Murder Is Bad Manners (A Murder Most Unladylike #1)

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

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.)