Murder Most Unladylike Readalikes by

The Good Turn by Sharna Jackson

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:08 UTC

Josephine Williams is a future-focused, internet-loving eleven-year-old who is desperate to explore the world beyond her cul-de-sac - and her browser. When she learns about Josephine Holloway - a woman who started the first Girl Scout Troop for Black girls in America - she's certain she must start her own. Enlisting her friends Margot Anderson and Wesley Evans, the trio begin their quest for their Camping Badge. Drawn to an abandoned factory nearby, they stumble across something strange. A square, ancient television and two tatty armchairs. Beside it, a wooden sideboard with an old photograph of a young, happy couple. What is this? Who, or what, lives here - and why?

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:11 UTC

Meet Flavia: Mystery Solver. Master Poisoner. 11 Years Old.

England 1950: very-nearly-eleven-year-old Flavia is plotting revenge on her older sisters. Then a dead bird is left on the doorstep, which has an extraordinary effect on Flavia's eccentric father, and a body is found in the garden. As the police descend on Buckshaw, Flavia decides to do some investigating of her own.

Smart by Kim Slater

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:14 UTC

There's been a murder, but the police don't care. It was only a homeless old man after all. Kieran cares. He's made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you're going to do it, for real. He's going to find out what really happened. To Colin. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. It's a good job Kieran's a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade. But being a detective is difficult when you're Kieran Woods. When you're amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof. [Reading Wheel]

The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:19 UTC

Sally Jones is not only a loyal friend, she's an extraordinary individual. In overalls or in a maharaja's turban, this unique gorilla moves among humans without speaking but understanding everything. She and the Chief are devoted comrades who operate a cargo boat. A job they are offered pays big bucks, but the deal ends badly, and the Chief is falsely convicted of murder. For Sally Jones this is the start of a harrowing quest for survival and to clear the Chief's name. Powerful forces are working against her, and they will do anything to protect their secrets.

Murder Most Unladylike by Robin Stevens

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:28 UTC

At Deepdean School for Girls, Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have set up their own detective agency. But they are struggling to find any real crimes to investigate. (Unless you count the case of Lavinia's missing tie. Which they don't.) Then Hazel discovers the Science Mistress, Miss Bell, lying dead in the Gym. To add to the mystery, when she and Daisy return five minutes later, the body has disappeared. Now Hazel and Daisy not only have a murder to solve: they have to prove one happened in the first place.

The Clockwork Sparrow by Katharine Woodfine

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:45 UTC

You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening of Sinclair's department store! Enter a world of bonbons, hats, perfumes and mysteries around every corner. Wonder at the daring theft of the priceless clockwork sparrow! Tremble as the most dastardly criminals in London enact their wicked plans! Gasp as our bold heroines, Miss Sophie Taylor and Miss Lilian Rose, crack codes, devour iced buns, and vow to bring the villains to justice...

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:52 UTC

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer - in case he or she decides to strike again.

Murder in Midwinter by Fleur Hitchcock

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:24:55 UTC

Sitting on the top deck of a bus days before Christmas, Maya sees a couple arguing violently in the middle of a crowded Regent Street. They see her watching, she looks away, and the woman disappears. Maya goes to the police, who shrug and send her away. Then a body turns up... Now convinced she is a vital witness to a crime, the police send Maya into hiding in rural Wales. She resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery. Then the snow comes and no one can get out. But what if someone can still get in?

High Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:25:00 UTC

Summer in London is hot, the hottest on record, and there's been a murder in THE TRI: the high-rise home to resident know-it-alls, Nik and Norva. Who better to solve the case?

Armed with curiosity, home-turf knowledge and unlimited time - until the end of the summer holidays anyway. [Reading Wheel + We also have the sequels!]

Waiting for Murder by Fleur Hitchcock

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:25:03 UTC

It's a long, hot summer. As the water drains away from the reservoir, a car emerges. And there seems to be a body in it, a body that then disappears... Daniel and Florence start to investigate and uncover a long-ago robbery, missing gold and murder. When the drought breaks, everything is swept downstream and the truth is revealed...

The Ministry of Unladylike Activity by Robin Stevens

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:27:09 UTC

1940. The world is at war, and a secret arm of the British government called the Ministry of Unladylike Activity is training up spies. Enter May Wong: courageous, stubborn, and desperate to help end the war so that she can go home to Hong Kong (and leave her annoying school, Deepdean, behind forever). May knows that she would make the perfect spy. After all, grown-ups always underestimate children like her. When May and her friend Eric are turned away by the Ministry, they take matters into their own hands. Masquerading as evacuees, they travel to Elysium Hall, home to the wealthy Verey family - including snobby, dramatic Nuala. They suspect that one of the Vereys is passing information to Germany. If they can prove it, the Ministry will have to take them on. But there are more secrets at Elysium Hall than May or Eric could ever have imagined. And then, someone is murdered...

Scarlet and Ivy: The Lost Twin by Sophie Cleverley

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:29:09 UTC

When troublesome Scarlet mysteriously disappears from Rookwood School, terrifying Miss Fox invites her quiet twin sister Ivy to ‘take her place’. Ivy reluctantly agrees in the hope of finding out what happened to her missing sister. Only at Rookwood will Ivy be able to unlock the secrets of Scarlet’s disappearance, through a scattered trail of diary pages carefully hidden all over the school. Can Ivy solve the mystery before Miss Fox suspects? Or before an even greater danger presents itself?

Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:29:50 UTC

When Enola Holmes, sister to the detective Sherlock Holmes, discovers her mother has disappeared, she quickly embarks on a journey to London in search of her. But nothing can prepare her for what awaits. Because when she arrives, she finds herself involved in the kidnapping of a young marquess, fleeing murderous villains, and trying to elude her shrewd older brothers-all while attempting to piece together clues to her mother's strange disappearance.

Amid all the mayhem, will Enola be able to decode the necessary clues and find her mother?

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:33:47 UTC

When a peculiar advertisement appears in the newspaper for children to take part in a secret mission, children everywhere sit a series of mysterious tests. In the end, just four children succeed: Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance. They have three things in common: they are all honest, all remarkably talented and all orphans. They must go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened where the only rule is that there are no rules. There they must work as a team to save not only themselves, but also the world outside the walls...

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:34:53 UTC

11.32am: Ted and his sister Kat watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. The pod rises from the ground, high above the city. 2.02am: The pod lands and the doors open. Everyone exits - everyone but Salim. Has he spontaneously combusted? (Ted's theory.) Has he been kidnapped? (Aunt Gloria's theory.) Is he even still alive? (The family's unspoken fear.) Even the police are baffled - so it's up to Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system, to solve this mystery and find Salim. Teaming up with Kat, Ted follows a trail of clues across London - while time ticks dangerously by...

A Place Called Perfect by Helena Duggan

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:36:52 UTC

Violet hates the very idea of living in Perfect. She doesn’t want to have to be neat and tidy and perfectly well-behaved all the time, where’s the fun in that?How would she ever survive? She would definitely have to brush her hair. She'd have to be perfect and that was boring. But when her dad is offered the best job an optician can get, to fix a strange problem in this odd little town, Violet has to obey. That's the thing with parents, they only ever do what they want! From the beginning Violet hates her new home, it's too clean, the people are too friendly, everything is just too nice... Then Violet starts to question other things… Like why does everyone have to wear special glasses to stop them going blind? What are the strange noises in the night and why is Mum acting so weird? When her Dad disappears on a mysterious business trip without telling a soul, she almost gets expelled from school for picking up a pencil without permission and starts hearing voices in her head, Violet thinks she's going mad. Until she meets BOY... Violet is determined to uncover the truth. But returning normality to Perfect is a battle she could never have imagined...

The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:38:06 UTC

I am Cat Royal - Orphan, Adventurer, Actress... Meet the feistiest heroine in children's historical fiction. Reader, you are set to embark on an adventure about one hidden treasure, two bare-knuckle boxers, three enemies and four hundred and thirty-eight rioters. I was brought up in Drury Lane, so I have become accustomed to a life less than ordinary. But this turn of events, I have to say, surprised even me. Follow me, and I will show you in The Diamond of Drury Lane. Exciting, funny and packed with adventure...

Dead Man's Cove by Lauren St John

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:39:06 UTC

When orphaned Laura Marlin moves from a children's home to live with her uncle in Cornwall, she longs for a life of excitement just like the characters in her favourite detective novels. A real life adventure is on hand as she is deposited at her uncle's spooky house . . . Why does her uncle, Calvin Redfern, forbid her to go to Dead Man's Cove? What's the truth about Tariq, the silent Indian boy who lives with the flamboyant Mukthars? Who is J? Who has left the message in a bottle for Laura to discover? Mysteries abound and who better to solve them than Laura Marlin, ace detective? Accompanied by her trusty companion, Skye, a three-legged husky, the dog she's always wanted, Laura's adventures begin in this first captivating mystery.

The Secret Key by Lena Jones

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:39:52 UTC

Meet thirteen-year-old Agatha Oddly – a bold, determined heroine, and the star of a stylish new detective series. Agatha Oddlow has been a detective for as long as she can remember – she’s just been waiting for her first big case. And nothing gets bigger than saving the City of London from some strange goings-on. With a scholarship to the prestigious St Regis School, a cottage in the middle of Hyde Park, a room full of beloved sleuthing novels, and a secret key that gives her access to a whole hidden side of London, Agatha is perfectly poised to solve the mystery of what’s going on. But just who can she trust when no one is quite who they seem…

The Nine Night Mystery by Sharna Jackson

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 08:41:28 UTC

Last night Wesley and his friends Josephine and Margot threw their neighbour Rachel a surprise birthday party. This morning, Rachel is dead. And Wesley is the one who finds her body. Rachel's friends throw a traditional Caribbean Nine Night celebration to help guide her soul to the next world. But Wesley, Margot and Josephine don't have time to mourn Rachel. They are determined to find out who did this - and find out what secrets Rachel was keeping.

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 12:05:25 UTC

Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime? A crime he says he never committed. Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge. But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies.

The Agency for Scandal by Laura Wood

FHS_Library — 2024-10-14 14:07:39 UTC

An all-female detective agency righting wrongs at the end of the nineteenth century; infiltrating a scandalous upper class world straight out of Bridgerton and using their wit and bravery to unmask a villain. Eighteen-year-old Isobel Stanhope is keeping a lot of secrets. There's the fact that she's head over heels in love with a Duke who doesn't know she exists; there's the fact that her family is penniless but nobody in society knows about it; and then there's her job at the Aviary, an investigative agency run by women that specializes in digging up scandal on powerful men. When Izzy finds herself pulled into a case that involves gaslighting, blackmail, and missing jewels, as well as the Duke who holds her heart, can she and her friends untangle the web of secrets and lies to uncover the truth and protect the innocent? And when the stakes are so high, what happens when the crush she's been hiding begins to turn into so much more?

Peril en Pointe by Helen Lipscombe

FHS_Library — 2025-04-11 14:23:57 UTC

Milly yearns to dance like her ballerina mum - but during the biggest performance of her life, she messes up and her mum disappears. Six months on, Milly receives an unexpected invitation to join the Swan House School of Ballet. Thrilled, Milly accepts, only to find that Swan House is no ordinary ballet school; it's a ballet school for spies. Can her new skills help her discover the truth about her mother's vanishing act?