Murder is bad manners

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Stevens, Robin, 1988-

Edition:

First US edition.

Physical Description:

307 pages ; 22 cm.

Series:

A Wells & Wong mystery

General Note:

Originally published in the United Kingdom by Corgi in 2014 under title: Murder most unladylike.

Summary:

At an English boarding school in the 1930s, crime-solving friends Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells struggle to find an exciting mystery to investigate until Hazel discovers the dead body of Miss Bell, the science teacher.

Subject Term:

Murder -- Juvenile fiction

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction

Boarding schools -- Juvenile fiction

Schools -- Juvenile fiction

Chinese -- England -- Juvenile fiction.

Detective and mystery stories -- Juvenile fiction

Audience/Lexile:

910 L

Publication Information:

New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015.

Uniform Title:

Murder most unladylike

Subject:

Murder -- Juvenile fiction

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction

Boarding schools -- Juvenile fiction

Schools -- Juvenile fiction

Chinese -- England -- Juvenile fiction.

Detective and mystery stories -- Juvenile fiction

SAILS ISBN:

9781481422123

9781481422130

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Ahern MS Media Center Foxboro	FIC STE	Stacks	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Attleboro Public Library	MR STEVENS,R	MIDDLE READER	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Dartmouth - Southworth	J MYS STE	CHILDREN MYSTERY	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Lakeville Public Library	Y FIC STE	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	J FIC STEVENS	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library	J STE WELLS & WONG #1	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Middleborough Public Library	JF STE WELLS & WONG #1	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norfolk Public Library	JF STEV	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norton Public Library	J STE	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Pembroke Public Library	J FIC STEVENS, R.	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	JFIC STEVENS	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Two friends form a detective agency--and must solve their first murder case--in this "sharp-witted debut" ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) that is the first adventure in a brand-new middle grade mystery series set at a 1930s boarding school.

Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are best friends at Deepdean School for Girls, and they both have a penchant for solving mysteries. In fact, outspoken Daisy is a self-described Sherlock Holmes, and she appoints wallflower Hazel as her own personal Watson when they form their own (secret!) detective agency. The only problem? They have nothing to investigate.

But that changes once Hazel discovers the body of their science teacher, Miss Bell--and the body subsequently disappears. She and Daisy are certain a murder must have taken place, and they can think of more than one person with a motive.

Determined to get to the bottom of the crime--and to prove that it happened--before the killer strikes again, 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?

Previously published as Murder Most Unladylike in the UK.

Reviews (5)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Eighth-grader Hazel Wong lives in the shadow of her best friend Daisy Wells, a girl so flawless that even retching seems to agree with her. Inspired by pulp fiction paperbacks, the girls form a secret detective agency at their boarding school, opening their first big case when their teacher, Miss Bell, turns up dead. Set in 1934 England, this first book in the Wells & Wong Mystery series is part murder mystery, part diary, and a pitch-perfect snapshot of adolescent friendship. Daisy is the classic mean girl: privileged, selfish, and as beautiful as she is heartless-all qualities that Hazel lacks. (Narrator Hazel isn't even the heroine of her own story!) The girls are in over their heads, but Daisy, used to bending everyone to her whims, refuses to admit it, so it's up to pragmatic Hazel to save the case, and their lives. Their yin-yang friendship, like the camaraderie of Sherlock and Watson, is as integral to the story as the revelation of the murderer. A sharp-witted debut for Stevens, one that will leave readers eagerly awaiting subsequent installments. Ages 10-up. Agent: Gemma Cooper, Bent Agency. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

Pals Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are desperate for a mystery to solve, but when Hazel finds the dead body of teacher Miss Bell, she's absolutely gobsmacked. The details of the girls' friendship and the 1930s English boarding school setting are just swell, and readers who fancy mysteries will have masses of fun with this ace murder story. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Here's a mystery import, set in the 1930s, that does justice to its British roots. Hazel Wong has come from Hong Kong to attend Deepdean boarding school. An outcast until she is accepted by upper-crust Daisy Wells, Hazel is happy to be half of a two-girl detective agency. The crimes they solve are silly until Hazel discovers the body of their dead science teacher in the gym. By the time she gets Daisy, the body is gone. The situation grows more complicated as the girls dash around Deepdean, learning secrets about teachers (including a hint of a same-sex relationship), picking up clues, and getting in all sorts of mischief (such as drinking ipecac to make themselves ill). Then another murder occurs. This is a delightfully designed book, from the throwback cover to the school map inside. Hazel makes a good narrator, and while the mystery plods a bit and has too many teachers though a cast list helps not every reader will guess the ending. Nancy Drew, meet Wells and Wong.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2015 Booklist

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-7-A cozy murder mystery with manifest charms, this series opener introduces a pair of boarding school sleuths covertly detecting a death no one else realizes has occurred. Narrator Hazel Wong, a sturdy Hong Kong transplant, and charismatic English Rose Daisy Wells forge a friendship based on their mutual deception of their classmates, concealing their abundant intelligence during lessons and instead deploying it in the service of the Wells & Wong Detective Society. Thought Hazel adopts the lingo of the native students, her pleasant, frank narration displays her outsider status, a perspective that helps guide readers through the logistical and social nuances of their 1930s British countryside school. The mystery proves a twisty but conventional story replete with concealed relationships, professional jealousy, and genre-bound clues. Fresher and more compelling is the tension between the two detectives. Even as the friends remain bonded in cleverness, Hazel develops a conscientious concern for students and staff along with anxiety at tracking a murderer; her caution sparks conflict with Daisy's gleeful curiosity and unperturbable confidence. A recent spate of boarding school settings means this novel shares some DNA with several 2014 offerings, especially Julie Berry's puzzler, The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place (Roaring Brook), a spiky story that flaunts its affectations. But Stevens's engaging tale shines with the reflected charms of its detecting duo, a winsome combination of thoughtfulness and relish.-Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A pair of eighth-grade girls, admirers of Holmes and Watson, expose a real murderer in a tony English boarding school in 1934. This splendid school story/murder mystery opens with a map and a helpful cast of characters: the staff and students of Deepdean School, where Hazel Wong, daughter of an Anglophile Hong Kong banker, and Daisy Wells, golden-haired member of the English nobility, have formed the Wells Wong Detective Society. From Part One, "The Discovery of the Body," to Part Eight, "The Detective Society Solves the Case," Hazel, as the society's secretary, worriedly but methodically recounts the case. Her account begins on Oct. 30, 1934, one day after finding Miss Bell's dead body, runs through the end of November, when the murderer is arrested, and wraps up during their Christmas holiday. Her narrative is punctuated with occasional handwritten updates of their suspect list. Hazel's outsider status allows her to comment humorously on the curious customs of the English world, while cheerful Daisy's need to know and her privileged assumption that everyone will love her and do her bidding earns them access to places and information that help them solve their first serious case. There are clues, red herrings and suspenseful chases galore, as well as heaps of boarding school trivia that amuse and delight. An irresistible English import with sequels to come. (Mystery. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpts

Murder Is Bad Manners 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. The last one was finished after we solved The Case of Lavinia's Missing Tie. The solution to that, of course, was that Clementine stole it in revenge for Lavinia punching her in the stomach during lacrosse, which was Lavinia's revenge for Clementine telling everyone Lavinia came from a broken home. I suspect the solution to this new case may be more complex. I suppose I ought to give some explanation of ourselves, in honor of the new casebook. Daisy Wells is the president of the Detective Society, and I, Hazel Wong, am its secretary. Daisy says that this makes her Sherlock Holmes, and me Watson. This is probably fair. After all, I am much too short to be the heroine of this story, and who ever heard of a Chinese Sherlock Holmes? That's why it's so funny that it was me who found Miss Bell's dead body. In fact, I think Daisy is still upset about it, though of course she pretends not to be. You see, Daisy is a heroine-like kind of person, and so it should be her that these things happen to. Look at Daisy and you think you know exactly the sort of person she is--one of those dainty, absolutely English girls with blue eyes and golden hair; the kind who'll gallop across muddy fields in the rain clutching a hockey stick and then sit down and eat ten cinnamon rolls at tea. I, on the other hand, bulge all over like Bibendum the Michelin Man; my cheeks are moony-round and my hair and eyes are stubbornly dark brown. I arrived from Hong Kong partway through seventh grade, and even then, when we were all still shrimps (shrimps, for this new casebook, is what we call the little sixth- and seventh-grade girls), Daisy was already famous throughout Deepdean School. She rode horses, was part of the lacrosse team, and was a member of the Drama Club. The Big Girls, which is what we call the girls in the top grades, took notice of her, and by May the entire school knew that the head girl herself--Deepdean's most important Big Girl--had called Daisy a "good sport." But that is only the outside of Daisy, the jolly-good-show part that everyone sees. The inside of her is not jolly-good-show at all. It took me quite a while to discover that. Excerpted from Murder Is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.