Murder Most Unladylike – Cream Buns and Crime

Robin Stevens's Cream Buns and Crime is a jolly mix of short mysteries and detective know-how for 11 year olds, straight from the casebook of Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong.

What happens

It opens with Daisy telling you exactly how to set up your own Detective Society. Choose your members (two is best, says Daisy, though Hazel would let in anyone trustworthy). Pick a name, take a pledge and invent a secret handshake. Hold your meetings in a locked bathroom with the taps running so no one can hear.

Daisy is gloriously bossy about all of it. The President makes the decisions and catches the criminal. The Vice-President may occasionally have ideas, "though the President shouldn't allow this too often". Hazel's side of things gets in edgeways.

Then comes the case where it all started. It's 1934 at Deepdean School, and Lavinia's tie has vanished from the end of her bed overnight. Lavinia is furious, nobody believes her, and Daisy winks at Hazel across the breakfast table. The Detective Society has its first case.

There's lots of practical stuff too. Daisy explains how to measure a footprint with a piece of string and take fingerprints with talcum powder or flour. She works out who pinched her cream bun at tea using who, what, where, when and how. It's the sort of thing your reader will want to try at home (probably on a sibling).

Another case sees a big girl called Violet come to them in a muddle over a boy she's met in secret. It's a gentle little puzzle and Daisy is very pleased with herself for solving it.

This is best for readers who already know Daisy and Hazel. The guides refer back to their murder cases, and the fun is in hearing familiar voices. It's a great filler between the novels, or a treat for a fan who's read them all.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Daisy talks cheerfully about bodies and blood, and at one point mentions the time she and Hazel made themselves sick on purpose to eavesdrop in the San (Hazel makes her add that you shouldn't try it). It's all very light, but it's there.

What to read next

For more Deepdean with a wartime twist, The Ministry of Unladylike Activity is the one to reach for. Hazel's little sister May runs away from school in 1940, determined to become a spy.