Title: Premeditated Myrtle
Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce
Genre: historical fiction/mystery
Similar books: The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn
The Lost Twin by Sophie Cleverly
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet village of Swinburne, England.
When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and find the killer, even if nobody else believes her — not even her father, the town prosecutor.
My opinion: My first reaction to this book is to judge it harshly because of it's pun-based title. Too many mysteries rely on a pun. Knowing that I had that bias, it is noteworthy how much I enjoyed reading this book. Myrtle is a compelling protagonist. Flawed but well meaning. She jumps to a few conclusions but largely relies on facts and logic. She doesn't let others refusal to listen hold her back. She follows clues to their inevitable conclusion. And she's not the only complex character. Even the tertiary characters have a reasonable amount of complexity and development. The historical setting may be a barrier for some readers, but it's worth working through that. It's a mystery that mostly takes itself seriously but has it's share of light-hearted moments as well, little sparks of humor to keep it from becoming too dark. A solid read for budding detectives and historians alike.
More information: Both Premeditated Myrtle and it's sequel, How to Get Away with Myrtle, release today.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Curious as to whether or not you are a Christie fan. The was a lot of fun. Robin Stevens' Wells and Wong mysteries do well with my students, so I'm hoping they like these.
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