Top Marks for Murder

Name: William Joseph
Price range: $

by Robin Stevens

Interest age: 10 to 13
Reading age: 10+

Published by Puffin, 2019

About this book

At Deepdean boarding school for girls, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are anticipating a rather tedious end to the summer term. But all that changes when their friend and fellow teen detective, Beanie, witnesses a shocking incident from the window of their dormitory.

As Daisy and her cronies slip in to full-on investigation mode, the body count rises steadily but evidence seems thin on the ground.

Will the restrictive school regimen prevent the girls from maintaining their superb record of crime-solving or will their insider knowledge be the thing that gives them the edge over conventional detectives?

This teen murder-mystery, set in an exclusive girls’ school in 1936 is reminiscent of Enid Blyton’s boarding school novels, but with a hefty dose of Agatha Christie’s gruesome, puzzling plotlines.

In a world where curtseying, deportment and etiquette are the backbone of the curriculum, and tea is still served by uniformed maids, this is a glorious slice of fantastical escapism.

About the author

Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in an Oxford college. She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies' College, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she'd get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn't).

She studied crime fiction at university, and then worked in children's publishing. She is now a full-time writer and the creater of the bestselling, award-winning Murder Most Unladylike series. Murder Most Unladylike was the bestselling middle-grade debut of 2014, winning the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Younger Fiction and sparking a trend for middle-grade mysteries. Robin lives in London with her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

What to read next

We know that children can get hooked on a favourite book series or author and struggle to find something they love as much, but we’re here to help.

Murder Most Unladylike: what to read next

Robin Stevens’ compelling series has proven a huge hit for mystery fans. The adventures of aspiring detectives Daisy and Hazel combine nostalgic, boarding school sentiment with contemporary dialogue and humour – achieving child centred stories with all the plot twists and clue hunting you would expect from an Agatha Christie-style whodunnit.