Okay. I have to stop and bring my thoughts together. There is, once again, much we learn here as our Agents fight the best battle they can.

We follow two missions through this book. First and foremost in many eyes is what Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are up against. Following the trail of the isotope Blackwell created for in Dr. Jeckyll, Wellington Books and Eliza Braun find themselves in India where a person Jeckyll had been in contact with was heading.

Books and Eliza are trying to track down all on the list that are working with Dr. Jekyll. It's going a bit...rough. They are trying to clean up Dr. Jekyll's work and mess of super-enhanced people who go a bit mad and grow in size along with other abilities. This leads them to where one of Dr. Jekyll's patients had worked, and shared secrets with military in India. Not only are the medicines that Jekyll experiment with an issue, but there are experimental equipment that is now in the hands of the Ghost Rebellion forces. And this brings a new battle for Wellington and Eliza to battle, trying to get to Jekyll.

But reinforcements come! Well, one assassin that is, and the agents that remain in India. Yes, you guessed it by the mention of assassin. We get to see Sophia again. I really do love this woman, and seeing her personality clash with Eliza's is fun. I believe we will see her more in the last book to come as well - you'll come to the same conclusion in the end.

The second mission we follow is with Bruce and Brandon. They are sent to the arctic cold winter of Russia to find and obtain a Firebird feather to help cure the queen after the effects of Dr. Jekyll's serum in the last book. I have enjoyed the bold Bruce in previous books, but here I have started to see another side to him. Bruce seems to have a softer side here, a genuine person.

We get to see inside the House of Usher meetings too! And they are behind so much that Books has unknowingly stopped. Oh and a bit more on our dear Wellington too. There are major points shared with us that I just can't share because I don't want to spoil the book for you.

While the remaining agents are on their missions we see them deal with the great losses, and losses of those that were dear friends as well. There are connections to those we knew and the losses are still fresh in many hearts. The Ministry is reforming after the great losses felt preciously. It's a lot of work, and being in the state The Ministry is, anything can happen...

I want to add, I love that we have a couple that still function and interact as individuals paired together. They are who they are and love each other for that reason. Eliza and Wellington still banter and make me smile as they go through their missions, but they are more to each other as well. I enjoy writing of couples in this way.

For me steampunk is all about the gadgets. And Tee and Pip don't let me down! I love the gadgets created and used or seen with other agents. Awesome! But they also drew in the emotions from lose to love and blooming friendships into the book as well as the adventures and dangers continue. ( )

This book is worth the wait! A whole host of diverse new tertiary characters are introduced in several new locations, as the Ministry is recovering from the events of the [b:Diamond Conspiracy|22460416|The Diamond Conspiracy (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #4)|Pip Ballantine|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412396973s/22460416.jpg|41895465], and they are just as unique, inventive and explosive-prone as the rest of the main cast. Thankfully their intros mostly provided color and comic relief. They don't overshadow the rest of the characters or plot lines, just as many of the experienced field agents hinted at or briefly appearing throughout the book series.

I was thrilled to meet an active operative of the Ministry who was deaf, and that her competence was assumed by the most unlikely of characters. It's a rare thing to find deaf characters in fiction being treated as normal or competent, unless the thing is written specifically for that segment of the population. I really appreciate the inclusion.

Long time fans will be glad to see that answers regarding Books' upbringing continue to be teased and addressed. And he and Eliza's relationship appears to be progressing well. It was good to see more of the infamous House of Usher and why they have not been the front and center villains.

I did miss seeing more of Dr. Sound, except for one really excellent scene, but hopefully more for the next book. And, if we have the ability to tunnel to the center of the earth (awesome!), surely someone is trying to recreate Nemo's Nautilus, from concept, even if they don't have the plans. Thank you, Eliza.
The mind-control/obedience aspect introduced in Diamond Conspiracy with Callum was not brought up in this book, but given how many other technological marvels made an appearance, that's not necessarily out of play. However, if the Queen still needs her serum, Books likely does too - the ledger mentioned needing periodic doses. If he's losing some of his control and the Ministry now knows about his condition, the Ministry may not be so gentle with him in the next book. If the House of Usher and Jekyll team up to reclaim Books for their team, I think Eliza will be forced to shoot him, regardless of what he is or is not wearing.

Axelrod and Blackwell have introduced all sorts of new armaments since the last book. It's a fairly extensive list. They must be maintaining contact with Tesla. I'm looking forward to the next book, which hopefully (please!) won't be the last.
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