Title: Cold-Blooded Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #3)
Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Thomas Allen and Son
Format: Paperback
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Myrtle Hardcastle—twelve-year-old Young Lady of Quality and Victorian amateur detective—is back on the case, solving a string of bizarre murders in her hometown of Swinburne and picking up right where she left off in Premeditated Myrtle and How to Get Away with Myrtle.
When the proprietor of Leighton’s Mercantile is found dead on the morning his annual Christmas shop display is to be unveiled, it’s clear a killer had revenge in mind. 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. When the killer strikes again, each time manipulating the figures in the display to foretell the crime, Myrtle finds herself racing to uncover the long-buried facts of a cold case—and the motivations of a modern murderer.
Review:
When the owner of Leighton’s Mercantile is found dead on the morning that their Christmas display is unveiled, Myrtle Hardcastle is on the case. She finds a photo of Professor Leighton with her mother near his body, so she assumes there is some connection between them. Leighton had been a professor when Myrtle’s mother was in school, but after a student went missing, his career was destroyed. Soon after, another person connected with Leighton is murdered, pointing to Myrtle’s mother’s old group of friends. Myrtle must race to find the killer before everyone involved is dead.
This was a great whodunnit mystery! Though Myrtle is a young girl, almost all of the other characters are adults, so this series would appeal to adults as well as young readers. The mystery in this story was complex and went back generations. There were some great twists at the end, which made it hard for me to guess the killer. The story was quite fast-paced too, so I had to keep reading it.
Cold-Blooded Myrtle is a great middle grade mystery!
Thank you Thomas Allen and Son and Algonquin Young Readers for sending me a copy of this book!
What to read next:
In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer
Other books in the series:
- Premeditated Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #1)
- How to Get Away with Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #2)
- In Myrtle Peril (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #4)
Have you read Cold-Blooded Myrtle? What did you think of it?
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