The Body Under the Piano (Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen #1)
Marthe Jocelyn, illus. by Isabelle Follath. Tundra, $15.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-7352-6546-2
Child sleuths investigate a poisoning in this winning whodunit based on Agatha Christie’s childhood. In 1902 Torquay, Aggie Morton, 12, whose father recently died, has what her mother calls a “Morbid Preoccupation.” Additionally, the aspiring writer, homeschooled and often shy, likes crafting descriptive variations (“eyes like lime cordial?... Glittering emeralds?”). In a chance sweet-shop encounter, she befriends Belgian refugee Hector Perot, a fastidious boy staying for a time nearby (“our own little immigrant,” his hosts call him). After leaving her journal at her dance studio one evening following a charitable “Befriend the Foreigners” concert, Aggie returns to find a disagreeable local woman dead beneath the titular instrument. When an anonymous note with clues to the murderer’s identity appears, the children jump on the case, much to the delight of a prolific reporter and the keen frustration of the constabulary. Though Perot’s presence adds little more than Easter eggs (e.g., his namesake’s phrasing habits) to the otherwise well-plotted mystery, he is set up to play a larger role in future installments. Jocelyn (
One Yellow Ribbon) offers an enjoyable entrée to the Queen of Crime and to the genre; the narrative’s arch tone, the girl’s vital grandmother, and the novel’s surfeit of extravagant teas should please. Character portraits and chapter heading spot art from Follath (
Joy) add whimsical appeal. Ages 10–up.
(Feb.)
Reviewed on : 12/19/2019
Release date: 02/04/2020
Genre: Children's
Paperback - 400 pages - 978-0-7352-6551-6
Hardcover - 336 pages - 978-0-7352-7081-7
Hardcover - 400 pages - 978-0-7352-6549-3