RATING: 4 STARS 
 I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. I'm so pleasantly surprised. 
 I usually employ a resigned attitude towards books starring 17-year-olds because all they do is what all 17 year olds do change the world and find the kind of love that splits the world. (I'm 17 and all I've done so far is attend extra classes to make it to medschool. yawn) 
 "What can I say? I merely wish to smoke. Sparky can forgive that. You, on the other hand, wish to know things. And no one can forgive a girl for that." 
 BAAAAAAANG This book is the real feminist anthem. Along with being an exceptionally good book with accurate descriptions of history, proper research on the most minuscule details, a very flowy narration and extremely likeable characters, this book also gives you insight into what it was like for girls in the 19th century. What it still is like for them in some parts of the world. 
 This book is a classic whodunnit but with multiple layers that add a lot of great depth to the story. I find that reading a whodunnit just for the sake of finding out whodunnit is a crashing bore. The details on the side are what make a story interesting--after all, the whodunnit is revealed on the very last page and you can't read a 500-page book just to reach that conclusion. There need to be other details, be it history, the premise, the dynamics between the characters or just any old romance that you need to keep you occupied throughout the other 499 pages. 
 My favourite character dynamic was the one between Josephine Montfort, wealthy daughter of one of the most influential families in New York, loved by many, pressed into a demure paragon with fluff between her ears by many more, attendee of Sparkwell's finishing school, aspiring reporter AND Eddie Gallagher, hailing from the slums, now a penniless reporter working in the lower tiers of the newspaper that Josephine's family owns, and a man (boy!!) who will do anything to make it big as a reporter. 
 I would've CRIED if Eddie had waxed poetic about Jo within the first fifty pages of the novel> He did not. (PRAISE THE LORD!!!) The romance in this book was kept at a minimal even though it is a deciding factor in every, every, every YA novel or any book that involves YA characters. It was a breath of fresh air in this smog of underage love-that-split-the-world that has enveloped everything these days. 
 The WHODUNNIT was the slightest bit obvious (view spoiler)[ he asked for the agenda, he asked for Eleanor's locket, he was the only one unharmed in an otherwise fatal attack and he was too oily to be one of the good ones. (After reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie I find that the ones managing to stay unharmed in otherwise fatal happening are usually the culprits.) (hide spoiler)] hence the 4 stars. 
 Other than that, this book got me out of my reading slump, so one of those stars is for that :"D 
 If you're going to bury the past, bury it deep, girl. Shallow graves always give up their dead.