How to Get Away with Myrtle - a Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery #2

Precocious young female detectives are always fun to read, and none more so than twelve-year old Myrtle Hardcastle.  Author Elizabeth C. Bunce has a wonderful creation on her hands, with characters that are fun, sometimes outlandish, perky, and without a doubt engaging from page one to the very last page of the story.  For those who read the first book in this series, you'll recall that young Myrtle Hardcastle, whose mother has died and her father is doing his best to care for her, along with the help of a young governess and a domineering aunt (remember, this series is set in England the late 1800s), becomes involved in solving the murder of her family's next door neighbor.  Everyone does their best to keep Myrtle out of the investigation, but her sense of right and wrong, her penchant for trouble, and her keen mind filled with facts, observational skills, and deductive reasoning keep Myrtle sticking her nose into the matter until she ultimately uncovers the truth and leads the police to the killer!  Well, now, her father has decided to send her on a vacation with her governess and aunt, to help keep her from being involved with the nasty business of solving murders.  Yeah, right, like that's gonna work...

How to Get Away with Myrtle finds Myrtle, her governess Miss Judson, and her Aunt Helena taking a luxury train ride to a new seaside resort for a vacation away from any kind of trouble.  Myrtle is hard-pressed to find anything enjoyable about the trip, but her Aunt Helena seems to become enthralled with the owner of the train, Sir Quentin Ballingall, and his daughter, Temperance.  But Myrtle is more interested in the rather strong-willed Mrs. Bloom, who is an insurance investigator taking this train ride to insure that the very expensive Northern Lights Tiara (commissioned to commemorate the royal wedding) is kept safe during the trip.  Myrtle never knew that women could be insurance investigators, and she is intrigued by this woman's fierce demeanor and admires her determination and backbone when faced with men who think they know better than her!  So, it's only natural that when Mrs. Bloom turns up dead, her body found by Myrtle and a young boy, Clive, who loves photography and whose father happens to be the manager at the hotel where Myrtle will be staying, that Myrtle would feel an obligation to solve her murder.  And it's a good thing too, since the constabulary in Fairhaven seem less than capable.  And when the rather rude Inspector Arkwright arrives on the scene, Myrtle is more determined than ever to get justice for poor Mrs. Bloom.

The question is - who killed her and why?  And just how did her Aunt Helena's golden scissors come to be sticking out of Mrs. Bloom's back?  Did her Aunt kill the insurance investigator?  Myrtle had noticed the tension between them, but she could not bring herself to imagine her aunt doing such a deed.  Was the murder connected to the theft of the Northern Lights Tiara that occurred on the train ride down to Fairhaven?  If so, then there were plenty of suspects.  The rather rough Mr. Coogan, a guard hired to serve on Ballingall's train who had a history of public drunkenness and violence.  The presumptuously pompous Quentin Ballingall, who could use the theft as a means to cash in on the insurance policy.  The unnaturally nervous Mr. Penrose, who seems to have more going on than just bringing his invalid daughter to the seaside for a holiday.  The anything-but-talented Temperance Ballingall, who was the last person to have the tiara when it disappeared from her head after the lights went out.  And while the two elderly ladies, Miss Causton and Miss Cabot, may seem innocent enough, Myrtle knows one can never assume anything,  And let's not forget that enigmatic Swedish gentleman, Mr. Strand, who is quiet and stays pretty much to himself the entire time.  Or the grim-faced Nurse Temby, who seems less-than-thrilled about constantly toting Miss Penrose everywhere.  And with Miss Judson telling her at every turn to stay out of it, Myrte must enlist the aid of young Clive to help her find out what really happened to Mrs. Bloom!

Bunce provides another intricately-woven tale, where the clues are there if you know where to look for them!  And this time around, there is so much more going on that what appears to the casual reader.  Not only do we have a thief and a murderer, but there are lies and secrets galore, a hidden love affair, and when Aunt Helena is arrested by Inspector Arkwright for the murder of Mrs. Bloom, Myrtle must work overtime to figure out Mrs. Bloom's coded journal and uncover the truth behind her investigation, her connection to the people in Fairhaven, and just why did someone want her out of the picture for good!  

This is an enjoyable series that I would highly recommend - a strong lead character, an excellent supporting cast, and some of the best-written mysteries around!

RATING:  10 tables filled with sandwiches, cakes, and dainties out of 10 for an excellent mix of mystery, humor, and drama that make for a fantastic read!