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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Twelve dastardly crimes have been committed.
They seem impossible …
But can you solve them?
The twelve stories in this collection contain murder, mayhem, poison and plot, dognapping, safe-breaking, sabotage and biscuits.
Only the intrepid young detectives – and the reader – can crack the cases and save the day. Are you up for the Crime Club’s challenge?
Introduced and edited by Katherine Woodfine, this anthology of 12 crime fiction stories for readers aged 9+ is a perfect introduction to the genre. Woodfine has divided the anthology into four sections – Impossible Mysteries (essentially locked room mysteries), Canine Capers (crimes where dogs help or feature in the mystery), Poison Plots (self-explanatory) and Closed-System Crimes (crimes where only a limited number of people could have committed it) and the stories are as follows:
IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES
EMILY AND THE DETECTIVES by Susie Day is a charming and amusing story about Emily Black, a smart and logical girl with a gift for solving crimes who helps her father and his odious patron, Lord Copperbole solve crimes in Victorian England only to see them take the credit for her deductions. I liked the diversity here (Emily is bi-racial and her father from India) and the murder mystery is intriguing while making good use of real Victorian period details.
RAIN ON MY PARADE by Elen Caldecott features Minnie, Flora and Sylvie from her MARSH ROAD MYSTERIES SERIES revolves around Carnival and the dastardly destruction of a designer’s costume. It’s a cute story but I found the villain a bit too easy to guess and the ending a little pat.
THE MYSTERY OF THE GREEN ROOM by Clementine Beauvais sees Marcel and his family (including aunts, uncles and cousins gather at his great uncle Lucian’s house in Brittany, France for the reading of Lucian’s will. When Lucian’s estranged brother, Bill, is found murdered in his locked bedroom, Marcel and his cousin Joseph must solve the mystery. This is an ingenious story and I really enjoyed the characterisation – especially Marcel’s feelings of distance from his older cousin.
CANINE CAPERS
THE MYSTERY OF DIABLO CANYON CIRCLE by Caroline Lawrence is a nicely constructed tail (ha ha) that sees young Darcy try to work out who dognapped Shane the dog. There’s a bittersweet quality to the story and more darkness than I expected (not bad, but it was surprising) and I enjoyed how Lawrence humanises the villain.
MEL FOSTER AND THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Julia Golding features Mel and Eve, the investigators from her MEL FOSTER SERIES who belomg to the Monster Resistance and also happen to be monsters. Here the duo accept a referral from Sherlock Holmes, who sends Sir Henry Baskerville to them after he finds himself terrorised by another fearful hound (even though Holmes solved the initial crime and killed the supposed hound). I really enjoyed how Golding used the classic mystery to weave this new tale and the relationship between Mel and Eve worked well enough for me to be interested in the series.
DAZZLE, DOG BISCUITS AND DISASTER by Kate Pankhurst is another doggy disappearance case, but this one sees Sid Taylor accused of losing Dazzle, bichon fries who belongs to the McCarthys – a well to do family who could destroy Sid’s mum’s dog walking business. Although the villain was easy to guess I did enjoy Sid’s friendship with Fliss.
POISON PLOTS
GOD’S EYE by Frances Hardinge is a beautifully written tale about two feuding artists in Victorian London featuring balloons, dastardly doings, a fiendishly devious murder and a hapless boy who works for (and is mistreated by) the victim. This was one of my favourite stories in the anthology.
THE MYSTERY OF THE PINEAPPLE PLOT by Helen Moss is another historical short story set in 1761 and follows Quality Fruit, a young black boy who stowed away on a ship carrying pineapples from Jamaica and now works as a servant for the Catchpole family. Quality must join forces with young Catherine Catchpole to see who sabotaged Lord Catchpole’s giant pineapple. It’s a well-paced story with a neat ending.
THE MURDER OF MONSIEUR PIERRE by Harriet Whitehorn is another Georgian era story following Angelica, the apprentice to Monsieur Pierre, the most famous hairdresser and beautician in London, who finds her master murdered. She joins forces with Nathaniel White of the Bow Street Runners in an investigation that takes her to the aristocracy and its dark secrets. I really enjoyed this story and the premise is one with potential for expansion – I would definitely read a wider series if Whitehorn goes down that route.
CLOSED-SYSTEM CRIMES
SAFE-KEEPING by Sally Nichols is set post World War I and sees Stanley and the other office boys at a solicitors firm try to clear Mr Conrad (who was left with facial injuries and a tamer) who stands accused of stealing a necklace from a locked safe that only he and his legal partner Mr Mathieson had the combination for. It was great to read a story set in a period that’s not generally covered in children’s fiction and I liked the camaraderie between the boys, even if the villain was easy to guess.
THE MYSTERY OF THE PURLOINED PEARLS by Katherine Woodfine involves Lil from THE MYSTERY OF THE CLOCKWORK SPARROW and THE MYSTERY OF THE JEWELLED MOTH who must find out who stole a pearl necklace from Kitty Shaw, the star of a show that Lil is working in. It’s a well plotted mystery with a satisfying conclusion and I will definitely check out the other books on the strength of it.
THE MYSTERY OF ROOM 12 by Robin Stevens sees young James left alone to run reception of the bed and breakfast owned by his dad one evening when Stella Smith checks in, paying cash. James gives her a room but the next day the room is empty – left un-slept in – and no one else recalls seeing her and there’s no evidence she was ever there. The outcome will be familiar to Agatha Christie fans but it was still interesting to read.
The Verdict:
Introduced and edited by Katherine Woodfine, this anthology of 12 crime fiction stories for readers aged 9+ is a perfect introduction to the genre. Woodfine has divided the anthology into four sections – Impossible Mysteries (essentially locked room mysteries), Canine Capers (crimes where dogs help or feature in the mystery), Poison Plots (self-explanatory) and Closed-System Crimes (crimes where only a limited number of people could have committed it)
MYSTERY AND MAYHEM was released in the United Kingdom on 5th May 2016. Thanks to Amazon Vine for the review copy of this book.
They seem impossible …
But can you solve them?
The twelve stories in this collection contain murder, mayhem, poison and plot, dognapping, safe-breaking, sabotage and biscuits.
Only the intrepid young detectives – and the reader – can crack the cases and save the day. Are you up for the Crime Club’s challenge?
Introduced and edited by Katherine Woodfine, this anthology of 12 crime fiction stories for readers aged 9+ is a perfect introduction to the genre. Woodfine has divided the anthology into four sections – Impossible Mysteries (essentially locked room mysteries), Canine Capers (crimes where dogs help or feature in the mystery), Poison Plots (self-explanatory) and Closed-System Crimes (crimes where only a limited number of people could have committed it) and the stories are as follows:
IMPOSSIBLE MYSTERIES
EMILY AND THE DETECTIVES by Susie Day is a charming and amusing story about Emily Black, a smart and logical girl with a gift for solving crimes who helps her father and his odious patron, Lord Copperbole solve crimes in Victorian England only to see them take the credit for her deductions. I liked the diversity here (Emily is bi-racial and her father from India) and the murder mystery is intriguing while making good use of real Victorian period details.
RAIN ON MY PARADE by Elen Caldecott features Minnie, Flora and Sylvie from her MARSH ROAD MYSTERIES SERIES revolves around Carnival and the dastardly destruction of a designer’s costume. It’s a cute story but I found the villain a bit too easy to guess and the ending a little pat.
THE MYSTERY OF THE GREEN ROOM by Clementine Beauvais sees Marcel and his family (including aunts, uncles and cousins gather at his great uncle Lucian’s house in Brittany, France for the reading of Lucian’s will. When Lucian’s estranged brother, Bill, is found murdered in his locked bedroom, Marcel and his cousin Joseph must solve the mystery. This is an ingenious story and I really enjoyed the characterisation – especially Marcel’s feelings of distance from his older cousin.
CANINE CAPERS
THE MYSTERY OF DIABLO CANYON CIRCLE by Caroline Lawrence is a nicely constructed tail (ha ha) that sees young Darcy try to work out who dognapped Shane the dog. There’s a bittersweet quality to the story and more darkness than I expected (not bad, but it was surprising) and I enjoyed how Lawrence humanises the villain.
MEL FOSTER AND THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES by Julia Golding features Mel and Eve, the investigators from her MEL FOSTER SERIES who belomg to the Monster Resistance and also happen to be monsters. Here the duo accept a referral from Sherlock Holmes, who sends Sir Henry Baskerville to them after he finds himself terrorised by another fearful hound (even though Holmes solved the initial crime and killed the supposed hound). I really enjoyed how Golding used the classic mystery to weave this new tale and the relationship between Mel and Eve worked well enough for me to be interested in the series.
DAZZLE, DOG BISCUITS AND DISASTER by Kate Pankhurst is another doggy disappearance case, but this one sees Sid Taylor accused of losing Dazzle, bichon fries who belongs to the McCarthys – a well to do family who could destroy Sid’s mum’s dog walking business. Although the villain was easy to guess I did enjoy Sid’s friendship with Fliss.
POISON PLOTS
GOD’S EYE by Frances Hardinge is a beautifully written tale about two feuding artists in Victorian London featuring balloons, dastardly doings, a fiendishly devious murder and a hapless boy who works for (and is mistreated by) the victim. This was one of my favourite stories in the anthology.
THE MYSTERY OF THE PINEAPPLE PLOT by Helen Moss is another historical short story set in 1761 and follows Quality Fruit, a young black boy who stowed away on a ship carrying pineapples from Jamaica and now works as a servant for the Catchpole family. Quality must join forces with young Catherine Catchpole to see who sabotaged Lord Catchpole’s giant pineapple. It’s a well-paced story with a neat ending.
THE MURDER OF MONSIEUR PIERRE by Harriet Whitehorn is another Georgian era story following Angelica, the apprentice to Monsieur Pierre, the most famous hairdresser and beautician in London, who finds her master murdered. She joins forces with Nathaniel White of the Bow Street Runners in an investigation that takes her to the aristocracy and its dark secrets. I really enjoyed this story and the premise is one with potential for expansion – I would definitely read a wider series if Whitehorn goes down that route.
CLOSED-SYSTEM CRIMES
SAFE-KEEPING by Sally Nichols is set post World War I and sees Stanley and the other office boys at a solicitors firm try to clear Mr Conrad (who was left with facial injuries and a tamer) who stands accused of stealing a necklace from a locked safe that only he and his legal partner Mr Mathieson had the combination for. It was great to read a story set in a period that’s not generally covered in children’s fiction and I liked the camaraderie between the boys, even if the villain was easy to guess.
THE MYSTERY OF THE PURLOINED PEARLS by Katherine Woodfine involves Lil from THE MYSTERY OF THE CLOCKWORK SPARROW and THE MYSTERY OF THE JEWELLED MOTH who must find out who stole a pearl necklace from Kitty Shaw, the star of a show that Lil is working in. It’s a well plotted mystery with a satisfying conclusion and I will definitely check out the other books on the strength of it.
THE MYSTERY OF ROOM 12 by Robin Stevens sees young James left alone to run reception of the bed and breakfast owned by his dad one evening when Stella Smith checks in, paying cash. James gives her a room but the next day the room is empty – left un-slept in – and no one else recalls seeing her and there’s no evidence she was ever there. The outcome will be familiar to Agatha Christie fans but it was still interesting to read.
The Verdict:
Introduced and edited by Katherine Woodfine, this anthology of 12 crime fiction stories for readers aged 9+ is a perfect introduction to the genre. Woodfine has divided the anthology into four sections – Impossible Mysteries (essentially locked room mysteries), Canine Capers (crimes where dogs help or feature in the mystery), Poison Plots (self-explanatory) and Closed-System Crimes (crimes where only a limited number of people could have committed it)
MYSTERY AND MAYHEM was released in the United Kingdom on 5th May 2016. Thanks to Amazon Vine for the review copy of this book.
