Author of Easy Read YA and Hi/Low MG Books
How to Get Away with Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #2)
Description:
Bookstore owner Lucy Patterson is living her best life. She has a job she loves, the man of her dreams, and a beautiful old Victorian house that holds some fascinating family secrets. Ready to enjoy a peaceful weekend being pampered at a glamping campground in the Redwoods, she snuggles in under a canopy of twinkling lights for a comfortable night’s sleep. Before the sun can pierce the early morning fog, a scream rips Lucy from her pleasant dreams.
The charming coastal town of Seaview is home to a centuries-old mystery. Along with her Coast Guard captain boyfriend Mark Fellows, and seasoned (not old!) café owner Miss Hattie, Lucy must shine a light on the past to save the future.
Reader's Review:
How to get away with Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce was an interesting and entertaining read. I definitely recommend it, but not for the audience’s age/grade level mentioned (Ages 9-12, grades 4-6) on the book’s verso page. While the vocabulary is appropriate for a very, very precocious 12-year-old Myrtle, with a fixation on crime, I’d say it’s more along the lines of an avid middle school or even high school reader. The story itself takes place in the late 1800s, in a sea-side resort town in England. It’s very similar in style to Agatha Christie murder mysteries. The author did a good job of keeping it a “who dun’ it” right up until the end.I’d definitely suggest reading this, the second in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series, after reading the first. Like most series, the first books set the background better than the subsequent versions ever could.