Once Upon a Crime

Murder Most Unladylike #6.5, 8.5

by Robin Stevens

A thrilling new short story collection in the number-one bestselling, award-winning Murder Most Unladylike series.Featuring six marvellous mini-mysteries, including four original, brand-new and never-seen-beforeThe Case of the Second Scream : set aboard the ship carrying Daisy and Hazel back from Hong KongThe Case of the Uninvited Guest : Uncle Felix and Aunt Lucy's wedding is the target for an unlikely threatThe Hound of Weston the Junior Pinkertons investigate a mysterious arrivalThe Case of the Deadly introducing Hazel's little sister May, who's determined to be the greatest spy everThe Case of the Missing the detectives crack fiendish codes to catch a daring thief who is targeting London's famous museumsThe Case of the Drowned murder follows the Detective Society wherever they go, even on holiday...The perfect book for all Detective Society fans and avid readers of the Murder Most Unladylike series.Praise for Murder Most Unladylike'Ripping good fun' The Times'Plotting is what sets this book apart' Telegraph'Enormous fun' Irish Times'A skilful blend of golden era crime novel and boarding school romp . . . Top class' Financial Times'I absolutely loved it' Susie Day

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Childrens, Young Adult, Crime

318 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2021

About the author

Robin's books are: Murder Most Unladylike (Murder is Bad Manners in the USA), Arsenic for Tea (Poison is Not Polite in the USA), First Class Murder, Jolly Foul Play, Mistletoe and Murder, Cream Buns and Crime, A Spoonful of Murder, Death in the Spotlight and Top Marks for Murder. She is also the author of The Guggenheim Mystery, the sequel to Siobhan Dowd's The London Eye Mystery.

Robin was born in California and grew up in an Oxford college, across the road from the house where Alice in Wonderland lived. She has been making up stories all her life.

When she was twelve, her father handed her a copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and she realised that she wanted to be either Hercule Poirot or Agatha Christie when she grew up. When it occurred to her that she was never going to be able to grow her own spectacular walrus moustache, she decided that Agatha Christie was the more achieveable option.

She spent her teenage years at Cheltenham Ladies’ College, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she’d get the chance to do some detecting herself (she didn’t). She then went to university, where she studied crime fiction, and then worked at a children's publisher.

Robin lives in England with her husband and her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

Reviews

[curtis :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

actual rating is more like 4.6 if you take the average from each short story but rounding it up to 5 bc why not lol

i don't really have much to say about this like i did for Death Sets Sail - i think that this was more a bridge into the new series than a commemoration of what had already happened in the murder most unladylike series, but the short stories were still fun and the author's notes at the end were :,)))

I really enjoyed getting more content about my favourite characters (especially hazel and alexander), and I'm glad that we'll still get to see them (to an extent) in the Ministry of Unladylike activity series (pls tell me who I have to threaten to get on the arc mailing list whenever they come out) :)


the collection is complete... fr this time lol

individual ratings for each story as follows:

The Case of the Uninvited Guest: 5* - we finally got this story and it didn’t disappoint 😩 it was so funny too

The Case of the Missing Treasure: [rating from when already read upon publication prior to the release of death in the spotlight] 4.25* - it's a nice change reading from daisy's perspective but i prefer hazel's lol

The Case of the Drowned Pearl: [rating from when already read upon publication for world book day 2020] 3.5* - it was interesting, and I'm always here for more content with the detective society and junior pinkertons - I just felt that it suffered a little from its length and it would've been better if it was longer and had more space (?) to develop

The Hound of Weston School: 5 stars - I love the Junior Pinkertons (especially Alexander bc he’s just so nice for no reason) and his relationship with Hazel is so cute - the end of the letter was *insert keyboard smash*

The Case of the Second Scream: 5 stars - It felt like old times - but the end??? HELP??? 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I need to know what happened now there too lol

May Wong and the Deadly Flat: 4.75* (i think i was feeling generous when i made this lol) - May is kinda my least favourite of the siblings (except for teddy bc I don’t have an opinion on him) and she can be kinda annoying but this was still pretty fun and I’m interested to see how she goes in the ministry of unladylike activity:)
_________

02/08/2021: it felt like my childhood ending all over again :,) rtc
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02/08/2021: IT'S HERE!!!!!!!! 😩😩😩 3 DAYS EARLY TOO 😩😩😩


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13/11/2020: not me preordering this 2 minutes after the announcement

[Stephanie]

I love all of Robin Stevens's books, but her short stories are just SO wonderful, they're always my very favorite - and this is an absolute box of delights. I'm only 100 pages in so far (I just started an hour ago!) but I couldn't wait to recommend this collection to everybody because it's just SO delicious (and would honestly be worth buying even just for the first couple of stories). I spent an hour this afternoon devouring those first 100 pages, and it turned my whole day around. <3

(I'm not putting a star rating on yet only because I haven't finished the book - I'll come back when I have! :) - but the first 2 stories are 5 stars all the way.)

[✮demi✮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say that the Case of the Second Scream and the Case of the Uninvited Guest were both disappointing. The series alone was brilliant but those two short stories were boring/slow and seemed rushed. It wasn't very engaging to me because it was more of telling the story than showing it and Daisy and Hazel acted like 10 year olds rather than 14 and 15 year olds (although to be honest its mostly Daisy and she seems like that throughout the series) but the only story in this anthology that appealed to me was the Case of the Deadly Flat. May was the right age to act really fiercely, childish and disobedient and the story told through her perspective was nicely written and fits her personality perfectly. The Junior Pinkerton's story was also boring in my opinion. It wasn't really exciting. I'm currently reading "The Ministry of Unladylike Activity" and I hope its much better than this. 2.5 stars from me.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting conclusion to the series featuring some fun mini mysteries. I enjoyed the ones with daisy and hazel and the junior Pinkertons the best- I’m not a huge fan of May but her story was there to introduce her for the next series. Overall the book was a great addition to the series and wrapped everything up nicely- although it would have been nice to read about Beanie and Kitty!

[Gouri Verma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most awaited read for me💞 I am a big fan of Murder most unladylike series and this book really means so much for me❤️ It is a collection of short stories including my favourite characters -Hazel , Daisy, Alexander , George and ……Mr.Felix, YES!!! He was there in most of the stories!!❤️

I loved every single story and moreover most of them were murder mysteries!!!🥳 Others will simple mysteries💕 My favourite one was The case of the drowned pearl and I also loved The case of uninvited guest❤️

Really!! Robin Stevens is a great author!!💕 Her books are just so awesome!!😊❤️
I loved this!!💕

[Anna Catharina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sechs sehr lesenswerte Kurzgeschichten, die die Reihe sehr gut ergänzen. Aber Vorsicht! Gerade die letzten beiden enthalten Spoiler zum Finale des letzte (achten) Bandes und sollten darum erst nach dem letzten Band gelesen werden, sonst verdirbt man sich echt das Finale. Die letzte Geschichte leitet über in Stevens neue Serie. Ich bin nicht sicher, ob die so mein Geschmack sein wird, da ich kein so großer Fan von Mae Wong bin.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

whoo I finished a book but I cannot emotionally process finishing this series

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute

[lolsuzie21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

żegnajcie Hazel i Daisy...

[Loa Hoang · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Contains slight/minor spoilers)

3? 2 and a half stars?

an extra star just for hazel and alexander 😩

I don't know if it's because I have high expectations for these books or because I've read two out of five of these short stories before (coincidentally, those two were the best stories out of the lot), or because one of the "new" stories was actually derived from the online mystery quiz on her website, but this book was a tad unsatisfying.

Actually, I think I just listed out most of my reasons.

Another would be that I don't care particularly for May Wong. Not a big fan of her personality. Let's see how Ministry plays out. (Also not a big fan of Weston School, and not particularly interested in the boys' mysteries.)

And the stories are a bit too short, so they always jump right from puzzling about the mystery to the detectives getting an eureka moment and instantaneously solving it, so it's pretty jarring and I didn't really like that part. In that sense, I suppose the Case of the Missing Treasure is the one that stands out the most, as it has a rich sense of adventure that the other stories lack. Too bad I've already exhausted that story two years back.

The cutest part was of course Hazel and Alexander but while we have a much more fleshed out narrative on Alexander's side there wasn't enough of them and what they've been doing after Death Sets Sail. There wasn't quite enough information about anyone, really. It all felt rather disjointed, random and abrupt.

Lastly, I'm not sure I like the fact that Hazel and Daisy lose their detective senses and skills as they become adults. That's just not it at all.

[sarah:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25*

[zaczytana_lenaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

KOCHAM TĄ SERIĘ CAŁYM SERCEM

[rachelish · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting end to the series. I enjoyed the variety of narrative voices and I gasped out loud at the end of one of the stories.

[Elizabessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only eight people have apparently finished this book so hehe looks like some didn't feel the need to stay up all night to finish this one. Not sure about the rating as, although I loved the majority of the stories in this book there were a few I wasn't so keen on/ had read before.

[Alison May Cotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not as good as the main series but still a great read.👍👍👍

[Grace Aristotle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love these books I can't wait for the next one.

[Lilka · Rating 5 out of 5]

To była jedna z najlepszych serii jakie czytałam, napewno będę o niej długo pamiętać. Szkoda że rozstaje się już z moimi ulubionymi bochaterkami😭
Polecam całą serię❤️❤️❤️

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

➳ 5 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

ok, this is my emotional support book now because i’m still getting over death sets sail.

i’m so glad we got this book as one last visit with our favorite characters before this series ends

i loved every minute of this and I have so many thoughts on this series. im going to go cry now ✨


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read
May Wong is amazing and I can't wait for Ministry of Unladylike Activity to come out. Like, she solved a murder at age 9. Child prodigy right there.

Second read
I need the group solving mysteries in the Spanish Civil War. Teasing it and it not existing yet is mean lol

[antonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3
Jak dobrze było wrócić !!
Daisy i Hazel nadal łączy wspaniała (i tylko dalikatnie toksyczna) przyjaźń.
George wciąż jest moim ulubionym bohaterem.
Nadal uważam, że Aleksander jest trochę przygłupi (ale jak się okazuje czasem potrafi być nawet słodki).
Daisy i jej narracja to wciąż złoto.
A ciocia Lucy i wujek Felix to jedno z lepszych książkowych małżeństw.
Czyli nic się nie zmieniło? Otóż nie do końca...
W tej książce widać ogromny progres bohaterów jak i również samej autorki. Ta cześć jest bardziej dojarzała i poważana (chociaż nie zawsze).
Zapowiedź kolejnej serii jest piękna i już nie mogę się jej doczekać.
PS. Nie polecam czytać podziękowań. Trochę się na nich popłakałam :,)
PPS. Już nie mogę się doczekać wojennej przygody George'a i Lavini (na to chyba najbardziej czekam wraz z kolejną serią :)))
PPPS. Wyobrażacie sobie mieć na imię Bob a na nazwisko Featherstonehaugh?

,, - Chyba sami jesteśmy sobie winni, skoro wybraliśmy na druhny Daisy i Hazel.
- Naprawdę bardzo mi przykro wujku Feliksie - wymamrotała moja przyjaciółka. (Daisy)
- Problem z tobą, Daisy, polega na tym, że wcale nie jest ci przykro - westchnął wujek Felix."

,, - Przyrzekam ci miłość, szacunek i posłuszeństwo - podpowiedział pannie młodej kierownik urzędu.
- Ach, tylko miłość i szacunek, jeśli można - odparła wesoło.
- Bo posłuszny będę ja - uprzejmie dodał wujek Felix."

,, - W takim razie idźcie do domu i udawajcie, że jesteście całkiem zwyczajne.
- Nigdy nie jestem zwyczajna - odparłam, prostując się z godnością (Daisy) - Ale będę zwyczajnie błyskotliwa. "

,, - Daisy! - zawołała Hazel bez tchu. - Ty żyjesz! - Uklękła i rzuciła mi się na szyję, co okazało się bardzo bolesne.
- Daj spokój - wymamrotałam z trudem. - Czy nie mówiłam ci, że prawdziwe bohaterki nie umierają?"

,, - Czy ta akcja nie dowodzi, że jesteśmy świetni w rozwiązywaniu zagadek kryminalnych?
- O MAŁO NIE ZGINĘŁAŚ! - ryknął.
- A t y o mało nie zginąłeś już dwa razy w tym miesiącu - wtrąciła ciocia Lucy, która przysłuchiwała się kłótni z fotela w salonie."

,, Czasami naprawdę wolałabym, żeby Daisy nie była tak bardzo... sobą."

,, - Jej przyjaciółka umarła - powiedziałam dobitnie. - Sama słyszałaś, przyjaźniły się od dziecka. Tak jak my!
- Wcale nie tak jak my - wymamrotała Daisy. - Po pierwsze, my się poznałyśmy, gdy miałaśmh lat jedenaście. A po drugie, my nigdy nie umrzemy. Ja na to nie pozwolę, Hazel. "

,, Nie umarłeś, więc przestań się mazać."

,, - Ale czego można się spodziewać po jankesie i...
Tu użył w stosunku do George'a jednego z tych wstrętnych określeń, których nie używają przyzwoicie ludzie i których, zgodnie z obietnicą daną przyjacielowi, nigdy nie powtórzę." (To był ten moment gdzie Aleksander przestał być w moich oczach aż taką niedołęgą.)

,, - HEJ! - wrzasnął George. - Szanujcie starszych, robale.
- Ani mi się śni! - parsknął Squeers i pokazał mu język.
- Zmuś nas! - zapiszczał Cartwright.
- WYNOCHA ALBO WSZYSCY DOSTANIECIE SZLABAN! - ryknął Spackman z dobrym skutkiem, bo wtrętne chłopaki czmychnęły w popłochu.
- Zero szacunku! - Bob pokręcił głową. - My tacy nie byliśmy, co?
- Byliście jeszcze gorsi - burknął Spackman, który jest o rok starszy"

,,Całuję Cię, Hazel... I tylko Ciebie. " (To był drugi moment, gdzie Aleksander mi zaimponował... ale więcej ich nie było.)

,, - Poza tym udawanie, że nie żyję, przynosi znakomite rezultaty. Wujek Felix nie posiadał się z radości, gdy tak sprawnie rozwiązałyśmy problem z zagranicznym ministrem. To była cudowna wisona, żałuję, że już się kończy. Ciekawe, czy Lappet zacznie krzyczeć, kiedy w przyszłym tygodniu zobaczy mnie na łacinie... Wolałabym jeszcze nie jechać do Deepdean, ale przynajmniej wstanę z martwych w wielkim stylu. Całkiem jak Jez...
- Nie - przerwałam jej stanowczo. - Nie waż się.
- Oj, Hazel, ale z ciebie nudziara... - westchnęła.
Daisy najpierw zamierzała wywołać sensację w Niedzielę Wielkanocną w falligfordzkim kościele, ale jakoś ją przekonaliśmy, że to już byłaby lekka przesada."

,, - Daisy! Nie bądź taka pzremądrzała. Ty również popełniłaś mnóstwo błędów.
- Cii, o tym sza. W każdym razie teraz jestem doskonała."

,, Wyjątkowo głupia teoria, ale cóż zrobić? Dorośli są głupi, nawet ci mili."

,, Ja oczywiście poradziłabym sobie dużo lepiej. Gdybym wymyśliła taki plan, nie pozwoliłabym, żeby wszystko poszło na marne przez kumpla, który boi się ciasnych przestrzeni, oraz dwie małe dziewczynki.
Ale dorosłym nawet do głowy nie przyjdzie, że dzieci mogą ich na czymś przyłapać."

[Steph Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I (40) got this for my daughter (8) but stole it and adored it so much that it is now MY book for good... she'll have to get her own copy! (Plus, I think she is more of a Rose than a Hazel and therefore might prefer something a little less murdery and a little more ladylike really).

I am a huge Agatha Christie fan, and these short stories perfectly capture the magic of the best of her golden-age mysteries, but with fresh and funny new characters that I immediately fell in love with.

There are six different stories here, set at different times in Hazel and Daisy's investigative careers, and while the book technically slots in at 6.5 and 8.5 in the series time frame, I think it is the perfect place to start if you want to get a taste for the style and content.

I have already ordered book 1 (Murder Most Unladylike) and book 0.5, 3.5, 4.5 (Cream Buns and Crime - more short stories) for myself, and added all of the others to my wishlist for future purchase.

Ideal for introducing younger readers to the joys of classic mystery fiction, but just as perfect for adult readers who enjoy 'that kind of thing' - which I emphatically do!

[Shawne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any collection of short stories, I enjoyed some better than others. But, in general, a lovely return to the Murder Most Unladylike universe, as always, with tantalising hints of where the story and characters will go next.

I loved the hints about where Daisy and Hazel will go after their last full-length murder mystery (not to mention their friends, George and Lavinia!!). And it was wonderful to meet May Wong again - with her fierce intelligence and strong personality, I'm glad she'll be one of the driving forces behind the series' next evolution.

3.5 stars

[Paulina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja nie chcę ich zostawiać. I jeszcze 3 lata przerwy mi dała Robin, no daj mi chociaż opowieści z tych lat to może się pogodzę że trochę tylko (tak zakładam) będzie o moich kochanych dzieciach (nie pogodzę się, nie wybaczę). Ciężko jest puścić, ale mam te książki cały czas przy sobie i mogę do nich wrócić i ignorować to ile mają lat. A w dodatku następny tom ma się dziać jeszcze rok później, skandal!

Nie pogardziłabym jakimiś notatkami Georgea i Lavinii, Hazel, Aleksa, opowieściami Daisy, kuraku pieczony ja nie wiem od już 4 lat co z Kitty i Fasolką!!! No ej no, ja chcę więcej.

[Zoe Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine kurzweilige, oft unterhaltsame Sammlung an Geschichten aus der Welt von Wells und Wong.
Die Erzählungen von Daisy und Hazel sind die spannendsten Fälle, auch wenn oft nicht genug Zeit für den Leser bleibt, vielleicht selbst auf die Lösung zu kommen.
Das Verhalten von May Wong erinnert stark an Daisy, was - wie eben bei Daisy auch - oft frustrierend zu lesen ist.
Gern hätte ich mehr darüber erfahren, wie es den Detektivinnen nach Band 8 ergangen ist, das wird aber nur kurz angesprochen.

[Rumaysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was so nostalgic to read. Robin Stevens’ books are the only middle grade novels that still hold up for me, though of course it is, as always, a real tragedy that we never get to read about these characters when they’re older, not from their point of view. I’ve often longed to read about my favourite childhood characters experiencing adulthood— Darrell Rivers from the Malory Towers books, the Narnia siblings (before their end) and now Hazel and Daisy (and George and Alexander).

Nonetheless, a very pleasant read. I’m glad children will be able to continue enjoy Robin Stevens’ books, a true gem in modern day children’s literature.

[Michelle Birkby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of wonderful stories, some new, some that have been released as one shots before, with Hazel and Daisy but also George and Alexander and May in the very last one, leading onto the series of books to come. Lovely last book (though sad to see the end of Hazel and Daisy)

[Ella Storey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of tales of the Detective Society and the last story - May Wong And The Deadly Flat - is an eye opener to the next series that I'm really looking forward to. This series has been a joy to read and I will miss them.

This book is a collection of mini tales of the Detective Society and the Junior Pinkertons. My favourite would have to be the Case Of The Second Scream.

[pisane_ proza · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️
Przykro mi, że tak oceniam ostatnia książkę z tej serii. Są takie książki Stevens, które kocham, ale też takie, które były mocno średnie (szczególnie zbiory opowiadań). Ta książka niestety należy do tych drugich, była po prostu nijaka.

[Iga · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Nina Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! These stories are really clever and the way it was written was amazing. 100% recommend for all ages👍