Phoenix Rising

Agent Eliza Braun of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, who sports a bulletproof corset, is a New Zealander prone to shooting first and asking questions later. Archivist Wellington Books invented the Difference Engine supercomputer and has a dislike of guns and a surprising skill for undercover acting. Obviously, they are fated to meet cute and fight crime. Their opponents are the Phoenix Society, a murderous cabal devoted to world domination and wife-swapping. Eliza's plan involves infiltrating their recruitment orgy, leading to explosions and fisticuffs. Oddly slow given the outrageous plot, this slightly steampunkish spy fantasy would benefit from losing 100 pages, an exceedingly pointless drunk scene, and a bevy of plucky urchins, but it's still well suited for a bit of early summer beach reading. (May)