Murder in Midwinter

When Maya takes a photo from the top of a bus, she has no idea of the trouble it will bring.

Fleur Hitchcock wastes no time in this murder mystery. In the first six chapters, there is a murder and a kidnapping. From the outset, Maya is thrown into a world where people will stop at nothing to get their hands on what they want -and they want what she has.

Fearing for Maya’s safety in London, the police send her to her aunt’s farm in the Welsh Mountains where they believe she will be safe. Maya has been to her aunt’s before a long time ago, but is in no hurry to rush back there due to its remoteness and her vile cousin, Ollie, who used to put salt in her ice cream, and nothing has changed. Snow starts falling as soon as Maya arrives and it is not long before they get cut off. The police think Maya is safe on the mountain cut off by snow until news reaches them that the suspected murderer is in the area.

This book gallops a long at a real pace and Fleur uses the remoteness of the setting to really build up the tension. The characters in the book are well drawn as are their developing relationships. Lots of lovely observed detail is added about the characters, making it thoroughly enjoyable. This was a one-sitting read!

Murder in Midwinter

Fleur Hitchcock

Nosy Crow   ISBN: 978-0857636386

Waiting for Murder

It’s a long, hot summer, but instead of spending time with his mates, Dan’s been plucked from his ‘happy city summer’ to stay in a cottage beneath the dam of a reservoir with his mum whilst she and her archaeologist colleagues search for the bones of Edith the Fair. As the water levels of the reservoir drop, Dan notices a car emerging - containing what looks like a body. Next morning, however, there is no sign of a corpse, but sharp eyed Dan and his new friend, Florence, notice some clues which arose their suspicions. Something strange is going on and as they continue to investigate, it becomes clear that someone will stop at nothing to prevent them from uncovering the truth.

Full of tension and action, ‘Waiting for Murder’ is an excellent read, offering a compelling mystery with a satisfying conclusion. Written in the first person present tense, the reader see the action through Dan’s eyes, ensuring they see all the clues as he does and have the opportunity to piece the mystery together. Dan’s fascination with the case is completely believable as one fact leads him to another.

Dan’s relationship with his mother is wonderful. There is warmth and trust between them and her being a ‘bone expert’ certainly helps his investigation as her job gives her access to a library of skulls on her computer and leads him to the newspaper collections in the local museum. Florence is a great character-very different to Dan- and makes a very determined partner in crime detection.

There is so much here to enjoy and explore, making the book a great class story or guided reading text. The story offers an excellent model for building tension and using the immediacy of first person viewpoint, allowing children to explore these techniques and develop them in their own writing. The use of research- newspapers, gravestones, oral history- is also a great example of allowing the characters to find things out which is completely plausible and an integral part of the story.

Full of suspense and surprises, ‘Waiting for Murder’ is another Fleur Hitchcock classic.

Waiting for Murder

Fleur Hitchcock

Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1788008648