Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen - Book Four - The Seaside Corpse

It's always disheartening when I find a series that I enjoy reading, and when I get three or four books into the series, I discover that the series has come to an end!  I picked up the first Aggie Morton mystery because it was said to be an imaginary tale of "What if Agatha Christie solved mysteries as a child?"  She and her best friend, Hector Perot (an obvious play on Christie's famous detective, Hercule Poroit) seem to have a knack for not only uncovering dead bodies, but for also following the clues to ultimately discover who the killer is - not unlike Christie's own detectives, Poroit and Miss Marple.  The first book was a fun read ... as was the second ... and the third.  So, now that I've come to the fourth mystery, I had no doubt about how much I was going to enjoy it - but I didn't realize that this was the final book in the series!

The Seaside Corpse takes young Aggie and Hector to the coast of England, more specifically to Lyme Regis.  Aggie's sister has had her baby, and while Aggie's mother takes care of the newborn and her mother, Aggie and Hector are taken to the seaside to assist a husband and wife team of paleontologists dig up the bones of an ancient ichthyosaur along the rocky shore.  They find that they are part of a young scientist team of children, including Arthur Haystead (the brother of a local constable) and Oscar Osteda (the son of a wealthy American interested in purchasing the bones).  The four of them will be learning and assisting Professor and Mrs. Blenningham-Crewes - but what they quickly learn is that Mrs. Blenningham-Crews (who insists every simply call her Nina) is the brains of the operation; however, being a woman in the early 1900s, it is her husband who takes all the credit for the work she does.  This, obviously, creates a lot of tension in the small camp.  There's also Helen, the daughter of the cook who helps with kitchen duties and laundry (and who secretly sneaks off to see a boyfriend her father knows nothing about); there's her father, Spud, the gruff cook who is overly protective of his daughter; Everett Tobie, the artist and photographer who is documenting everything about the prehistoric find (and who seems to be more than just friendly with Nina!); and there's Cavalier Jones, the circus ringleader who also happens to be exceptionally strong - and wants more than anything to add that ichthyosaur to his collection of circus oddities!  And let's not forget Nina's spinster secretary, Sylvia Spinns, who has a few secrets of her own to hide...

Aggie and Hector pick up on all the various tensions running through the camp, but Aggie is so excited about helping out and learning about this ancient creature, while Hector is more focused on avoiding snakes and keeping clean, that they don't pay much attention to things.  Until the body turns up on the beach!  Aggie and Hector stumble across the dead body of Professor B-C (as he is affectionately called, because no one wants to have to say that full name!) lying face-down in the sand.  They are not quite sure what to think, until they see his hat caught a ways up the side of the cliff, just below the church and its cemetery ... and until they find a small bag in that very cemetery containing two glasses and a flask with the initials B.C. on it!  There was definitely something suspicious going on, and unfortunately, it seems like pretty much everyone at camp had a motive to want the professor dead!  A wife tired of her husband taking all the credit ... a photographer who has his own desires for the professor's wife ... a cook angered by the professor's treatment of his daughter ... a laundress who doesn't like the attention she has been getting ... an American millionaire who will do anything to get those bones ... a circus strong man who is determined to get the bones for himself ... a secret boyfriend who wants to protect his girl ... in fact, there's only one person at camp that Aggie and Hector are sure did NOT do it, and that is Miss Spinns - and that is because they figure out exactly who she really is!

Author Marthe Jocelyn definitely saved the best for last.  This mystery is without a doubt worthy of the queen of crime herself.  I followed the clues right along with Aggie and Hector, and I could have sworn I had it all figured out - until Jocelyn manages to pull out one last surprise that left my jaw on the floor.  I certainly was not expecting the revelation that came, but it definitely made sense.  And not to leave her readers wondering if there would be more mysteries to come, Jocelyn provides several epilogues - we find out exactly what happens with the bones of the ichthyosaur, we find out the future plans of Arthur and Oscar, and we are ultimately left with a tear in our eye as Hector's parents finally reach out and call him home to Belgium!  It's a touching scene as Aggie and Hector say goodbye to one another (although the final epilogue has Aggie planning the perfect gift to send Hector on his birthday - and is the perfect set-up for her future as Agatha Christie!).

Jocelyn integrates some real history into the story, as the kids visit the grave of Mary Anning, a woman who discovered Jurassic marine reptile fossils in the same place where the Blenningham-Crewes were digging up their find.  And incidentally, Mary's brother dug-up an ichthyosaur skull in 1811, and Mary found the rest of the skeleton a few months after (which very well could have been the inspiration for this story).  Her tombstone in the story even records her accurate date of death (March 9, 1847).  I always enjoy reading fictional stories that throw in a few factual elements, as no matter how fantastic the tale, those real facts give the story some level of grounding.

I guess if this series had to reach its conclusion, this story was the perfect way to do so.  I applaud Jocelyn for taking a leap of faith and sharing these stories with the world, and I have no doubt Aggie and Hector will continue to live on in the hearts of fans everywhere!

RATING:  10 silver-scaled adders out of 10 for a well-written mystery with a surprising twist, and for giving Aggie and Hector the most wonderful send-off!

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen - Book Three: The Dead Man in the Garden

Young Aggie Morton and her cohort in crime-solving, Hector Perot, are at it again in this third volume of the Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series for children.  First, she discovered a body under the piano.  Then she found a body in the library.  Now, she and Hector come across a body in the gardens behind a posh resort and spay.  Author Marthe Jocelyn has definitely shown she has the Agatha Christie-like skills to create some very ingenuous murder mysteries, with plots that are definitely on par with some of the finest adult mystery writers.  While I still wish our protagonists were a bit older (I just don't see the fascination of children's mystery writers making their young sleuths even younger, these days - back when Nancy Drew and friends were popular, the amateur sleuths were anywhere from 16 to 18 years old - something for young readers to aspire to!  Now, it seems all the books feature protagonists who are 12 or 13 years old, pretty much the same age as their readers - which brings to question how such young children, particularly those in books set in the past, have such enormous amounts of freedom to be out and about solving crimes!), I enjoy the mysteries so much that I can forgive the young age.

The Dead Man in the Garden takes Aggie, her mother, her grandmother, and her best friend, Hector, out of London once again and to the Wellspring Hotel and Spa in Yorkshire, where it is hoped that Aggie's mother will find some healing in the spa waters there.  Aggie and Hector run into - LITERALLY - a young boy in a wheelchair who nearly gives an older guest a heart attack.  George is there in the hopes the spa will help revive life into his legs; while the gentleman is there to help him remain calm, as he has a weak heart.  Aggie and Hector make friends with George and his nurse, and Hector takes up playing croquet with George while Aggie chats with the nurse each afternoon.  But, this is Aggie and Hector we are talking about, so soon enough, a dead body turns up and the two youngsters are on the case!

Mr. Hart (you know, the man with the "heart" condition - so perfect choice of names!) is found dead in the gardens, sitting on a bench.  Aggie and Hector happen across the body while strolling with Mr. Hart's niece, Josie Upton (who is there on her honeymoon with her new husband).  There does not appear to be any readily apparent cause of death, and Dr, Baden, who runs the spa connected with the hotel, pronounces he died of a heart attack.  Aggie and Hector are not quite ready to accept this theory, since (a) Mr. Hart had been called away from the dinner table by an unexpected phone call telling him his niece had been injured, when clearly she had not been; (b) there were signs of a struggle on the back of and next to the bench; (c) a croquet mallet was missing; and (d) Aggie had noticed that Mr. Hart reacted strangely the first time he entered the spa, leading her to believe there was more to this story.  Which, of course, there is.

Jocelyn weaves a well-crafted tale that is intended to keep the reader guessing up until the very end.  She introduces a number of red herrings that keep Aggie and Hector (along with the reader) side-tracked, and she provides some fun characters, including a female undertaker, a slick hotel owner, a questionable nurse, and the return of the ever-so-nosy Augustus Fibbley (and if you remember who that is, then you'll know that his appearance results in some very interesting confrontations with Aggie and Hector!).  There are definitely a number of suspects - the niece's husband, who was upset his uncle-in-law refused to look at his work; the niece, who was set to inherit quite a bit of money upon her uncle's death; the nurse at the spa, who seems to have quite the mean streak; George's nurse, who has a few secrets of her own that she has been hiding; the doctor at the spa, who has now lost two patients in the span of just a few months; and the hotel owner, who will do just about anything to keep his hotel from facing bad publicity.  And just how does the death of poor Mr. Hart connect to the death of the elderly woman who was previously a patient at the spa (and had left the spa and hotel after becoming more ill, before finally being found dead on a park bench a few days later)?  Is there a connection, or it is pure coincidence?  Well, that's something Aggie and Hector (oh, and George, too, for he seems determined to insinuate himself into the crime-solving duo) have to figure out before another body turns up!

Now, as an adult reader, it was not really too difficult to spot the killer pretty much from the get-go - even the motive was pretty easy to see.  But I'll admit, the stolen items from the hotel guests certainly left me wondering, and the final confrontation with the killer was a thrill-ride to read!  Jocelyn definitely knows how to play up the suspense at just the right moments.  Can't wait to see what she has in store in the next book!

RATING:  10 strands of hair and a few fingernails out of 10 for another Agatha Christie-worthy tale of murder, secrets, lies, and sleuthing!

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen - Book Two: Peril at Owl Park

Book two in the Aggie Morton mystery series was just as enjoyable as the first.  Author Marthe Jocelyn has created a world of quirky characters that you can't help but love!  In the previous book, Jocelyn introduces us to twelve year-old Aggie Morton, whose father has recently died, and she must not only contend with his loss, but also her grieving mother, as well as her sometimes overbearing (but at the same time, over-indulging) grandmother.  While solving the murder of her piano teacher's sister, she meets the young Hector Perot who becomes her sidekick in the crime-solving business, as well as the enigma known as Augustus C. Fibbley, a reporter who is not at all what he seems to be!  After helping uncover the truth behind the murder in her small town on the coast of England, one can only anticipate what fate has in store for our intrepid sleuth next!

Peril at Owl Park follows only a few weeks after the events of the previous book, as Aggie is shipped off to her sister's new estate, along with Hector and her Grannie Jane.  Aggie's sister, Marjorie, is now the new Lady Greyson, having married a Lord.  Aggie and Hector are excited to explore the grand manor, with Lord James Greyson's niece, Lucy, as their guide.  It just so happens to be Christmas week, so there is also the anticipation of stockings and presents on Christmas morning!  But, the old Lady Greyson is not the most hospitable person, and the house is playing host to a number of other guests for the holidays - including Lord Greyson's college friend, Lakshay Sivam, and his wife; old Lady Greyson's physician, Dr. Musselman; and a touring theater group: Mr. Mooney, Ms. Day, and Mr. Corker.  They were brought to the Greyson estate to put on a show on Christmas Eve, to help celebrate the holidays, and some of the household even had the opportunity to participate.  It has all the makings for a wonderful holiday celebration, despite old Lady Greyson's rather dour demeanor...

Until the children wake up on Christmas morning and start the scavenger hunt for their stockings - an annual tradition in the Greyson house.  Aggie, Hector, and Lucy are thoroughly enjoying the adventures of following clues from one room to the next, until they get to the library, where instead of finding their latest clue - they find a body!  Poor Mr. Corker has been stabbed in the back, and is now lying dead on the floor of the library in a pool of his own blood!  Having already had experience with a murder, Aggie quickly begins taking note of everything in the room - until Lucy can hold back no longer and lets loose with a scream that brings the whole house running!

And so begins Aggie Morton's second foray into the world of solving murders.  Jocelyn provides a mystery full of twists and turns, hidden passages, red herrings, and lots of suspects with motives and opportunities.  Definitely a tale worthy of the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie!  The suspects include the footman, Frederick, who has a bit of a shady past; Mr. Sivam, who disappears directly after the murdered body is found, along with the cursed jewel he brought with him; Mr. Mooney, who does not appear too upset about his acting partner's death; Ms. Day, in whose shoe is found the missing cursed jewel; and even James Greyson himself, whose movements that night appear to have given him opportunity and means!  Aggie does not want to believe that her new brother-in-law could be a murderer, but she knows she must follow the clues to wherever they lead!

A secret passage that allows the children to view the study, the library, and other rooms; a fall down the back stairs into the kitchen; a letter opener with specks of blood on it; a pair of boots in the wrong place; a missing magnifying glass; a fake jewel; and a case of mistaken identity - so many pieces to the puzzle, and it will take all of Aggie's intuition and logical thinking, along with the help of Grannie Jane and Hector, to make the pieces fit to reveal the true identity of the murderer.  And just when you think they have the whole thing solved and the culprit caught - well, as with any good murder mystery, not everything is always what it seems!

I have to give the cover artist credit (or the publisher, if they are the ones who directed the idea) - but the cover, while depicting Aggie and Hector outside in the snow with a snowman on the ground, reveals a number of elements from the story - the snowman has a twig sticking out of his back, mirroring the knife sticking out of Mr. Corker's back in the library!  Aggie is holding up a magnifying glass, hinting at the missing glass from the library.  We even have the owl flying just over Aggie's head, a symbol of the letter opener with the owl carving on its handle.  I never thought about these kind of things when looking at the cover of the first book, but now I'll have to go back and take a look again to see if that cover offered up some clues to the story as well!

Oh, and lest I forget, Jocelyn, I think, has a lot of fun with that reporter, Augustus C. Fibbley.  Readers of the first book will remember that Fibbley has a big secret of his own - one that definitely comes in to play and is used to his advantage to help him get exclusive insights to the goings-on at the Greyson manor (since the family will not allow any reporters to come in and bother the family at this horrific time).  Fibbley once again proves to be a bit of a help to Aggie, even while pursuing her own ... er, I mean, his own agenda.  I do certainly hope Jocelyn plans to keep Fibbley around in future books, as I find him to be a rather fun character.

This is an enjoyable series that I would certainly recommend to any fans of children's mystery stories.  Sure, there is a bit of a stretch to think that a twelve year-old in 1902 would have all of the freedoms that Aggie does, but again - this is a work of fiction, so there has to be some suspension of disbelief to truly enjoy it (as with any work of fiction).

RATING:  9 plates of macaroni with melted cheese over it out of 10 for offering up a deliciously delectable holiday murder mystery that is on par with the master mystery writers of days gone by!

Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen - Book One: The Body Under the Piano

What if Agatha Christie had actually solved some crimes when she was only twelve years old?  What if her penchant for writing stemmed from the fact that she had been instrumental in solving murders when she was but an early teenager?  Author Marthe Jocelyn answers that question in this new series, "Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen."  As the tagline on the cover of the book reads, "Inspired by the real-life Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie," it's a murder mystery that features not one, but two budding sleuths - Aggie Morton and Hector Perot (gee, can you guess where those names came from?).

The Body Under the Piano introduces readers to young Aggie, an almost-teen who lives with her widowed mother and grandmother in the town of Torquay in the year 1902.  Aggie has a fascination with death, which, of course, worries both her mother ("Mummy") and grandmother ("Grannie Jane").  Aggie has even started a pet cemetery in the back of the garden, where she has carefully buried her pets that have died, giving each one a gravestone.  But, they needn't worry.  Aggie's fascination with death is what actually helps her solve the crime even the police can't seem to get right - the murder of Irma Eversham - a cantankerous old woman who also happens to be the bitter old sister of Aggie's dance teacher.  And Aggie happens to be the one who discovers the body.  In the dance classroom.  Under the piano (hence, the title of the book).

Jocelyn has a great, whimsical way with her characters, breathing such unique, individual life into each and every one of them that you, the reader, can't help but love them all.  Even the annoying Florence Fusswell and Lavinia Paine (and yes, clearly the names are somewhat representative of the characters' personalities).  But it's the fast-forming friendship of Aggie and her cohort in the crime-solving business, Hector Perot, that really warms the heart.  Hector is an immigrant, having been sent by his parents from Belgium to England.  While many are not as welcoming to the immigrants, Aggie has an immediate kinship with the boy and appreciates his analytical way of seeing things and thinking things through.  The two compliment one another nicely and make a fabulous detective duo!

As far as the mystery goes, Irma Eversham was a woman that no one liked.  She was unkind to her sister, controlling of her daughter, and wholly unfriendly to everyone she meets. So, no one is really saddened by her death.  I mean, sure, her sister Marianne and her daughter Rose are distraught over the fact that Mrs. Eversham was murdered - but for Roderick Fusswell, it could mean he might marry into riches if he can convince Rose to marry him ... for Rose Eversham, it could mean freedom at least from her mother's controlling nature ... for Augustus Fibbley, it could mean the story of a lifetime ... for Marianne Eversham, it could mean she inherits a fortune ... and for Aggie and Hector, it could mean the chance to show all of these stuffy adults that they are quite capable of solving a murder!

Whodunnit?  It's a classic Agatha Christie-style murder mystery with plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and plenty of secrets.  Aggie's governess, Charlotte Graves, has a difficult time keeping Aggie out of the investigation, as do the Morton's groundskeeper, Leonard Cable, and the local Constable, Beck, who continually warns Aggie to stay out of it.  But she can see that the police have absolutely no clue as to what is really going on, and when they arrest the wrong person, Aggie knows she has to prove that person innocent.  Of course, it becomes all the more complicated when she discovers a blackmailer's message has been hidden inside her notebook.  It's a definite race against time for Aggie and Hector to catch a ruthless killer before he ... or she! ... strikes again!

This book was truly a wonderful read.  The characters are extremely likable (love Grannie Jane!), and the story is perfectly paced.  I definitely can't wait for Aggie and Hector's next mystery!

RATING:  10 woolly red cardigans out of 10 for introducing the world to a wonderful new young sleuth who I hope has many more mysteries to solve in the coming years!