Elizabeth C. Bunce

This was great! Myrtle was such an intelligent girl and I loved the fact that the adults in her life supported her and were a significant part of the story. The crime in this story was surprisingly complex and kept me guessing until the end. I was hooked by this story early on and found it almost impossible to set aside. Where were middle-grade books like this when I was younger?

12-year-old Myrtle is a fantastic character. She is more intelligent than most of the adults in the story and is show more always looking into something and constantly making observations. When a neighbor dies, Myrtle decides that she needs to look into it and she will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of things. The Victorian setting was incredibly well done and only added to the story’s charm.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a fantastic job of bringing this story to life. Bethan Rose Young did such a great job of representing this fun cast of characters. I found her voice to be very pleasant and didn’t want to stop listening. I cannot wait to read the next book in this fun middle-grade series!

I received a review copy of this book from Algonquin Young Readers. show less

I received a galley of this book through NetGalley.

Premeditated Myrtle is a middle grade mystery that abounds with wit, mayhem, and murder, the kind of book I would have loved as a kid and still adore at age 40.

Myrtle is the 12-year-old daughter of a British prosecutor who doesn't quite know what to do with a girl inclined toward morbid interests. Her medically-trained mother is dead. Her dearest friend and comrade is her governess Miss Judson. Myrtle is a but of a snoop, a girl who can show more hardly contain her glee when the mean girls try to pull a cruel prank by locking her in the town morgue.

I LOVE Myrtle. She is flawed and real, smart and sweet. She's the perfect lead for a mystery series like this.

The central plot is around the murder of her next-door-neighbor, an elderly woman obsessed with flowers. There are conniving heirs, not-so-helpful police, a false confession to murder, a cat who knows everything but can only meow--really, this is a not-short MG book packed with twists and turns. It's the perfect cozy read for MG readers and parents AND grandparents alike. For a comparative book (set in the same Victorian time frame in a small British town), look up the delightful The Body Under the Piano Aggie Morton mystery by Marthe Jocelyn. show less

Myrtle Hardcastle has no desire to go on a relaxing travel excursion with her aunt Helena when there are More Important things to be done at home, like keeping close tabs on criminals and murder trials. Unfortunately, she has no say in the matter. So off Myrtle goes—with her governess, Miss Judson, and cat, Peony, in tow—on a fabulous private railway coach headed for the English seaside.
Myrtle is thrilled to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Bloom, a professional insurance investigator show more aboard to protect the priceless Northern Lights tiara. But before the train reaches its destination, both the tiara and Mrs. Bloom vanish. When Myrtle arrives, she and Peony discover a dead body in the baggage car. Someone has been murdered—with Aunt Helena’s sewing shears.
The trip is derailed, the local police are inept, and Scotland Yard is in no rush to arrive. What’s a smart, bored Young Lady of Quality stranded in a washed-up carnival town to do but follow the evidence to find out which of her fellow travelers is a thief and a murderer? show less

This retelling of Rumpelstiltskin immediately reeled me in. The details of the mill operation brought the story to life, even though I didn’t know all the milling terms used. Looking back on it now, I think a diagram or two of the milling machines could have helped me keep the terms straight as I read. Hopefully in future editions, they will devote a page or two at the front to something like that.

A lot of fairy tale retellings can be unimaginative, but this retelling is fresh and show more original. That’s saying a lot for a story whose bones have been around for ages.

I also loved the strong female character who doesn’t go running to the men in her life to solve all her problems. And she’s a small businesswoman, to boot!

This is an excellent first novel from Bunce, and more than deserving of this year’s Morris YA Debut Award. show less