For those of you who have read Gail Carriger’s Custard Protocol series before, this is the final book in the series, Reticence. We rejoin the crew of the Spotted Custard just as Quesnel and Rue are getting hitched. Rue is, at this point, very pregnant. About ready to pop, in fact, and Primrose will not allow the Spotted Custard to lift off from London without an actual doctor on board.

The problem is, every doctor they’ve interviewed so far has come over very old fashioned, and the crew of the Spotted Custard are very much…not. Then comes the unlikely named Dr. Arsenic Ruthven. Keen followers of Ms. Carriger’s delightful steampunk series and their various novellas might at this point recognize that last name. Arsenic is the daughter of Preshea (from the Finishing School series) and the lovely Scottish investigator Mr. Ruthven. Naturally, a poisoner named her daughter after a poison. 🙂 That tickled my fancy.

Arsenic isn’t much like, nor does she much like, her mother. Classic case of mothers and daughters not getting along. Arsenic, in her case, went as far from her mother as possible and became a doctor (a very rare thing in Victorian times). And it just so happened that she not only impressed Prim and Rue, but managed to fluster Percy as well. Win-win as far as Rue is concerned.

So Dr. Ruthven joins the crew and they head off to Egypt to see Rue’s mother and father, who had retired there a few books ago when Lord Maccon started losing his marbles, as happens with very old alpha werewolves. After a spot of tea with the parents, they’re off to Japan. There is, apparently, a new species of supernatural afoot there that several parties are interested in. Not to mention a missing intelligencer.

Along the way, Percy finds himself sharing not only his cat (Footnote) with Dr. Ruthven, but his library of all things. Imagine! Upon arriving in Japan, they discovered to their delight, the floating city of Edo (Tokyo) – here called the Paper City. This was the only place, in this universe, that non-Japanese people were allowed.

By this time, Percy was quite set on wooing Dr. Ruthven, but was at a loss as to how. The floating city, however, had to take precedence, as did the sickness of the consort of the man who ran the city, Lord Ryuunosuke. The officials of the Paper City were particularly keen to have Dr. Ruthven consult because she was, after all, a she. Lord Ryuunosuke wouldn’t allow male doctors to see to his consort. Indeed, the officials seemed not to want to allow any man off the ship.

Seeing as how the Spotted Custard couldn’t afford to lose the dear doctor only a few scant months after her hiring, they had Percy pretend to be her husband and insist on accompanying her. Propriety being what it was, they agreed, which was just as well because Percy was one of two people on board who could actually speak Japanese. Even still, he’s not actually allowed in the same room as Lady Sakura.

Some fast talking from Dr.Ruthven manages to get Lady Sakura out of the silver infused room she’s in and over to the swoon room (such a great name) in the Spotted Custard. Unfortunately, things go awry shortly thereafter, as things are wont to do with Rue’s crew (Heh, Rue’s crew) and Percy and Dr. Ruthven fall out of the Custard and the Paper City straight down to Tokyo.

After a staggeringly messy and dangerous adventure on the ground, Percy and Dr. Ruthven are reunited with the Custard and are well on their way to wooing. Things in Tokyo will never be the same.

I love the inter-connectivity between Gail Carriger’s novels, and yet you could still read any one of them and get the feel of her universe. She’s one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to get whatever novel, novella or short story she has out next. I highly recommend that you give her a read. And a follow! She’s on Twitter and she’ll often times post a lot of Victorian couture and food.

Rating: A+. Percy is one of my favorite characters, probably because I identify with his social awkwardness and bookishness.