Daisy and Hazel set up a detective agency at their boarding school but cases are few and far between. Until the two school girls discover a body and begin to investigate the murder of one of their teachers…
Murder Most Unladylike is a children’s book aimed at ages 9-12. It is a murder mystery but there is no graphic detail; even so, I would advise the content is more appropriate for the upper end of the age range.
A boarding school for girls, two wannabe sleuths, teenage angst, MURDER! This book has so many layers and I enjoyed it as an adult but would also like to share this with my kids. Murder mysteries are one of my favourite genres and this is a fab introduction for younger readers.
I found it difficult to work out when the book is set. The girls seem quite modern in their thinking and outlook on life but there are mentions of deportment and gymslips which made me realise it has an historical setting in the 1930s.
The book is written from the first person perspective of Hazel. She does experience some racism as she comes from Hong Kong. I enjoyed the narration of this audiobook by Gemma Chan. Her delivery evoked the teen characterisation of Hazel and I felt easily drawn into the plot. Daisy has a much more forthright personality and is clearly the dominant force in the pairing.
Murder Most Unladylike is an interesting and intriguing murder mystery aimed at older children.
Book blurb
When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia’s missing tie. Which they don’t, really.)
But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident — but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place… and there’s more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.
Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test?
