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legacybeatle728's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
celestialwillow's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
ethan_harmon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
katykelly's review
5.0
What-ho! No, they don't actually speak like this, thank goodness. But this is a period-set school story, that did feel like a Hogwarts/Blyton blend of sorts, though has neither magic nor 'spiffing' stereotypes of masters, mistresses or hockey players.
In the first of a series, a seemingly mismatched pair of third years start a detective agency at their boarding school. Daisy Wells is the curly haired popular but very observant 'leader', Hazel Wong a foreign-born 'Watson' who accidentally stumbles upon a murder one day in the school.
But was it murder? The body of the teacher is no longer there when she and Daisy return minutes later, but Miss Bell is missing... they begin to investigate their teachers and ascertain their alibis.
Someone is guilty - but who? And which of them will solve the mystery?
A refreshing setting and set of characters - they feel familiar but have a bit of gumption about them and depth. Hazel is our protagonist and you do feel empathy for her, the outsider (though subjected to only minor racism/prejudice), and Daisy shows her own character as the book continues, both come to be rounded girls you want to know better.
The plot is enjoyable, though structurally quite simple - the students use their friends and wiles to establish alibis for each teacher, crossing them off, and sometimes having to rethink their conclusions.
There is the usual twist to expect, and of course the essential 'whodunnit reveal' scene with everyone brought together as in a Christie novel for a final confrontation. The final solution is in keeping with the times, context and feels appropriate.
Sequels are already written, and I imagine a reader will want to move on from this to reading the series. It's a different sort of school story, nice to have a period setting for the age group, and a detective story with a difference that you can guess along with.
Would be enjoyed by ages 9-13.
In the first of a series, a seemingly mismatched pair of third years start a detective agency at their boarding school. Daisy Wells is the curly haired popular but very observant 'leader', Hazel Wong a foreign-born 'Watson' who accidentally stumbles upon a murder one day in the school.
But was it murder? The body of the teacher is no longer there when she and Daisy return minutes later, but Miss Bell is missing... they begin to investigate their teachers and ascertain their alibis.
Someone is guilty - but who? And which of them will solve the mystery?
A refreshing setting and set of characters - they feel familiar but have a bit of gumption about them and depth. Hazel is our protagonist and you do feel empathy for her, the outsider (though subjected to only minor racism/prejudice), and Daisy shows her own character as the book continues, both come to be rounded girls you want to know better.
The plot is enjoyable, though structurally quite simple - the students use their friends and wiles to establish alibis for each teacher, crossing them off, and sometimes having to rethink their conclusions.
There is the usual twist to expect, and of course the essential 'whodunnit reveal' scene with everyone brought together as in a Christie novel for a final confrontation. The final solution is in keeping with the times, context and feels appropriate.
Sequels are already written, and I imagine a reader will want to move on from this to reading the series. It's a different sort of school story, nice to have a period setting for the age group, and a detective story with a difference that you can guess along with.
Would be enjoyed by ages 9-13.
jessblibrarys's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
emsies's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
musicalizzy's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really like this book but I do not know how Daisy can just lie like that and THE PLOT TWIST ARE JUST SO GOOD AND PLANNED
Reasons for no/it is complicated
Main flaws= when it comes to Daisy and some of the mistresses and ‘The One’ they can be, but it’s not a huge plot point
Cast= But only main thing is just that one person is from a different country and place than everyone else
Characters lovable= it is quite complicated becauseit is quite important for Daisy’s character at the end of the book but nothing other than that really
Reasons for no/it is complicated
Main flaws= when it comes to Daisy and some of the mistresses and ‘The One’ they can be, but it’s not a huge plot point
Cast= But only main thing is just that one person is from a different country and place than everyone else
Characters lovable= it is quite complicated because
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide
josworld96's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
I've been eyeing this series for quite some time already. I think it must have been ever since I watched Enola Holmes and landed in some sort of teenage girls detective mood. However, there were always other books getting in between. Until I could get a big chunk of the series at a heavily discounted price. And now today, finally, I had the time to start this series. I needed something light and relaxing, since we're buddy reading an epic adult fantasy, and this sounded just perfect.
And it actually kinda was. This book was exactly what I had hoped it would be and what I had expected it to be. I especially really enjoyed the writing style. Stevens really managed to give the book a casual, written by a teen, kinda sound. It was never wordy, never too novelly, it was very believable that this was the journal of a teenage girl writing down her adventures with her detective society at boarding school. The handwritten word list with explanations only enhanced that feeling.
The mystery in itself was maybe not even that spectacular, but it was entertaining and actually quite nicely done. The girls really seemed to take logical steps, in their own teenage way, and although they were sometimes a little quick to jump to conclusions what they did and thought actually made a lot of sense. I personally wasn't too busy trying to catch the killer myself, but my mind kinda followed the girls and didn't see them doing anything wrong or weird.
What I enjoyed the most though was the relationship between the girls and how they are clearly growing and learning. Not so much as detectives, but more as teenagers and girls. Because of small details and throw away lines we really got a very vivid idea of who these two girls are and why they would become friends and why they would sometimes clash. Their dynamic, their differences and how they completed each other was really well done and worked great on paper.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
And it actually kinda was. This book was exactly what I had hoped it would be and what I had expected it to be. I especially really enjoyed the writing style. Stevens really managed to give the book a casual, written by a teen, kinda sound. It was never wordy, never too novelly, it was very believable that this was the journal of a teenage girl writing down her adventures with her detective society at boarding school. The handwritten word list with explanations only enhanced that feeling.
The mystery in itself was maybe not even that spectacular, but it was entertaining and actually quite nicely done. The girls really seemed to take logical steps, in their own teenage way, and although they were sometimes a little quick to jump to conclusions what they did and thought actually made a lot of sense. I personally wasn't too busy trying to catch the killer myself, but my mind kinda followed the girls and didn't see them doing anything wrong or weird.
What I enjoyed the most though was the relationship between the girls and how they are clearly growing and learning. Not so much as detectives, but more as teenagers and girls. Because of small details and throw away lines we really got a very vivid idea of who these two girls are and why they would become friends and why they would sometimes clash. Their dynamic, their differences and how they completed each other was really well done and worked great on paper.
I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
alreadyover's review
genuinely so good even rereading it as an adult... what if mystery books for little kids were about messy dykes... yay ❤️