Reviews

• Funny, clever, and engaging

  I absolutely loved 'Premeditated Myrtle'. It is funny, touching, clever, and filled with quirky, engaging characters, plus Peony the cat and cook with her wonky hob. Just lovely. I could compare this with the Flavia De Luce books, which I also love. Flavia is more eccentric perhaps but Myrtle has her moments. Highly recommended!

• Premeditated Myrtle (A Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery #1)

  I am a #1 fan of the Enola Holmes Mysteries series, so, one day I got an email that said "since you love Enola Holmes here's something we think you might love too......" and it was Premeditated Myrtle. At first I was kind of like ehhhh, I dont know if it will be that great. So I forgot about, until several months later when I came across it again after finding the new Enola Holmes book that's going to come out in August of 2021. So, I again looked it over and then decided I would go ahead and give it a try. I'm glad I did. Myrtle is very very very much so the kind of heroine I love in a book. (Preferably an 1800-1900s mystery books/series). She is very witty, just like Enola. And smart, just like Enola. It was a very well fleshed out mystery with it's own amount of suspense and intrigue that keeps you reading and wanting to know what happens next. Quite frankly I couldn't read it fast enough! I will definitely continue Myrtle's story in the rest of the series.... the next one being How To Get Away With Myrtle, and the third that is going to be released in October Cold-blooded Myrtle. Although It wasn't as good as Enola Holmes (Nothing quite frankly could be as good) it found its own little place in my heart where it will stay! I highly recommend, and, read Enola Holmes everyone, if you love this you will love Enola even more! P.S There is also a Netflix adaptation movie for the first book in the Enola Holmes series that came out in late September of 2020 starring Millie Bobby Brown as Enola (Millie is, like, everything! I love her.) And it is amazing, so if your interested in Enola, I recommend watching the movie first, then reading the 6 book series, then pre-ordering the new book that's coming out soon. That's what I did anyway.

• Very good preteen crime story

  My granddaughter loves this book. The sleuth is an Edwardian preteen with an emotional inner life that is is very modern. The content is thought provoking and preteen appropriate. The book does not ‘talk down’ to the reader and explains and uses crime procedural vocabulary which is explained as is the action of poisons. There is also a pet cat which is a big draw.

• Keeps you reading

  Had read several adventure and murder mystery books and did enjoy. Was looking for a little lighter reading and started the Myrtle Hardcastle mystery books. This was first and am reading the second. This is a murder mystery but with a 12 year old girl involved in solving the mystery. Might be considered a childs book but I find it light and entertaining for a senior citizen. Variety is the spice of life.

• Forget Nancy Drew - Here's Myrtle!

  I bought this because it was a Kindle special, $1.99. It's still $1.99, and if this sounds appealing to you, you should buy it. This is a children's mystery. Myrtle Hardcastle is a precocious 12-year-old in Victorian England, living with her solicitor father, Arthur, and her governess, Miss Judson. Myrtle's mother had died a few years prior to this story, but she had trained to be a physician. Myrtle is very much her mother's daughter with her father's mind as well. Myrtle wants to be a detective like Sherlock Holmes. She studies science diligently, is very logical in her deductions, and likes to discuss her father's law work with him. When the crank elderly woman across from them dies mysteriously, Myrtle doesn't accept the simple diagnosis of heart failure. Myrtle insists it must be murder, and she sets out to prove it. Myrtle is a very engaging character, as is her sometimes surprising governess. It's a good solid mystery and Myrtle is not so precocious as to seem an unrealistic character to the reader. There's a 12-year-old girl hidden under all that logic, and it's nice to see her eventually make a friend her own age along the way. Modern kids may appreciate the diversity of some of the characters, too. Myrtle is white, but her governess is not, coming from French Guinea, nor is the Police Surgeon and his family, who are from India. The old lady's gardener, Mr. Hamm, is a Yorkshireman (I think?) and has his distinctive speech as well. This is a great book for pre-teens who want a good adventure with a sensible, likable female lead.

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