I really like Myrtle.  She is a spunky detective.  If you’re a mystery lover, I know you’ll like her too.   Before the train has left the station in the second book of the series (and I hope it is long), Myrtle is on a new case.

Myrtle has been sent on a “relaxing vacation” by her father.  She is to be accompanied on this trip by Aunt Helena, Miss Judson and Peony – because at the last minute Myrtle just couldn’t leave her cat behind.   Peony may be the only good thing about being on a “vacation” with Aunt Helena at the seaside.   At the train station Myrtle begins observing what is happening all around her –  as any detective would.  When she sees something that seems a bit off, she follows her instincts … and follows.

This is how she makes the acquaintance of Mrs. Bloom, a professional insurance investigator who is aboard this train the to protect the priceless Northern Lights Tiara. Myrtle is looking forward to learning all that she can from the investigator, but before the train reaches its destination, both the tiara and Mrs. Bloom have vanished. 

At the end of the line a dead body Is discovered in the baggage car.  Someone has been murdered—with Aunt Helena’s sewing shears.   The trip is derailed, the local police appear to be inept, Scotland Yard is in no rush to arrive, so Myrtle is the only one following the leads. What’s a smart, bored Young Lady of Quality stranded in a washed-up carnival town to do?  

Readers who already know Myrtle, will know exactly what her choice will be.  If this is your first time with  Myrtle, she will follow the evidence to find out which of her fellow travelers is a thief and a murderer.

There are lots of challenges along the way as you read along with Myrtle and solve this mystery.  I hope there is a  next book with Myrtle.  If there is, I’ll be reading it!.

Happy Reading!📚

Myrtle Hardcastle— twelve-year-old amateur detective—is back in her third book.  This time she is solving a string of murders in her hometown of Swinburne.

On the morning of the annual Christmas reveal, with the whole town gathered outside the window, the proprietor of Leighton’s Mercantile is found dead.  Perhaps the poor man has had a stroke, but Myrtle suspects more.  The tableau has some alarming references, and seems connected to the long ago disappearance of a student named Olive Blackwell. 

But who would want to kill the local dry-goods merchant? Perhaps someone who remembers the mysterious scandal that destroyed his career as a professor and archaeologist. Myrtle, along with her tutor, Miss Judson begin their investigation.  The more Myrtle looks, the more she discovers about her mother (who passed away from cancer when Myrtle was younger), a secret society, and a past wrongdoing.

Her investigation lead Myrtle through Swinburne.  She talks to Leah, the new carillonist, who shows her around the the tower and explains how the bells are played.   Leah will be holding the first concert of the bells since Olive’s mysterious disappearance. She invites Myrtle to come. Myrtle attends the opening of Leighton Museum and talks to the curator about the artifacts and scenes donated by Professor Leighton before his death.  She also talks to newspaper reporters who seems quite interested in the twists and turns of this particular mystery.  Myrtle observes and notices.  She wonders and questions.

When the killer strikes again, the figures in the Leighton tableau are rearranged foretelling the crime. Myrtle finds herself racing to uncover the long-buried facts of a cold case and the motivations of a modern murderer.

You’ll have a great time solving the case with Myrtle.  Sherlock Holmes has nothing on her.

Happy Reading!📚

PS – If you want to learn more about pneumatic subway systems, check this book out.