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Murder Is Bad Manners (A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery Book 1) Kindle Edition
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends at Deepdean School for Girls, and they both have a penchant for solving mysteries. In fact, outspoken Daisy is a self-described Sherlock Holmes, and she appoints wallflower Hazel as her own personal Watson when they form their own (secret!) detective agency. The only problem? They have nothing to investigate.
But that changes once Hazel discovers the body of their science teacher, Miss Bell—and the body subsequently disappears. She and Daisy are certain a murder must have taken place, and they can think of more than one person with a motive.
Determined to get to the bottom of the crime—and to prove that it happened—before the killer strikes again, 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?
Previously published as Murder Most Unladylike in the UK.
- Reading age10 years and up
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level5 - 6
- Lexile measure910L
- PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateApril 21, 2015
- ISBN-13978-1481422130
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Review
"Satisfyingly unpredictable. I did not guess the whodunit. Ripping good fun." (Alex O'Connell The Times of London)
"Friendship, boarding school, and a murder worthy of Agatha Christie." (The Bookseller)
"Really cleverly done and unexpected for what I thought would be a straightforward whodunit caper." (Melissa Cox, Head Children's Buyer at Waterstones )
"Reading Murder Is Bad Manners is like drinking cocoa by a fireside: It is warm and witty and deeply satisfying." (Katherine Rundell, author of ROOFTOPPERS and CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS )
"Murder Is Bad Manners lured me in with a charming British voice, and then, just as I started to get cozy, snap! I was trapped in a serious mystery problem. Robin Stevens develops her girl detectives with a light, deft touch and delivers denouement with a flourish." (Nancy Springer, author of the Enola Holmes series )
“Robin Stevens's MURDER IS BAD MANNERS is what I wish every mystery could be: a perfectly-plotted puzzle told in a deft and charming voice. The story is a brilliant mixture of classic detective work and contemporary humor—I enjoyed every page!”— (Jonathan Auxier, author of The Night Gardener and Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes )
"Stevens’s engaging tale shines with the reflected charms of its detecting duo, a winsome combination of thoughtfulness and relish." (School Library Journal)
"[H]ighly enjoyable bunbreak reading." (Shelf Awareness)
“Irresistible.” — Kirkus Reviews [STARRED REVIEW]
"A pitch-perfect snapshot of adolescent friendship... A sharp-witted debut for Stevens, one that will leave readers eagerly awaiting subsequent installments." — Publishers Weekly* STARRED REVIEW
“Nancy Drew, meet Wells and Wong.” — Booklist
"[A] delightful romp....This book, the first in a series, is a "jolly good read," one which intermediate girls will enjoy and share." — School Library Connection
"[A] first-rate homage to English boarding school adventure and period murder-mystery tales....Middle-schoolers with a taste for Agatha Christie (and perhaps PBS costume or mystery dramas) will eat this up and ask for more." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s
“Wells and Wong . . . leave readers eager to read more of their appealing tales." — Shelf-Awareness Pro
"Stevens’s engaging tale shines with the reflected charms of its detecting duo, a winsome combination of thoughtfulness and relish." — School Library Journal
"[H]ighly enjoyable bunbreak reading." — Shelf Awareness
"A skillful blend of golden era crime novel and boarding school romp, with a winning central relationship between plump, anxious Hazel, a new girl who has arrived from Hong Kong, and the super-confident blonde English rose, Daisy Wells. The novel works well both as an affectionate satire and an effective mystery story. . . . Top class." -- Suzie Feay — Financial Times
"Satisfyingly unpredictable. I did not guess the whodunit. Ripping good fun." -- Alex O'Connell — The Times of London
"Friendship, boarding school, and a murder worthy of Agatha Christie." — The Bookseller
"Really cleverly done and unexpected for what I thought would be a straightforward whodunit caper." -- Melissa Cox, Head Children's Buyer at Waterstones
"Reading Murder Is Bad Manners is like drinking cocoa by a fireside: It is warm and witty and deeply satisfying." -- Katherine Rundell, author of ROOFTOPPERS and CARTWHEELING IN THUNDERSTORMS
"Murder Is Bad Manners lured me in with a charming British voice, and then, just as I started to get cozy, snap! I was trapped in a serious mystery problem. Robin Stevens develops her girl detectives with a light, deft touch and delivers denouement with a flourish." -- Nancy Springer, author of the Enola Holmes series
“Robin Stevens's MURDER IS BAD MANNERS is what I wish every mystery could be: a perfectly-plotted puzzle told in a deft and charming voice. The story is a brilliant mixture of classic detective work and contemporary humor—I enjoyed every page!”— -- Jonathan Auxier, author of The Night Gardener and Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- ASIN : B00KU4NZOO
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (April 21, 2015)
- Publication date : April 21, 2015
- Language : English
- File size : 9129 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 332 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0552570729
- Best Sellers Rank: #258,499 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Robin's books are: Murder Most Unladylike (Murder is Bad Manners in the USA), Arsenic for Tea (Poison is Not Polite in the USA), First Class Murder, Jolly Foul Play, Mistletoe and Murder, Cream Buns and Crime (containing the ebook shorts The Case of the Blue Violet and The Case of the Deepdean Vampire), A Spoonful of Murder, Death in the Spotlight, Top Marks for Murder, Death Sets Sail and the anthology Once Upon a Crime (containing the short stories The Case of the Missing Treasure and The Case of the Drowned Pearl). She is also the author of The Guggenheim Mystery, the sequel to Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery, and has contributed to the anthologies Mystery and Mayhem and Return to Wonderland.
Her newest book is The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, the sequel to the Murder Most Unladylike series.
Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in Oxford, England, across the road from the house where Alice in Wonderland lived. She has been making up stories all her life.
When she was twelve, her father handed her a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and she realized that she wanted to be either Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie when she grew up. When it occurred to her that she was never going to be able to grow her own spectacular walrus mustache, she decided that Agatha Christie was the more achievable option.
She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies' College, a boarding school in England, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she'd get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn't). She then went to university, where she studied crime fiction, and worked at a children's publisher.
Robin is now a full-time author who lives in England with her family. Her website can be found at www.robin-stevens.co.uk, and her social media is @redbreastedbird.
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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There's nothing about this book that isn't just as grown-up as an Agatha Christie mystery. Yes, there's no swearing, minimal gore, and only the barest hint of any characters gettin' busy, but the themes and complications are thought-provoking, and the mystery is just as twisty and inspired as anything targeted at grownups. Stevens sets this series at a girls' boarding school in 1930s England, and the narrator, Hazel Wong, has to deal with racism and colonialist attitudes (which can be excellent fodder for discussion with your child, if they're of the right age). But it never feels preachy or heavy. The characters are well-drawn, and I didn't solve the mystery before Wells & Wong did.
This is a fantastic book whether you're a middle schooler or a grownup. If you're a fan of British Mysteries (whether classics like Christie or newer authors like Faith Martin) or even just a fan of Veronica Mars, you'll be both delighted and thrilled by this book. I've just purchased the second book—the stack of twenty tomes on my bedside table is just going to have to wait.
Will Wells and Wong solve the case before the police are called?
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are our self-appointed Sherlock Holmes and John Watson of Deepdean, the school they attend. The girls have their own Detective Agency. Up to this point, all they've solved are small cases that aren't anything like solving a murder mystery.
Daisy is the Sherlock Holmes of the duo and has a father that is a Lord. She thinks that she can solve the case without looking for other clues on all the suspects once she gets it in her mind that she has found the right one. Daisy, to me, seems like she needs to be put into her place at times. She acts as if she is doing Hazel a favor just by being in her presence. Other than that, Daisy makes an excellent investigator as she has the right mind for it, even if she has a one-shot mind when she thinks she knows who did it.
That leaves Hazel as our John Watson of the duo, and she is from Hong Kong. Everyone at the school treats her differently sometimes because of it, especially after everyone starts coming up with rumors about why certain people are disappearing from their lives at the school. Hazel isn't too worried about them since she is just trying to solve the case with Daisy. If it weren't for Hazel, there wouldn't be a case for them to solve anyways. Hazel also needs to grow a backbone when it comes to telling Daisy that she is wrong.
Of these two sleuths, I must say that I like Hazel. It also doesn't help that Hazel is even more like Watson as she writes the story as John did with Sherlock's cases.
The Mystery
Hazel Wong went to get her sweater from the gym where she left it last, only to stumble upon the body of her science teacher. She knew the teacher was dead and ran to find Daisy and one of their prefects, who thought they had lied, especially after seeing no dead body. So Daisy believes Hazel wouldn't lie about this and decides they must investigate who could have killed poor Miss Bell, the science teacher. That act opens up many things for these two girls. I loved how they embraced their roles as detectives and how it was shown across the pages. Ms. Stevens has done an excellent job of showcasing that even as eighth-grade girls, they are good detectives. I knew it had to be someone but I never, not even a little pinprick in the back of my brain, thought it was who it was.
Four Stars
Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens is the first book in what can only be a fantastic series from the one and only Ms. Stevens. All of the characters came through beautifully, and I felt terrible for Hazel when she had to deal with some of her dormmates. Overall, it was a great read, and I liked being sent through time to the 1930s to watch these two young girls solve their case. This is the first time I've read a book with a dead body in it for a middle grade read, but it works for this series.
I am giving Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens four stars, and I'm recommending it to anyone who wants to pick up this series for themselves or a kid that they think would enjoy a terrific murder mystery at an English girl's boarding school back in the 1930s. All of these covers look fantastic.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2023
Will Wells and Wong solve the case before the police are called?
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong
Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are our self-appointed Sherlock Holmes and John Watson of Deepdean, the school they attend. The girls have their own Detective Agency. Up to this point, all they've solved are small cases that aren't anything like solving a murder mystery.
Daisy is the Sherlock Holmes of the duo and has a father that is a Lord. She thinks that she can solve the case without looking for other clues on all the suspects once she gets it in her mind that she has found the right one. Daisy, to me, seems like she needs to be put into her place at times. She acts as if she is doing Hazel a favor just by being in her presence. Other than that, Daisy makes an excellent investigator as she has the right mind for it, even if she has a one-shot mind when she thinks she knows who did it.
That leaves Hazel as our John Watson of the duo, and she is from Hong Kong. Everyone at the school treats her differently sometimes because of it, especially after everyone starts coming up with rumors about why certain people are disappearing from their lives at the school. Hazel isn't too worried about them since she is just trying to solve the case with Daisy. If it weren't for Hazel, there wouldn't be a case for them to solve anyways. Hazel also needs to grow a backbone when it comes to telling Daisy that she is wrong.
Of these two sleuths, I must say that I like Hazel. It also doesn't help that Hazel is even more like Watson as she writes the story as John did with Sherlock's cases.
The Mystery
Hazel Wong went to get her sweater from the gym where she left it last, only to stumble upon the body of her science teacher. She knew the teacher was dead and ran to find Daisy and one of their prefects, who thought they had lied, especially after seeing no dead body. So Daisy believes Hazel wouldn't lie about this and decides they must investigate who could have killed poor Miss Bell, the science teacher. That act opens up many things for these two girls. I loved how they embraced their roles as detectives and how it was shown across the pages. Ms. Stevens has done an excellent job of showcasing that even as eighth-grade girls, they are good detectives. I knew it had to be someone but I never, not even a little pinprick in the back of my brain, thought it was who it was.
Four Stars
Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens is the first book in what can only be a fantastic series from the one and only Ms. Stevens. All of the characters came through beautifully, and I felt terrible for Hazel when she had to deal with some of her dormmates. Overall, it was a great read, and I liked being sent through time to the 1930s to watch these two young girls solve their case. This is the first time I've read a book with a dead body in it for a middle grade read, but it works for this series.
I am giving Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens four stars, and I'm recommending it to anyone who wants to pick up this series for themselves or a kid that they think would enjoy a terrific murder mystery at an English girl's boarding school back in the 1930s. All of these covers look fantastic.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.
I knocked off one full star for the use of the word “Oriental” to describe humans from Asia. The word is correct for the time period of this book (1930’s). But the book was first published in 2014-2015. The polite terminology is Asian.
Two middle grade students at a boarding school have started their own “Detective Agency”. Students Wells and Wong are best friends. Wells is a blonde haired, blue-eyed beauty. She is from a titled family and very self-assured. For the first third of this book, I wasn’t crazy about her as a character. She acted very entitled and self-centered.
Wong is a middle-grader who was enrolled in the boarding school part-way through the school term. She is the daughter of a wealthy Asian family. Her father has always loved everything British and decorates their home to mimic English homes. He also insisted that his family and house staff learn the English language.
Coming from Asia and moving to England in the 1930’s made Ms. Wong an oddity who isn’t readily accepted by her new schoolmates. However, Ms. Wells soon grows to appreciate how smart the new student is and they become best friends.
This is the first in a series entitled A Murder Most Unladylike. It reminded my of old black and white movies I used to watch back in the 1960’s. I am looking forward to reading book two very soon.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in India on May 12, 2022