All About Middle Grade Review: Murder is Bad Manners

Murder is Bad Manners (Wells and Wong, 1) by Robin Stevens, April 21, 2015. 320 pages. Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. Source: borrowed from library.

Deepdean School for Girls, 1934. When Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong set up their very own deadly secret detective agency, they struggle to find any truly exciting mysteries to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't, really.)

But then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. She thinks it must all have been a terrible accident - but when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now the girls know a murder must have taken place . . . and there's more than one person at Deepdean with a motive.

Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove a murder happened in the first place. Determined to get to the bottom of the crime before the killer strikes again (and before the police can get there first, naturally), Hazel and Daisy must hunt for evidence, spy on their suspects and use all the cunning, scheming and intuition they can muster. But will they succeed? And can their friendship stand the test? 

First Sentence:

This is the first murder that the Wells & Wong Detective Society has ever investigated, so it is a good thing Daisy bought me a new casebook.

While Murder is Bad Manners is listed as middle grade, I think it is more upper middle grade to young adult. Even so, I thought it was quite the fun read and the mystery, well, it was pretty intriguing and impossible to walkaway from!! Definitely one of the best mystery books I've read this year-middle grade or young adult!!

I feel bad that it has taken me so long to sit down and write out my thoughts for Murder is Bad Manners because it was such a great read. Alas, I have been busy and reviewing library finds sort of took a backseat priority since I read it. Even though it has been a couple months since I read this one, I can still remember how much I enjoyed it and why I felt the need to share my thoughts on it here on the blog.

One of the reasons I found myself drawn into the mystery contained within Murder is Bad Manners is that I loved reading about Hazel, and then somewhat Daisy, as they set out to solve the mystery of the murder of one of their teachers...and to prove that she in fact was murdered. Intriguing, no? I really enjoyed how there was a mystery within a mystery within a mystery in the first Wells & Wong adventure. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading this book!! Seriously though, it was probably the most fun I've had with a mystery book in way too long.

Since I would hate to spoil the mystery aspect of Murder is Bad Manners I'll be focusing on the rest of the book from here on out. When it comes to Hazel and Daisy, my favorite was Hazel. There was just something about her that made her a great character to read about. Now Daisy, well I found her to be somewhat obnoxious and rather stuck up. I guess you could say that out of the pair, Hazel totally wins out because she's awesome!!

With Murder is Bad Manners being my first taste of Robin Stevens' writing, I had no idea what to expect. Would it be thrilling or would the story drag along, so, while I was excited to start a new to me author I couldn't wait to dive into the oh-so promising story that caught my attention at the library. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by how well crafted the mystery, setting, and the characters were. I loved that the book was set in a boarding school in the 1930's because it gave it such a cool vibe. This was just an all-around great read!!

Final Verdict: Murder is Bad Manners- Murder and mysteries abound at this English boarding school set in the 1930's. Otherwise known as a sure winner in my book.

Murder is Bad Manners earns

This book was borrowed from the library because it looked interesting. All thoughts are my own.