Murder Most Unladylike: A Wells & Wong Mystery

I have a certain spot in my heart for a MG murder mysteries. There isn't anything quite like smart, curious kids trying to solve Agatha Christie-style case. Pretty much any book that mentions this type of synopsis will get my attention. I'm happy to say that new series (first published in England) from author Robin Stevens is a pleasure to dive into and will deliver on all fronts if you're a fan of the genre!

I read the book in one sitting, and setting of a Deepdean School for Girls is a perfect fit for Wells and Wong first case. There is a certain English charm and sort-of Victorian style to the story. I absolutely loved the fact the our main heroines are not yet another carbon copies of Nancy Drew (I love Nancy very much ;), but rather interesting evolving personalities, whose friendship is just as big part of the story as the mystery itself. I'd like to say ,however, that while mystery and adventures that girls went through are very exciting and executed top-notch, it is the girls, or rather Daisy that led me to a 4-star rating instead of 5. Unfortunately, while Daisy's character indeed goes through changes and ultimate redemption - I'm afraid I never quite warmed up to her. It is important for me (as a very character-driven person) to be able to relate/or understand main protagonists from which point of view I'm reading a book - but Daisy happened to not be someone I would endlessly cheer for.

Other then this nitpick of mine, I liked the book very much and am looking forward to reading the other two books in the series. Also, as a side note, the books are being reprinted in USA with a different covers, and the American version of "Murder Most Unladylike" is called "Murder is Bad Manners" - it is THE SAME book. Be aware of this name mix-up and Happy Reading!

Its charming. Its fun. Its refreshingly young. Its Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson in a rather younger female version. Set in a 1930s boarding school for girls, sees Daisy Wells & Hazel Wong, members of the Detective Society, cunningly battle lessons, Masters & Mistresses, peers and fellow dorm mates, relish some well deserved Bunbreaks, all the while on the lookout for a nice new case to solve and crime to detect ...... Or so says Daisy Wells' detective novels.

But real lie comes knocking when Hazel discovers the dead body of their science mistress Ms. Bell but when she raises the alarm the body mysteriously vanishes ..... warranting the services of the Wells & Wong Detective Society as they go on gathering evidences, eliminating alibis and suspects when nobody knows what actually happened to Ms. Bell.

Daisy and Hazel were of course the best part. The perfect English Rose Daisy (or as much you would expect of a child) and the Oriental girl from Hong Kong Hazel because of which she is treated differently by everyone. Her peers have some very weird habits and quirks and reading Hazel's running commentary at the most opportune moments put a smile on all our faces seeing as she is the voice of the book. Their friendship is a little complicated but it is interesting to see them go through highs and lows and stay tight as they are.

They are not your conventional detectives either, nor do they possess the means to investigate like grownups do so it is really interesting to see them achieve their objectives with such cleverness and dexterity with the limited amount of freedom they are afforded. A well crafted and refreshingly cunning new whodunit through the eyes of third formers. I am pretty sure that Daisy & Hazel are even younger than the Secret 7, Famous Five, Nancy Drew and those Hardy Boys .... So that's something isn't it ..... Bravo girls.

I've found myself a new favourite series, and it's got everything I love: complex female protagonists, murder-mysteries, intrigue at an English boarding school, a range of colourful supporting characters, and genuine insight into human nature.

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are two students at Deepdean School for Girls, a prestigious boarding school in the 1930s. Whereas Daisy is the perfect English rose, with fair hair and an intellect so powerful that she hides it from her teachers, Hazel is a more sensitive soul still trying to acclimatize to the strange English customs that surround her. Originally from Hong Kong, Hazel has an Anglophile father who is expecting her to do well in this foreign country, and she's determined not to disappoint.

Told in first-person narrative by Hazel, there's plenty of amusement to be had from her confusion at her new country (the English pretence at austerity for example, or her horror during her introduction to hockey) but what the story is really about is what happens after she discovers the dead body of the Science Mistress in the gym.

Five minutes later, when Hazel returns with Daisy, the body has disappeared. The school Headmistress simply announces that Miss Bell has left her position, which means our amateur detectives not only have to solve a murder, but prove that it happened in the first place.

Despite Daisy's overactive imagination, the two manage to proceed by writing out a list of suspects and working to eliminate each one. Hazel is the Watson to Daisy's Holmes, but like her literary counterpart, often feels overwhelmed by her partner's tenacity. Still, the two make a great team, each filling in for the other's weaknesses and oversights.

Hazel's narrative is one of the most engaging fictional voices I've read in a long time – we've all been a little "smothered" by a vivacious friend at one point or another, and this mystery is just as much about Hazel finding her own inner voice as it is solving the crime. She and Daisy aren't straightforward "besties", for as Hazel's recorded memories attest, there is complexity and a degree of tension to the friendship that gets worked through as the chapters progress.

So Robin Stevens hasn't just written a mystery, but a rather touching story about a young girl trying to figure out her identity in a foreign land, as well as in relation to a louder, more confident friend. And by the looks of things, there are plenty more Hazel-and-Daisy mysteries to come!

This book was so much fun! The characters are delightful and the mystery was intriguing. This is a middle grade, cozy mystery taking place in 1934 at the Deepdean boarding school. Daisy and Hazel are our delightful young detectives. Daisy becomes obsessed with murder mysteries after reading some books by some of our favorite authors from the period. She decides to form a detective society with her friend, Hazel. I love Daisy and Hazel's voices. They come across as precosious kids with lots of energy. Daisy is quite incorrigible and Hazel, while a little less enthusiastic, is right in the middle of the mystery after discovering the body of one of their teachers. She rushs off for help, only to find the body gone when they arrive back on the scene five minutes later. I felt like I was tagging along with them as they scoured the school looking for clues. The whole book was just so much fun and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Note: I see references in other reviews to the American edition containing many changes in language. I read the UK edition and it was wonderful!

Kid is Happy, I am good