I have been most excited to read this since I first heard it was coming out. I absolutely adore Elly Griffiths and couldn’t wait to see how her writing would change in the form of a children’s book. I bought this on Saturday (11th May) and read it on the Sunday morning.

Synopsis (as taken from Amazon) is as follows:

When Justice’s mother dies, her father packs her off to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. He’s a barrister – specialising in murder trials – and he’s just too busy to look after her alone.

Having previously been home-schooled, the transition is a shock. Can it really be the case that blondes rule the corridors? Are all uniforms such a charming shade of brown? And do schools normally hide dangerous secrets about the murder of a chamber maid?

Justice takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. (Mainly about the murder, but perhaps she can figure out her new nemesis – the angelic Rose – at the same time.) But when a storm cuts the school off from the real world, the body count starts to rise and Justice realises she’ll need help from her new friends if she’s going to find the killer before it’s too late…

Ability to read – I found this very easy to read. I am already used to Elly Griffiths writing style and was interested to see how she’d adapt that style into a children’s book. I think she did very well and I thought this was fabulous.

Characterisation – I warmed to Justice very early on. She is a very easy character to like and I was very driven by her determination to find the truth. I saw her as a force of nature, daring to point out oddities that others had overlooked or ignored. Justice reminded me a little of Nancy Drew – except Justice was 1,000 times more fabulous and interesting.

Visualisation – It was very easy for me to visualise and imagine what was happening within the story. Elly Griffiths descriptions and details were on point – as usual – and Impacted the way I saw things in a positive light.

Uniqueness – This was the first murder/mystery children’s book I’d discovered and in some ways I found it more exciting and fearful than adult counterparts. It was full of action, adventure and intrigue. The characters were full of life and even though I’ve got a good scope of them, I feel there is more to learn. I cannot wait for the next in the series now!!!

Hannah xoxo