Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens - ADVISABLE

Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens, 347 pages. Simon and Schuster Inc., 2016. $18.

Language: G; Mature Content: PG (some LGBT content); Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

It’s a new school year and Daisy and Hazel are back with three successful cases solved ready for new adventures and to see old friends.  Unfortunately, the new year isn’t starting out all that great. The head girl, Elizabeth, is is not a nice person, and she has her followers, the Five, keeping the other girls in line, which means a lot of yelling, intimidating, and terrorizing.  On the night of the annual bonfire, there is music, food, and games plus a much needed break after the stress of the first few weeks of school. The evening comes to a halt when Elizabeth is found dead. Once again Daisy and Hazel have a mystery to solve, and it appears that someone at the school is responsible, probably one of the Five.  With the help of their dorm mates, the Wells and Wong Detective Society sets out to solve their newest mystery.

Another solid mystery from Stevens and her fourth in the Wells and Wong Mysteries.  Her characters are realistic, smart and methodical in solving the mystery, and I always appreciate a mystery that isn’t too easy to figure out.  With each book, time passes and the author has her characters getting older and encountering more mature and difficult issues. A good recommendation for readers that like a mystery, especially if they like a historical setting.  

Reviewer: RB