Overall I liked this one, especially its callbacks to the first book which give it a good sense of closure. I also appreciated that we got to finally delve significantly into Mary's family history. And the Victorian cultural elements are great as ever. I'll admit that I sort of wish there had been more Mary/James action here since their banter is always delightful. I like that they work more or less independently in this one, but there were times when I felt the narrative could have been enhanced if they'd been able to meet up once or twice. And, at times, I got the sense that Lee didn't quite know what to do with James in this one. I was also expecting some of the other characters, especially Felicity, to play a somewhat larger role than they did.