How to Get Away with Myrtle

by Elizabeth C. Bunce Narrated by Bethan Rose Young

Overview

An Edgar Award-Winning Series
Before the train has left the station, Victorian England's most accomplished new detective already is on a suspect's trail, and readers will be delighted to travel along.
Myrtle Hardcastle has no desire to go on a relaxing travel excursion with her aunt Helena when there are More Important things to be done at home, like keeping close tabs on criminals and murder trials. Unfortunately, she has no say in the matter.
So off Myrtle goes-with her governess, Miss Judson, and cat, Peony, in tow-on a fabulous private railway coach headed for the English seaside.
Myrtle is thrilled to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Bloom, a professional insurance investigator aboard to protect the priceless Northern Lights tiara. But before the train reaches its destination, both the tiara and Mrs. Bloom vanish.
When Myrtle arrives, she and Peony discover a dead body in the baggage car.
Someone has been murdered-with Aunt Helena's sewing shears.
The trip is derailed, the local police are inept, and Scotland Yard is in no rush toarrive. What's a smart, bored Young Lady of Quality stranded in a washed-up carnival town to do but follow the evidence to find out which of her fellow travelers is a thief and a murderer?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Each new revelation builds upon the prior discovery until the tense, wonderfully eerie climax on a ramshackle amusement pier. The sleuthing is heartwarming and funny, featuring strong women and girls, packed with characters who genuinely care about each other. A delightful heroine and an exciting mystery."
—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Premeditated Myrtle:

"A joyful thing to behold. Set in Victorian England, this mystery gleefully overturns sexist norms and celebrates independent women of intellect, with Myrtle Hardcastle leading the charge."
 —Booklist, starred review

"Bunce crafts a truly captivating murder mystery, throwing in a delicious mix of twists, red herrings, and relatives excluded from the family fortune. Myrtle is an entertaining protagonist, not afraid to get her hands dirty, sneak into mansions after dark to find a clue, or call out sexism of men toward her scientific interests or the racism toward her governess. The book will make readers yearn for more of Myrtle's (mis)adventures."
 —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A saucy, likable heroine shines in a mystery marked by clever, unexpected twists."
 —Kirkus Reviews

"[A] clever and lively Victorian English village murder mystery... Bunce does an excellent job of making Myrtle the lead actor but gives her a strong set of (mostly female) supporters."
 —The Horn Book

"In the tradition of heroines like Flavia de Luce and Harriet the Spy, Myrtle is a fine example of the Victorian scientific female-smart, inquisitive and fearless. Written with a terrific mixture of humor and suspense, Premeditated Myrtle is a perfect read for any budding detective."
 —Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of the Her Royal Spyness series

Kirkus Reviews

2020-08-18
Morbid Myrtle, plucky aspiring investigator, must solve a dastardly railroad murder in late Victorian England.

Poor Myrtle. Father thinks she should have a holiday, because a 12-year-old girl needs some time away from solving murders. Horrors! He’s sending her off for “Family Amusements” at the seaside with Aunt Helena. Myrtle’s governess, Miss Judson, usually supportive of Myrtle’s unconventional interests, is a willing collaborator in the effort to keep Myrtle away from crime. When their train to the seaside is robbed, Myrtle is thrilled by the mentoring of a wonderful lady investigator. But the investigator herself is murdered, leaving Myrtle to find both the murderer and the jewel thief without assistance. In the forbidding, unwelcoming coastal town, Myrtle uncovers myriad disquieting mysteries. Each new revelation builds upon the prior discovery until the tense, wonderfully eerie climax on a ramshackle amusement pier. The sleuthing is heartwarming and funny, featuring strong women and girls, packed with characters who genuinely care about each other. Myrtle’s story would be an undiluted treat, if only there weren’t plot points hinging upon insidious stereotypes about how disabled people’s bodies function and others’ right to know details about their abilities. Myrtle and most characters are White; Miss Judson is a Black woman from French Guiana; and a local teen photographer who befriends Myrtle is brown-skinned.

A delightful heroine and an exciting mystery mostly manage to outshine tired, harmful disability tropes. (historical note) (Historical mystery. 10-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173023940
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	10/13/2020
Series:	Myrtle Hardcastle , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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