Poison Is Not Polite

Starred review from February 1, 2016
Wells and Wong return in a classic country-estate mystery. Spending their April break at Fallingford, Daisy's stately (but run-down) family home, schoolgirls Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong become detectives again when an unpleasant friend of Daisy's mother is murdered there. Mr. Curtis is a stranger, ostensibly invited for Daisy's 14th birthday party. He's clearly more interested in the family's valuable antiques, and Daisy's mother, Lady Hastings, is inappropriately interested in him. When he's fatally poisoned after drinking his tea, many people have motives, but the girls (and two school friends invited for the occasion) quickly narrow the list. All their potential suspects are members of Daisy's own family. This is difficult for the president of the Detective Society, but she continues to gamely direct its proceedings. Hazel serves as scribe and narrator. Besides recording their activities, she supplies her own observations, including comparisons of her wealthy Chinese family's home in Hong Kong with this shabbier one, and her feelings about looking and being different from Daisy and her white family. Published in England in 2015 as Arsenic for Tea, this well-crafted and entertaining detective story, a stand-alone sequel to Murder Is Bad Manners (2014), is solidly set in a fading world of 1930s minor nobility and supported by a cast list and map. A first-rate whodunit, reminiscent of a game of Clue and terrific preparation for the works of Agatha Christie. (Historical mystery. 10-14)

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July 1, 2016

Gr 4-8-Detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are back to solve another mystery, but this one hits a little closer to home for Daisy. While on school break, bossy Daisy and levelheaded Hazel are staying at Daisy's family home, where her mother is throwing Daisy a children's birthday tea party. Fourteen-year-old Daisy is appalled that she is having such a childish fete, especially since her mother has invited family, school friends, and her "gentleman friend" Mr. Curtis. The house is full of suspects when, during the party, Mr. Curtis is poisoned and later dies. Mr. Curtis is truly an unlikable individual, so the list of suspects is large, and most are people Daisy has known her whole life. Daisy and Hazel's skills are tested as they narrow down the list of possible murderers. The countryside has flooded, and the arrival of the police is delayed by days. Daisy and Hazel's unlikely friendship balances out the strengths and weaknesses of their personalities; Daisy is pushy and clever, while Hazel is cautious and practical. VERDICT An English import with a good mystery that will keep readers' attention, this second volume of the trilogy is strong enough to be a standalone title.-Lisa Nabel, formerly at Dayton Metro Library, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* After getting off to a good start in Murder Is Bad Manners (2015), Stevens perfects her take on the British murder mystery in the second book in the Wells & Wong series. Daisy Wells has brought boarding-school friend (and co-member of the Detective's Society) Hazel Wong to Fallingford, her family's estate, complete with mazes, libraries, lords, and ladies. It's Daisy's birthday, and a lavish tea is planned with visits from two other school chums. But there are other visitors, including the nefarious Mr. Curtis, who seems as enamored of the family antiques as he is of Daisy's mother. From the first pages, we learn something dreadful happens to Mr. Curtis, and as the book progresses, readers will be enthralled with the what, why, and howall issues that the Detective's Society unravels through cleverness and sleuthing skill. Not so long ago, detailed accounts of murders in middle-grade mysteries were rarely done. Here, though, Mr. Curtis lies moldering in a guest room after a violent poisoning, while the game is afoot all over the house, which has been cut off by a flood. Though Stevens handles the mystery element to perfection (the house diagrams are a nice touch, too), what really shines is the depiction of her characters, especially bossy, egocentric Daisy and loyal, smart Hazel, always aware that she is other. A smashing good time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)