Murder Most Unladylike 3 – First Class Murder

Robin Stevens's First Class Murder is a glamorous whodunnit for 11 year olds set on board the Orient Express.

What happens

Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells run their own Detective Society. This is their third murder case, and Hazel tells us right at the start that there's been a killing on the train and her father is furious about it.

It was meant to be a holiday. Hazel's father has come all the way from Hong Kong to take the girls across Europe, partly to keep them away from trouble after a hard term. Hazel has promised to be good. No detecting!

Then they step on board. The carriage is like a tiny palace, all gold and deep blue carpet, and nearly everyone in first class seems to have a secret. There's a rude businessman and his new wife, whose diamond and ruby necklace makes Hazel's teeth ache. A countess. A medium who claims to speak to the dead. A stage magician. And a grown-up the girls know who is quietly hunting a spy.

Before long there's a scream, a locked compartment and a body. And that glorious ruby has vanished.

Hazel is wonderful company. She's anxious and honest, she gets horribly seasick, and she notices everything. Daisy is the dazzling one, reading Murder on the Orient Express on the Orient Express (of course she is).

It's a proper puzzle for readers who like to work things out for themselves. Hazel lines the passengers up like actors at the start of a play, and you'll suspect every one of them.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Someone is murdered on the train, and a court case from the girls' last adventure hangs over them. Hazel also meets everyday racism. One passenger assumes she and her father are servants. The book is firmly on her side, and it's a good thing to talk about together.

If your reader loves a locked-room mystery, a spy or two and a fancy train, this is a treat. It sits at the top of this shelf, so it suits confident readers best.

What to read next

If they're new to Hazel and Daisy, Murder Most Unladylike is where the Detective Society began, with Hazel stumbling on a body at their own boarding school.