Premediated Myrtle - a Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery #1

Trying a new series can always be chancy, since you never really know if it's going to be good or not - particularly when it is from an author that you've never read before and know nothing about.  So, when I first stumble across the Myrtle Hardcastle series on Amazon, I added them to my "want list" to keep an eye out for.  I didn't purchase them right away, mind you - I mean, after all, they were in hardback and by Elizabeth C. Bunce, an author that I had never heard of before.  But the titles were enough to catch my interest, and the cover art and design was eyecatching as well.  I mean, seriously - Premeditated Myrtle and How to Get Away With Myrtle! How could you pass up books with titles like that?

As with nearly all young adult and children's series these days, Premeditated Myrtle is written in first person, and Myrtle Hardcastle is 12-years old.  But she is a very intelligent, observant 12-year old that, that, in a number of ways, reminds me of Nancy Drew. She is an only child. Her father is a lawyer, and he is a widower, Myrtle's mother having passed away some time ago. They have a woman who lives with them, who helps take care of Myrtle (she is supposed to be Myrtle's governess and teacher, but in many ways, she is more of a friend to Myrtle than anyone else!). The only differences are in the age (12-years old instead of 16 or 18) and the time period (this series is set in the 1890s).  Myrtle carries a magnifying glass and is obsessed with solving crimes! So, when one happens right next door to her own house, how can she help but get involved?

 

Bunce provides a well-crafted mystery about a cranky old woman who is found dead in her own bathtub. But nothing makes sense. For instance, why was she covered in mud? Why was her prized garden of lilies gone, with nothing left but trussed-up dirt where it appears a scuffle took place? Why was her gardener burning what could potentially be evidence the morning her body was found? Why were there dirt tracks leading into the house? Why was the woman's niece meeting with someone late at night and handing him a mysterious package? Why was her nephew hiding the fact that he argued with her the day before she turned up dead? And why, oh why, was the old woman's cat covered in syrupy goo that seems to have poisoned the poor thing? Well, if there's one thing Myrtle doesn't like, it's unanswered questions!

A former private attorney turned prosecutor, Myrtle's father does not think that anything untoward happened. She was an old woman and her heart simply gave out. But Myrtle knows otherwise, and following in her father's footsteps, and with the help of her governess, Miss Judson (who, by the way, she believes would make the perfect wife for her father, but that's a whole 'nother thing...), she sets out to track down the clues, uncover the evidence, and find out what really happened to Miss Wodehouse and who killed her! But, what happens when not only does the wrong person end up accused of the crime, but that person also confesses!  How in the world will Myrtle free an innocent person and ensure the real killer is caught?  And all the while, she is doing everything in her power to keep Miss Wodehouse's niece away from her father, as she seems intent on becoming his next wife!  (And we won't even spoil the surprise there by revealing what shocking secret Myrtle discovers about Priscilla Wodehouse!)

I am going to say it outright - I absolutely LOVED this book! It was a superb read, well-written, exceptional characters, a fantastic mystery, and quite frankly, readers of any age can enjoy the story.  There is humor, there is sadness, there is shock and surprise, there is doubt, there is revelation - there is just about anything and everything you could ever want in a great story, and then some. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who wants a good mystery to curl up with, because I can guarantee you, once you start this, you won't want to put it down.

RATING: 10 fancy microscopes with interchangeable lenses out of 10 for giving readers what is, without a doubt, the BEST mystery book of the year, if not the decade!