly abilities to assist Bridie, but keeps the secret of his identity from her. He tells her repeatedly that they know each other and he’ll haunt her until she remembers. Reader friends, when she remembers...so good.

Christable, our missing daughter is a mystery. She has the ability to draw water and snails to her and has a disturbing fascination with newts. Christable never speaks and her bite is said to be poisonous. What is she? I have no idea. I don’t think I’ve ever entered so many notes into my Kindle as I did over what in the world Christabel is.

This book reminded me strongly of Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield in tone and wonderfully weird storyline. Things in Jars, like Once Upon a River is an incredibly dark and drenched story. Water is so important to the story that you can feel the dampness on the pages.

With an intriguing cast of characters, Things in Jars is perfect for those who love odd and wonderfully weird stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

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