Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris

pipPHOENIX RISING
PIP BALLANTINE & TEE MORRIS
APRIL 26, 2011
STEAMPUNK
MASS MARKET PAPERBACK, EBOOK
MINISTRY OF PECULIAR OCCURRENCES BOOK 1
5 STARS

In Victorian England, the Queen has developed a secret society, The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, to deal with the unexplained and the eerie. But the Ministry doesn't reside in the Victorian England you will remember from history. Steam powered devices give this Victorian England a futuristic edge.

Archivist for the Ministry, Wellington Books has been kidnapped and hidden away by those who want to discover the secrets of the Ministry. Enter Agent Eliza Braun as his rescuer. Eliza is not the typical lady of the Victorian Era, not even for spies. She has a penchant for guns and more importantly, bombs. Her orders were to kill Wellington Books in fears he had been compromised, but Eliza doesn't always follow orders either. When she blows up the compound where Books had been held and did not follow through on her assignment to kill him, she is sent to the Archives to work with him.

What she expected to be a dull assignment turned most exciting indeed when she discovers the cold case her former partner had been working on prior to going mad. In his attempts to keep Eliza out of trouble, Books ends up investigating with her and they nearly end up in over their heads.

PHOENIX RISING was a delight from the first page. Well described explosive action, three dimensional characters and crackling dialogue will keep you turning the page. If you like non-stop excitement, witty repartee and alternative history, you will love this book. I anxiously await book number two from Ms. Ballantine & Mr. Morris.