Murder Most Unladylike

Published as Murder Most Unladylike in the UK, Murder is Bad Manners is the first in the Wells & Wong Mystery series by Robin Stevens. Stevens has one of those author bios that makes you green with envy as you read it --
Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in Oxford, England, across the road from the house where Alice of Alice in Wonderland lived. Robin has been making up stories all her life. She spent her teenage years at boarding school, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she'd get the chance to do some detecting herself. (She didn't.) She studied crime fiction in college and then worked in children's publishing. Robin now lives in London with her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

I'm pretty sure that Stevens show more stole the life that I was meant to have right after that born in California part. But, the great thing is that this life has made her the perfect author to write a middle grade boarding school mystery series! She goes one step further too and sets in the interwar period where she can explore the complexities of life as a girl/woman in the 1930s. And, as if that isn't enough, she also makes one of the main characters (and the voice of the story) a girl from Hong Kong so that she can explore race and outsiderness. The icing on the cake, so to speak, is definitely her inclusion of classic mystery titles throughout the story. If a kid loves this book and ends up picking up Peril at End House or The Man in the Queue, a new little mystery fan-for-life will be made. I adored all of these various aspects of this story and I look forward to continuing in the series.

The only change I might make is from reading the US to the UK versions. The US version of this first book has a couple of Americanizations (cookies and grades instead of biscuits and forms) that actually pulled me out of the story because they seemed so out of place. It was especially strange because there was a glossary at the back of boarding school and period terms. I don't know why these words couldn't have just been added there to keep the authenticity. Many of the titles are also changed for the US versions and they just aren't as fun. I don't even want to know what they're going to do with Jolly Foul Play. Still, these are very small complaints about a great little story!

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Well say hello to a combination of Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars and Blyton's boarding school books. Add to that a touch of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot and you've got it made!

Only this time it is 1934. Thirteen-year-old girls Hazel Wong(from Hong Kong) and Daisy Wells (from the English upper classes) have formed their own secret club, the Wells and Wong Detective Society at the Deepdean

School for Girls in England. They are quite successful in digging up secrets from everybody in school, with Daisy the number one snoop. She is the perfect English girl, highly popular, and knows everything about

everyone and she's good at it.

Hazel Wong is her side-kick, initially the quiet, polite one, meticulously clean and precise in everything she show more did. Until she discovered the secret to melt into the mass of girls in the school. Sloppiness and less-clean

appearances were expected. It was the secret of the rich girls in school. Never show wealth! Whatever you were, never strive to be the brightest girl in class either! Mediocrity is the name of the game. Fake it. Act. Be

good at it. Hazel was not only extremely intelligent, she also turned out to be the second best pretender in school. Daisy was the best. And that is the reason why they became the best of friends.

Prestige, honor, and tradition draw the best of the best to the school. Teachers were strictly selected for positions at the school. It was just the perfect set-up. Life was perfect.

But then Miss Bell was no longer at the school. She resigned, was the official announcement. Hazel knew better. She found Miss Bell's body in the gym, went for help, and when she returned, the body was gone!

The Wells and Wong Detective Society had suddenly their work cut out for them and they had to act fast to prevent the murderer from getting away with it. But oh dear, for every murder there is a murderer, and more

skeletons appear out of nowhere in the closets! What to do!?

COMMENTS: Hazel Wong is the young narrator of the tale and never ceases to keep up the lively, vivid energy of two thirteen-year-old girls. There's nothing childish about the story. The prose is funny, witty, innocent,

wise. I constantly smiled and sniggered for the actions of these two ambitious girls and their dorm mates.

I loved this whodunit. The drama managed to keep me totally immersed in the atmosphere of the time, the labyrinth of suspects, the guessing of motives and the neverending suspense.

The other reason why I loved this book, is because I attended a similar girls school. I felt so at home in the halls and dorms of the age old buildings and its occupiers. I totally identified with the characters. It was a

superb trip down memory lane. Even the church pipe organ in the hall of Deepdean School for Girls was familiar.

Overall I am of the opinion that this book is just as enjoyable for grown-ups as it is for teenage girls. Well-written, well-plotted and well-done.

The ARC was made available by Simon & Schuster through edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com for review.
Thank you for the opportunity. What a delight! show less

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are the secret detectives at the Deepdean School For Girls. Their mysteries aren't exactly exciting, though, until Hazel stumbles across the body in the gym. The body vanishes, but Hazel and Daisy are on the case, digging up secrets and clues. Daisy plays Sherlock to Hazel's Watson, with Daisy's ruthless pursuit of answers restrained by Hazel's sense of the human horribleness at the heart of it all. Gently but fondly and sensibly playing with the conventions of boarding-school stories and Agatha Christie stories and making a study of a particular Holmes/Watson pairing, Stevens keeps the story focused like a laser on the mystery, playing fair, but providing surprises and satisfaction with the solutions. The show more characters are endearingly flawed but lively and fascinating, the setting is wonderfully evoked, providing the reader with a strong, witty start to a hopefully enduring series. show less

At Deepdean School for Girls, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have set up their own detective agency. Hazel discovers the Science Mistress dead in the Gym. To add to the mystery, when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove one happened in the first place.

An absolutely top-class story. Excellent plotting, colourful characters and a wonderfully mysterious murder to solve. The unlikely premise of this book - 1930s schoolgirls solving crimes - is what drives it forwards and makes it so special. Robin Stevens plays the whole thing absolutely straight with no clever asides or knowing winks and that is what makes it such a fun read.

This book is obscenely racist. I assume this is supposed to be historically accurate but frankly I'm surprised any publisher agreed to print a middle grade book with such controversial views. As an adult I can recognise what I believe the author was trying to do (historical accuracy) but I highly doubt most middle grade readers would. (And frankly a waste of time because I can't say I particularly believe the historical accuracy in terms of setting, behaviours and fashions.) At no point does the author properly condemn Daisy's casual racism or bigotry or her lack of self acceptance and utter contempt for anyone not conforming to the status quo. Ergo, letting middle grade readers think this behaviour is normal and therefore right. I'm show more not big on positive messages being rammed down your throat but if there's one place positive messages are important it would be middle grade fiction.

But that's only one issue with this book. Frankly I don't even know where to begin. None of the characters actually make a point of learning about or accepting Hazel's heritage. At worst they mock her and at best, they ignore her - pretending she's English. There is one part in the book where Hazel actually says most people when they get to know her, simply ignore her heritage. Like what the hell? Yes, let's just dismiss your entire background, that's not traumatic or anything. Only one character - Beanie, goes so far as when making a racist comment - apologising for forgetting that Hazel may be offended. Hazel doesn't even really feel offended - she basically brushes it off - only mentioning that it can make it hard to be polite. Yes because I'm sure that someone insulting a rather central part of my makeup wouldn't hurt or anger me at all.

Daisy is a complete and total jerk. She is selfish, dismissive, disparaging and somewhat vicious. The one nice thing she says to Hazel (apparently Hazel is clever) is diminished by her actions. She orders Hazel around and continually ignores her ideas and suggestions. But the worst character would have to be Hazel herself. She has no self confidence or self worth and constantly disparages herself. She not only accepts her role as a lesser being but embraces it. It's like she honestly believes she is worth less than Daisy. When they have a fight, Hazel actually proceeds to apologise as though it were her fault. Then there is what I suppose is to be the positive message - Daisy stops her apology and makes her own - but it seems contrived and insincere. Furthermore it diminishes Hazel herself because she didn't do anything wrong and she appears weak willed and needy.

The fact is although Hazel does have some moments of clarity and insight into Daisy's character - she mostly is just as obsessed with Daisy as everyone else. Apparently if you're not blonde hair and blue eyes you may as well just drop dead. There is constant talk of how pretty Daisy is and how smart and funny, etc. But Daisy is petty and biased and manipulative. And somewhat a total and utter psychopath. Or a spoilt brat. It could go either way I guess.

The mystery itself was interesting enough and perhaps the only redeeming feature of the book. I'll likely read the rest of the series as it's brainless entertainment. To be honest I just really love the covers and the idea of this series - hopefully the rest of the series will tone down the racism. Seriously how did this book get published? I am honestly shocked that a publisher would agree to publish something so controversial in middle grade fiction.

I'd suggest that this should be given to older readers who can discern between fiction and appropriate behaviour. show less

First in series. 2 Year 9 girls, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells r boarders at Deepdean school in the 1930s. They have formed a great friendship, hazel being newly arrived from Hong Kong and treated with suspicion and Daisy a daughter of a Lord who is used to being loved and adored by everyone suddenly has someone who challenges her. They form a Detective Society in private with Daisy casting herself as Holmes and Hazel as Watson.
When Hazel stumbles across the dead body of one of their teachers Miss Bell, that disappears from the gym not 5 mins later, the 2 find themselves embroiled in a mystery worth of Conan Doyle and Christie.
The author pays homage to both authors in this gripping yarn that starts a bit slow but gets better and better. At show more times I laughed aloud at Daisy's audacity and quick witted lies and the antics and "awfully British" mores of the time.
Great book and I want to read the others.
Suitable for year 7 up show less

This is a chipper sort of book for having a murder mystery at the center.

I was honestly a little bit shocked that there actually is a murder, because it's treated so lightly, and this is a book for children. I think that many of the kids I know in the target age wouldn't do so well with the murder, being sensitive sorts, but that might also be helped by the way the book doesn't dwell overmuch on the traumatic nature of witnessing the immediate aftermath of a murder.

For the most part, I did enjoy reading the book. It's set in the 1930s in an English boarding school and is narrated by 13-year-old Hazel who is originally from Hong Kong and is best friends with the perfect specimen of English girlhood, Daisy. It reads a little like the show more smart books from the era, but also has a modern point of view that alludes to or outright discusses things like racism and sexism. It also talks about bullying and trying to fit in with others by hiding your true self.

If anything, other than my vague shock at there being an actual murder to put a shadow on my enjoyment of the book, I was disappointed to realize the author is white. About halfway into the book, the comments Hazel made about being treated as an "Oriental" curiosity made me wonder about the author, so I looked her up. I also felt, just a little bit, like Hazel's family in Hong Kong were being disdained in a way that was more than typical teenage rejection of parents. I appreciate the call out of racism and treating people badly, but it's uncomfortable for me to read these things coming from a white woman, no matter how accurate it might be. I mean, it's great to have more diversity in books, but it's weird to me to see a white women speaking for Asian women.

I don't know if I'm interested in continuing the series, but other than the disappointments I've listed, it was a fun adventure to read, and I think it has made me more interested in trying murder mysteries from the 1920s, when I typically try to avoid procedural mysteries altogether. show less