Things in Jars

A Novel

By: Jess Kidd

Narrated by: Jacqueline Milne

In this "miraculous and thrilling" (Diane Setterfield, number one New York Times best-selling 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 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.

©2020 Jess Kidd (P)2020 Simon & Schuster Audio

Possibly Favorite Novel of All Time

I was enamored of this from the first sentence to the last. The combination of the narrator's beautiful depiction and the author's rolling prose made this a feast for the ears. I've rarely fell in love with characters as deeply as Kidds' and I'm sad to leave them at the end. Highly recommend!

Gardener

I understand the confusion in characters as other reviewers have attested to. This book is not light reading. Sometimes I had to repeat many passages. Don’t read it when you are sick or too busy. But in the right mood and at the right time it is so worth it

Magical but not for the faint of heart

Delightful characters, calls up the dark obsessions of the Victorians. But if you’re squeamish and are looking for a Disney take, best left alone.

Enjoying the series

Probably my favourite out of the series,

Again, Audible, I want to give props to the authors but being forced to write reviews (with a minimum of 15 words) in order to do so is preventing me from rating entirely.

Wonderful tale, superb narration

I listen at 1.3x and the pacing was perfect. Compelling story with a bit of everything — don’t even want to hint at anything that could be construed as a spoiler… so just give it a go!

Superb

Absolutely loved this. Narrator outstanding. Divine is smart, charming. Other characters complex and witty.

Fun story.

I very much enjoyed this story. The story is sweet and interesting. If you enjoy Jess Kidd you will like this book.

Full of wonderment and fantasy

A very interesting mystery set in Victorian times. Not really a mystery more of a chase.
I enjoyed the looks into the heroine’s past more than her current pursuit.

Perfect!

Written in a Victorian style, it's alive with complex characters and dozens of amazing story lines. A must listen for Tim Burton fans.

Excellent story, distracting narration

Jess Kidd is a consummate storyteller and a fine writer, and her books are even more enjoyable when paired with the right narrator (as with “Himself”, which I highly recommend as an audiobook — just stellar). There are plenty of Irish actors who have mastered English accents, so I’m not sure why they chose one who hasn’t, especially for a story set in England. The narrator can just about manage a lispy Essex, but her RP sounds more like an American who’s had a stroke, and the multiple mispronunciations of words are an added distraction. So I might recommend reading this one instead—it’s a cracking tale.