A review by bookwyrmknits
Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

This is a fun romp of a middle grade detective story, and it was an enjoyable ride. I enjoyed seeing where Robin Stevens took her two girl detectives on this adventure. I was pleased that Hazel, one of the two main characters in this novel (our narrator, no less), was from Hong Kong, and yet I was also annoyed at the casual racism peppered in here and there throughout the book. It was not in a large quantity of the book, it is probably historically accurate (the book is set in the 1930's), and Hazel does complain to herself about it to indicate to the reader that it's not okay behavior, but I still didn't like that part.

Daisy, the other main character, was also hard to like at times. Sometimes I enjoyed her character a lot, and other times she was a bully and I wanted nothing to do with her. I'm very torn on my opinion of Daisy, and she's probably the reason I won't be continuing with the series.

Overall, though, this is a fun read, with a twisty enough mystery that readers (especially in the target age range) can have fun with the reveals.
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