By Syuu and Nanna Fujimi. Released in Japan as “Tefuda ga Ōme no Victoria” by MF Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andria McKnight.
There is a commonly used expression that goes “when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail”. That can apply to jobs as well. If you’ve been doing a job for almost twenty years, particularly if you’ve been doing it since you were eight years old, you get into certain habits. You look at people differently, you always check for easy exits and verify that no one has searched your room. And when problems crop up, even if they’re not necessarily problems you have to worry about, you try to solve those problems in the way you’re accustomed to. That’s the issue that Victoria, formerly Chloe, has in this book. She’s trying her hardest to turn over a new leaf, adapt to a peaceful life, and find happiness. But that pesky job of hers won’t let her alone… even when it’s in her own head.
Chloe has been a spy since the age of eight, sold by her parents, who needed money. She doesn’t hold that against them, though, and sends money and gifts back home to them and her sister for the next decade or two. But recently she discovered her family died in a fire, and that fact was kept from her so that it wouldn’t affect her spy work. Resolving to quit her job (impossible, as any spy will tell you), she fakes her death, moves two countries away, and takes on the identity of Victoria, a woman who’s been missing for ten years but whose appearance and age generally match our heroine. There she quickly gains a girl who was abandoned on the street by her mother and several jobs she takes on to make ends meet. Boy, she’s really good at those jobs. How did she learn all those talents while still being a commoner. Gosh, I hope she and the captain of the capital’s police force don’t fall for each other. Oh dear.
I always love it when I pick up a book I know little about and it blows me away, and this book did just that. I’m familiar with the author, who had two titles published earlier this year by Cross Infinite World. But this is another level better than both of those, in a genre that could almost be called “slice-of-life thriller”. Much of the book is watching Victoria gradually lower her guard and make friends with the denizens of this town, while still having to worry about getting caught by her old country, or anyone finding out what she used to do. The fact that she’s absolutely terrible at keeping a low profile is a selling point (the artwork finds all the best scenes to draw, usually involving her kicking a man in the head). And she and Jeffrey make an excellent couple. It’s just a book that’s fun to read, and I couldn’t put it down.
It’s also a book that really feels like it could end with this volume… were it not for one scene taking place back in Chloe’s homeland, which promises an ominous future threat from a spy who… well, honestly, is nowhere near Victoria’s level. She can handle it. But it’s definitely a sequel hook. In any case, very highly recommended to anyone who loves spy thrillers, cute romances, found family, and girls who beat the shit out of men.
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