Pages:
368
Publisher:
Corgi
Release
Date: 20th
October 2016
Edition:
UK paperback,
purchased
Other
Titles by this Author: Murder
Most Unladylike, Arsenic
for Tea, First
Class Murder, Jolly
Foul Play
Daisy
Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the Christmas hols in snowy Cambridge. Hazel
has high hopes of its beautiful spires, cosy libraries and inviting tea rooms –
but there is danger lurking in the dark stairwells of ancient Maudlin College.
Three
nights before Christmas, there is a terrible accident. At least, it appears to
be an accident – until the Detective Society look a little closer, and realise
a murder has taken place. Faced with several irritating grown-ups and fierce
competition from a rival agency, they must all use their cunning and courage to
find the killer (in time for Christmas Day, of course).
I’m a huge fan of this series so
the news of a Christmas instalment basically made me squeal with joy. And it
was just as brilliant as I'd hoped!
Cambridge has always been a city I've
wanted to visit and Hazel descriptions of the beautiful colleges, blankets of
snow and steaming tearooms have made me desperate to visit. But I really loved
the way Robin Stevens approached Hazel and Daisy’s experience there.
During their visit in 1935 women
could attend the University of Cambridge but they couldn’t obtain a degree;
female students often experienced discrimination in marks and grades and
teenage girls? Completely under-estimated every time. I loved seeing the sexism
exposed and feminist thought worked into the story so naturally and easily –
there’s no way you can walk away from this series without that seed being
planted.
The discussions of race were also
taken up a level with the introduction of brothers George and Harold who have an Indian dad. I was
reading Nikesh Shukla’s The Good
Immigrant alongside reading this and they actually ended up complementing
each other really nicely. It was really sad to see BAME writers talking about
things they face in 2016 that Hazel and the twins were having to battle against
in 1935.
I adore this series and I really
felt like everyone and everything developed so much in Mistletoe and Murder. I feel like I could read about Daisy and
Hazel (who is actually one of my favourite characters of all time) until they’re
80.
Sophie
I really keep meaning to pick up this series - it sounds fabulous! Glad you enjoyed this xmas edition!
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