Murder Month - The Blue Violet

And now for something a little lighter in this month of murder, we jump into the world of Wells and Wong in this short eNovella, The Case of the Blue Violet. Instead of being a case of murder, this short is a story about a letter...

Daisy Wells, President of the Detective Society, writes this tale where one of the Big Girls in their school - Deepdean School for Girls - asked Daisy and Vice-President of the Detective Society, Hazel Wong, to help over a very puzzling romantic mystery. Which should be easy - Daisy and Hazel have solved three murders, after all...

I have to admit that this is quite short and is a filler for the series (this takes place between the third and fourth books in the series, First Class Murder and Jolly Foul Play). So fans of the series will like this a lot as it's a quick teaser to fill the time between books.

What fans will like about this short is that, while the mystery is gentle and perfect for younger readers (and after all the very adult-heavy crime I have been reading - this was hugely refreshing!), but this tale is told from Daisy's point of view, and her voice is hugely different from Hazel, who writes the novels. She's much lighter compared to Hazel, less serious and is more impulsive. I can see what Robin Stevens wrote this short over mysterious love letters from Daisy's point of view, rather than Hazel's, who is more suited for the seriousness of murder. Daisy's voice would be far too jarring.

This is probably a good taster for new fans who want to try and see if they like this series. And this is very much a fan story.

However, if you are an older reader, you might find this far too light and fluffy. But you might want to check out the series as this does tackle murder and the plots are fiendishly clever. I have two to read and I can't wait to get start.