7 superb whodunnits for children, chosen by PG Bell
Published on: 13 September 2024
The Beanstalk Murder author PG Bell recommends some favourite sleuthing stories.
It’s been a decade since Robin Stevens blew the doors off children’s crime fiction with her Agatha Christie meets Malory Towers debut, Murder Most Unladylike. It’s been a deserved hit ever since, and it’s opened the field for a slew of other voices and stories– I certainly don’t think I would have been able to publish a book like The Beanstalk Murder without the hard work of those who’ve gone before me. Today, the genre of children’s whodunnits is a thriving and diverse one, and I’ve selected a few personal highlights.
Death in the Spotlight by Robin Stevens
No list of children’s murder mysteries would be complete without an entry by the queen of the genre. The eighth in her Murder Most Unladylike series, this book plunges schoolgirl detectives Hazel and Daisy into the glamour of London’s West End, where an egotistical actress has met her demise during a production of Romeo & Juliet. Stevens conjures a hugely evocative setting in the form of the Rue Theatre, and populates it with an engaging cast of cranks, malcontents and downright wrong ’uns. But as always, it’s the chemistry between Hazel and Daisy that drives the whole thing.
When their neighbour Hugo is found dead at the bottom of a waste chute, sisters Nik and Norva set about unmasking the killer. Their south London high rise is packed with suspects, chief among them their own father, and the girls must outperform the overstretched and under-resourced police force if they’re to prove his innocence. This book fizzes with a strong voice right from the first page.
Parr’s bittersweet debut is a cold case mystery. Evacuated to the Welsh Valleys from the London blitz, Jimmy and his younger brother Ronnie must not only get to grips with a very different culture, but the discovery of a human skull in the roots of an old tree. Their investigation uncovers long-buried secrets and hidden hurts that threaten to upend the new life they’re trying to build for themselves. A sublime read.
A collection of short whodunnits by an impressively diverse range of children’s authors, including Dominque Valente (the Starfell series), Maisie Chan (Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths) and Elle McNicoll (A Kind of Spark). All the stories have a wintery theme and, like a box of Christmas chocolates, the collection is a pleasure to dip in and out of.
Libby and the Parisian Puzzle by Jo Clarke
Not all whodunnits have to involve murder, as this opening title in the Travelling School Mysteries series proves. Libby has barely joined her Aunt Agatha’s travelling school for a semester in Paris, before Agatha is arrested as a jewel thief. It’s up to Libby to save both Agatha and the school. This is a vivacious introduction to the mystery genre for younger readers, and not a bad introduction to the sights and sounds of Paris either.
The Crystal Prison by Robin Jarvis
The Deptford Mice books were a formative experience for me as a young reader, and The Crystal Prison most of all. The second in the original trilogy (newly republished this year), the mice leave London for the tranquillity of the English countryside. But a supernatural killer stalks the moonlit fields, and the bodies quickly pile up. Steeped in richly atmospheric folk horror, the story typifies Jarvis’s lack of sentimentality when it comes to offing his characters.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
We shouldn’t overlook the granddaddy of fictional detectives. Yes, the stories are old, but they still have the power to captivate, and Penguin’s new Clothbound Classics edition gathers several of the most famous cases in a smart new package, including A Scandal in Bohemia and The Final Problem. I discovered Holmes when I was a boy and still remember being shocked by his plunge from the Reichenbach Falls. This is a great stepping on point for new fans.
The Beanstalk Murder by PG Bell is out now.
