The Janus Affair by Pip Ballentine and Tee Morris

The LONG awaited sequel to the Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences Novel!

Certainly no strangers to peculiar occurrences, ministry agents Wellington Books and Eliza Braun are nonetheless stunned to observe a fellow passenger aboard Britain's latest hypersteam train suddenly vanish in a bolt of lightning. They soon discover this is not the only such disappearance ....and each case is being ignored by a fellow agent and the Ministry.

The fate of England and the suffragist movement is again in the hands of the ingenious archivist and the beautiful, fearless lady of adventure. And though their foe may be fiendishly clever, so then is Mr. Books . . . and Miss Braun still has a number of useful and unusual devices hidden beneath her petticoats.

The Janus Affair by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris was an absolutely rollicking read, chock full of danger, disaster, and of course the devilish duo of Wellington Books and Eliza Braun. The mystery that these two agents are solving this time is, if possible, even more sinister and heart-troubling than the one found in the first Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel. This mystery is personal, potentially leading to the harm of someone well loved by Eliza, someone that was mentioned in the first podcast of the Tales of the Archives, The Evil that Befell Sampson by Philippa Ballantine.
Link to the Tales of the Archives: http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/short-stories/

The plotline of the Janus Affair is excellent, clearly showing the perspectives of both agents, and simply brimming with unexpected twists, characters, and events. There are several humorous exchanges between the characters which are probably one of my favorite things about the novel. There are also sad moments, but they are necessary to add to the urgency of the mission.

The characters of the novel are also extremely well developed. I enjoyed learning more about Eliza and Wellington as they worked together on this case.....and.....the expected and much awaited building in chemistry between them. There is an old love of Eliza's in this story, and he adds to the tension between Eliza and Welly in the most fascinating of ways.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Janus Affair, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a rambunctious tale of mystery, comedy, romance, and, of course, steampunk!